Don't worry kids, I'm always writing. Never stopping :)

Survivors

"It has made an interesting decision," Shale said lightly.

"Oh?" I tried not to let my voice shake. I felt the magic everywhere, above, below, and directly in front of me, as if it was waiting for me to walk into the unknown. It was not the feeling that bothered me, but just the sheer amount of it that pressed against my mind. It made me feel small and insignificant.

"So many things could go wrong in such a situation, but it seems it will press on anyway. A brave, but foolish endeavour."

"So glad we brought you along," Alistair said sarcastically.

"I would hope so. Without me, the pair of you would surely fail. Why has it stopped, I see no obstacle," Shale grumbled as it almost ran into me.

"Abby? What's wrong?" Alistair asked placing a firm hand on my shoulder.

I pointed at the wall in front of us, my body ridged. It was covered in a fleshy like substance from the ground to the ceiling, large bulbous protrusions coming out in different directions. Red liquid-I couldn't bring myself to think it was blood- streamed down slowly and pooled in the floor. It was as if someone had taken a human being and turned them inside out.

"It's from the abominations," Alistair explained grimly. He whispered it as if we were surrounded by enemies. I clutched at my bow tightly as if to gain some comfort.

"We better keep going," I managed.

We didn't get far around the circle of the first floor before Alistair said he heard something in one of the rooms, what he said was the sleeping quarters for the younger mages. Slowly, he opened the door and told me to be ready. I carefully drew my bow, and nodded to confirm I would cover him.

He rushed in, Shale and I right behind him, and we ran into a deserted room, save for a young red haired boy who promptly screamed and threw up his hands in terror.

"Well hello there," Alistair said awkwardly, gently putting down his sword. "I can imagine we all look deranged and scary, but I promise you, we actually aren't demons."

The boy whimpered keeping his hands outstretched in front of him as if to ward us off. "D-don't come any closer," he commanded. "Or you'll end u-up like them."

I looked at the scene around me to figure out what he could have possibly meant, but immediately regretted doing so. What was supposed to be sleeping quarters was a cramped and destroyed room. Bunk beds were flipped on their sides, blood covered anything and everything. The worst part, however, was the bodies. Beyond recognition, the burnt condition of each one had left them completely black, unable to show whether the owner had been male or female. Naked charred bodies covered the floor, some in sickly positions. Armoured bodies had melted metal stuck to them from some great heat source, creating sharp and clean structures, complete with dark red blood gleaming on the surface.

I carefully brought the string back towards the bow as not to startle the poor boy. "Are you alright? Are you hurt at all?"

He looked at me in a panic and screamed again. "Go away demon! You can't fool me!" he sobbed loudly.

"I'm not a demon," I said gently, "would a demon have a golem following her?" I beckoned at Shale and stepped aside to let the boy have a look.

"Hm," Shale grunted. "I am to be shown off like a prize then? Whoopee." Nonetheless, the golem moved forward, causing the boy to lower his arms slowly. As he did, I noticed that the air around him became a shade darker, as if a light had been turned off. The buzz in my head died a little, and then I realized he had been trying to protect himself with a magical shield.

Cool.

"Whoa," the boy breathed, and then blushed as if he was ashamed of being enthralled with the golem.

"That was my first reaction too," I said with a smile.

Alistair motioned for my pack. "Are you hungry?" The boy nodded. Alistair grabbed a loaf of bread and tore off an end.

"I want her to give it to me templar," the boy tried to force out harshly. In the end it sounded more like a squeak.

I blinked in surprise, but took the bread from Alistair, and gently gave it to the red-headed boy. "He's not all bad. Just his cooking," I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

The boy's eyes flicked up to mine, "He's a templar," and then kept eating, as if that was the end all for that conversation.

Slightly uncomfortable, I sat down next to him on the destroyed bed. "Have you been here alone all this time?"

"No," he said between mouthfuls. "I was with the others you see. Enchanter Wynne said we should all stick together, so we all stayed in the big hall. Then a fire demon came and Petra got caught. Enchanter Wynne tried to save her and-"the boys lips started to quiver, "she fell. I ran away. I know it wasn't a very brave thing to do, I was just so scared."

He started to cry in earnest, dropping his piece onto the floor. I put my arms around him gently, letting him nestle his head close to me when he did. "It's alright now," I soothed. "You're safe with us now."

"If there are others left," Alistair motioned to me, "we need to find them."

"You can't leave!" the boy's eyes widened, absolutely mortified by the idea.

I rubbed his arm, trying to reassure him. "What's your name little man?"

"David," he wiped his nose with his robe, muffling his response.

"We aren't going anywhere David, but we do need to find out if there are any more mages that are lost like you. We don't want anyone feeling left behind now do we?"

He shook his head and breathed a heavy sigh as I unattached myself from him. Alistair looked at me like he was about to say something, but must have thought better of it.

"Do not think about pining the pip-squeak on me. I shall hardly see him while walking. It would not be pleased if I accidentally squashed it underneath me," Shale remarked dryly.

"Wouldn't dream of it Shale," I tried saying lightly. David stood close to me, obviously terrified by the golem's passive threat.

The bedroom we found David in was a walk in the park compared to the Great Hall.

Just as we entered the Hall, a rage demon was locked in battle with a white haired woman, and was losing. With a great wave of her hand and staff, ice appeared out of nowhere, covering the demon so fast the flames on its body froze. The demon's entire body was covered, it's face contorted with the only feeling it ever knew, a clawed hand reaching for the mage it had battled. The woman swung her staff like a baseball bat, shattering the entire ice block into tiny shards. She breathed heavily for a tense moment as if the demon might return, but relaxed slowly. Young children and a few young adults came forward and surrounded her. Murmurs of "are you alright?" and "could that be the last one?" echoed in the large Hall. It was also covered in blood and bodies.

"Enchanter Wynne!" David yelled and ran at the woman. She looked up in amazement as the red head ran through the small crowd of children straight toward her. "You aren't dead!"

"No little one," her voice was soft and comforting. "Takes much more than a few demons to be rid of me. Where have you-"she looked up and saw the two of us standing awkwardly in the doorway, and Shale.

Suddenly the old mage was all business. "Everyone behind me." The children dutifully listened, the adults forming a protective circle around them. Only David didn't do as he was told. "You!" she said sharply, staring at me. I was trying to figure out what she could mean when it dawned on me; she was the woman at Ostagar I had waved at manically.

"Don't come any closer!" she warned. "Take another step, and I swear I will strike you down where you stand!"

"No Enchanter Wynne!" David protested. "They saved me, don't hurt them!"

"We found him in a room not far from here," I explained. "He was scared you had fallen in battle."

She looked down at the little boy for a moment, and then back to us. "It would seem that I am in debt to you. To all three of you," she said taking in Alistair and Shale. She gave the golem a particularly calculated look, as if she was trying to find its weakness. I didn't doubt for a moment that she had found one. "You were both at Ostagar," she motioned her head to Alistair. It was not a question but a statement. "I am Wynne, Enchanter and mage of the Circle, as you have surely figured out, and these children are under my protection. I'm assuming the templars have opened the door, but why? Has Gergoir mounted a counter attack?"

"Not exactly," I said uneasily. "I am Abigail of the Grey Wardens, the templars opened the door for us only.

"Alistair, also of the Grey Wardens. Pleasure considering the circumstance," the warden tried lightly. It didn't come out to well.

"And this is Shale," I motioned to the golem with my hand.

"The templars!" the woman wasted no time, "do they have the Right of Annulment?"

"They are expecting it."

"So Gergoir thinks the Circle is beyond hope. He probably assumes we are all dead," the enchanter started pacing. "They abandon us to our fate, but trapped as we are, we have survived. If they invoked the Right, however, we will not be able to stand against them. If Uldred had not…" the woman stopped talking and pacing, rubbing her face with her hand, "I will not stand by and watch the Circle fall to one man's pride and stupidity."

I looked at Alistair. "What can we expect in the rest of the building?"

His face darkened. "I've never been in a sacked Circle before, but in the chantry we heard…terrible stories. It won't be anything friendly I can guarantee that. Abominations at least, demons of all sorts…"

I sighed heavily. I had never willingly lead myself or people into such a dangerous situation. For the first time I thought to myself I cannot do this. But then I saw the terrified faces of the children behind the adult mages, and even the worried, exhausted faces of the adults themselves, and Alistair's waiting face, and I made up my mind.

"We want to help," I announced.

The enchanter looked up with surprise, and possibly relief. "I can't tell you how much that means to me Warden. I cannot tell you what we may face, but if we succeed, I know Gergoir will tell his men to back down. He would not want to see this tower fall."

I remembered the look of absolute failure on the leaders face, and nodded. "Lead on, Enchanter Wynne."

University is the culprit of my long vacation from fanfic, not one I wanted, I hope to write more, I promise. ~MM