Disclaimer: Bioware owns all, except what I most humbly create. While, at times, I will take verbatim from the game, I mostly use the events of the Dragon Age games, expansions and universe as a loose structure around which to construct my re-imagined tale. If you are looking for a strict canon piece, I have no desire to offend, and so I warn you upfront!

When reading this tale, I hope you can easily imagine it being told by the very best of storytellers in Varric (from DA:2). In my version of events, Varric meets "The Hero" (my Elissa Cousland) in Kirkwall during the time period of DA:2. I mention this only so that readers can understand his connection along the way, and so I don't have to mention and rehash it again and again as I make my way through the tale.

A/N: Shorter chapter here mainly because it was crazy long until I divided it into two.

Muse Music: Jar of Hearts by Christina Perry.

Thanks to my readers, followers and reviewers! And to my wonderful Lady Beta, artemiskat.

Happy Reading!

-Frayed One

Chapter Seven: Desert Descent

Elissa received a letter from Alistair along with her breakfast in the morning, and poured over every word gratefully as she dressed for the day – willing his sweet words to grant her the power to face the trials that lay ahead of her.

Elissa,

The Bannorn is a torture. How you ever managed to stand this mind numbing boredom is beyond my ability to comprehend, though now your disdain for the inner workings for polite society certainly makes a great deal more sense to me.

I miss you. It seems too simple a thing to say to explain the way I've felt since I walked away from Vigil's Keep in anger, but there it is.

I should never have left things as I did. I promise to make it up to you when I return.

I love you Elissa, with all my heart. I trust that you will make good on your promise to marry me when you are ready, and I will not pressure you again – with my own insecurities or by the instructions of my uncle.

Yours always,

Alistair

"I don't deserve you, my love." Elissa said, tracing her fingers over the paper and then tucking it away within her pack for safe keeping.

Nathaniel woke overwhelmed by emotion. He was equal parts frustrated by Elissa's refusal to accept his request the night before and frustrated with himself for pressuring her to do it. He'd backed her into a corner and she'd reacted like a frightened animal, lashing out at him to push him away.

It would take some time to repair the damage he had caused, and he wasn't looking forward to the attitude he knew he would receive when next he saw her – no matter how much he might admit he deserved it.

When he emerged from his room, he could hear Elissa's voice pitched low as she spoke to someone just outside the door to her own chamber.

"It's getting harder to control." Elissa said, and Nathaniel watched her toss back another vial of something – thumping her head hard against the wall as she swallowed it down.

"The stress isn't helping, my lady." Swiftrunner replied, reaching over to reclaim the now empty vial. "Perhaps contacting the First Warden and requesting…"

"The First Warden doesn't know about this, and he never will. Some of the blame will fall on Alistair if that happens, and I won't see him taken under by my weakness." Elissa replied, holding his eyes to press her point. "I am a Grey Warden, Dastan. The only way out is death. You don't get to ask for sick leave. You don't get days off for madness. Now, come, let's gather the others and get under way."

They moved off down the hall after that, leaving Nathaniel to bring up the rear.

Elissa had the group on the road to Knotwood Hills less than an hour later, stomachs full and packs filled with enough supplies to last them for several days. The landscape of the area was arid and covered in wicked looking brambles, a dusty wind whipping through it and wearing down the fragile sandy hills into nothing.

It left them with little to look at to pass the time, which only made it more difficult for Elissa to avoid making eye contact with Nathaniel who she knew had been watching her since they'd left the walls of Amaranthine. She was incredibly thankful when Anders and Oghren finally started to argue amongst themselves - blissfully accepting the distraction it offered.

"I'm just going to assume that something died in your mouth." Anders said, glaring over at the dwarf who'd ridden with Swiftrunner this time – his back to the wolf as he looked off into the hills.

"Funny story: dwarf attacks mage. Dwarf wins." Oghren retorted, smirking at Anders who rode behind Elissa and tossing her a wink for good measure.

"Yeah, I noticed how you pissed in your armor in that last fight." Anders replied, rolling his eyes. "Well done. It'd be nice if you'd clean it occasionally. You may have slept on the floor, but it didn't stop the stink from taking over the whole room."

"Thank you! I'll be here all week." Oghren replied, raising his arms triumphantly when everyone started to chuckle in spite of themselves.

"You don't actually think your jokes are funny, do you?" Anders groused, folding his arms and refusing to admit he was entertained.

"Could have sworn that fly was buzzing again." Oghren muttered, reaching for his flask and taking a long pull.

"Har! Let me tell you about my life in one word!" Anders said, affecting what Elissa could only guess to be his best impression of Oghren. He finished the thought with an impressive belch, right next to Elissa's ear.

"Hey! Watch it!" Elissa hissed, glaring over her shoulder at him only to receive a wink and waggle of his eyebrows in reply as though she'd been impressed by his show of virility.

"Oh no! Don't take me back to the tower!" Oghren retorted, turning sideways in the saddle and crossing his legs in a ladylike fashion at the ankles. "I'm far, far too delicate!"

"I'm not only a dwarf, I'm a moron! Listen to me fart!" Anders responded, smiling when Elissa whipped around to glare at him just in case he was thinking about pulling out one of those as well.

"Oh no, big Templar man! What are you going to do with that sword?" Oghren said, pitching his voice impossibly high and sending everyone but Anders into fits of laughter.

"Eww." Anders said, though Elissa could feel him trying not to laugh against her back.

"Don't play with fire unless you want to get burned, son." Oghren said, turning back to his original position and smiling victoriously as Swiftrunner guided his horse to the edge of the chasm.

"He's got a point." Elissa said, continuing to chuckle as she brought her own horse to a stop beside Swiftrunner's. "There's a reason you don't see me tossing insults at Oghren."

"We'll have to go on foot from here." Swiftrunner noted, dropping down from his horse and helping Oghren to the ground. "The ground is much too fragile to descend any further on horseback."

"There are darkspawn down there for certain. The sensation is strong enough that I'd assume there to be a great number since alone their altered blood is difficult to detect." Elissa said, handing her reins over for Swiftrunner to tether as she moved down the path ahead.

"Should we be able to sense them by now?" Nathaniel asked, drawing Elissa's eye for a moment. He saw the discomfort pass across her face briefly as she remembered what he'd pressed on her the night before.

"I'm not sure. I was able to detect the taint shortly after my Joining – though I didn't learn to actually read it until much later." Elissa replied, pulling every bit of the Warden-Commander out of herself she could muster to try not to see Nathaniel as the man that he was instead of just other recruit. "It's possible it's taking you all longer because these new spawn have a trace that is so much harder to track. It may be different when we get down into the chasm though, especially if they're as concentrated as I suspect they will be."

"So you think we'll be able to sense them then?" Anders asked, equally curious about his developing abilities.

"It's likely, yes." Elissa answered, leaving them to trail behind her as she descended further down the path. "I have to warn you… it can be overwhelming."

"Overwhelming how?" Anders asked, not sure if he wanted to know but figuring he might as well be prepared.

"You'll start to feel it here," Elissa said, tapping against her sternum lightly. "Eventually it just kind of becomes a tingling, like an itch inside the bone… but it can start as nausea, intense nausea depending on the number of darkspawn when the ability manifests." She thought back to the first time she'd felt it. It'd sent her staggering back against Alistair and fighting the urge to get sick. "You'll learn to ignore the nausea for the most part in time, though large concentrations can still bring it on. Alistair and I were both sick in the Dead Trenches and we'd been sensing the spawn for some time at that point."

"Vomit inspiring bone itch. Just when I think you can't tell me anything more attractive about my new calling in life." Anders muttered, grimacing at her.

Elissa just shrugged, knowing there was nothing she could say to make it any better. Their life was what it was and they'd all have to adjust one way or another. She slowed the group with a raised hand, calling their attention to a large lumbering creature on the path ahead.

"Maker! What is that thing?" Anders whispered, moving closer to her side to get a clearer look at it. It looked like a bear but was covered with large bone-like spikes that protruded through its skin.

"Bereskarn." Swiftrunner answered, slowly pulling loose his daggers and setting the rest of the group into motion arming themselves.

"Essentially it's a bear that's been tainted. Just an unfortunate side effect of blighted land." Elissa explained, edging toward it. "Watch the spikes. Sting like a son of a bitch if they nick you."

With such a large group, taking the large beast down was somewhat anticlimactic. Afterward Elissa sheathed her blades and moved to the ledge in front of them, looking down into the chasm beyond.

"Oghren!" Elissa called, waving him to her side. "Does that look like dwarven masonry to you?"

"Aye." Oghren replied, squinting to make out the floor far below. "Looks like the whole area is collapsing in on the Deep Roads."

"Someone's been attempting to reinforce the area, perhaps for excavation?" Elissa said, noting the rickety stairways and wall supports that had been built as she moved them further down the path and across a long rope bridge over the chasm. "Have you heard anything that would lead you to believe the dwarves had mounted some sort of expedition out here?"

"Nothing." Oghren shrugged, inspecting the bridge cautiously and watching the others do the same before stepping onto it. "Though the lost thaigs are scattered across Thedas. There could be one below for all I know."

"That would explain the reclamation efforts." Elissa noted, hitting the ground on the other side and inspecting some buckets and masonry tools on the ground nearby. "Though the lack of dwarves is unsettling."

"Is there anything about this place that isn't unsettling?" Anders asked, gesturing at a series of darkspawn décor lining the chasm walls beside them.

"What? You don't fancy their decorating skills?" Elissa chuckled, waving an appreciative hand nearby. "I'm sure they'll be heartbroken to hear that you don't fancy the spikes and horns school of design."

"Yes, yes. Laugh it up!" Anders snorted, narrowing his eyes on her as she poked her tongue out and moved ahead with Oghren and Swiftrunner, leaving him to bring up the rear with the exceptionally morose Nathaniel. "What's with you today?"

"I don't know what you mean." Nathaniel grumbled, focusing on the descent and not on the suddenly chatty mage.

"You know exactly what I mean, you just don't want to talk about it." Anders replied, crossing his arms and inspecting the man.

"You're much smarter than you look." Nathaniel replied, sneering at him.

"And you're exactly as bitter as you look." Anders retorted, smirking back at him. "You know, you tried to talk to me the other day… well, now I'm talking, so, let's chat."

"I've changed my mind." Nathaniel replied, kicking at a lump of grass as he passed by. "I don't want to talk to you anymore."

"You are a prickly bastard, Howe. I don't know what the Commander ever saw in you." Anders chuckled, watching the archer's temper flare when his barb hit its mark. "You know, you're just like me."

"Am I, now?" Nathaniel replied, fighting hard against the urge to punch him right over the cliff edge.

"Everyone hates your family for something terrible they did, even though you weren't involved!" Anders continued, strolling leisurely down the path – not a care in the world, and enjoying every second of discomfort he was inflicting.

"I hope you have a point, Anders." Nathaniel hissed, eyes narrowed. "And if you do, I'd suggest you get to it quickly."

"Just thinking it's like you're a mage, that's all." Anders said, grinning at him triumphantly. "If there were more Howes – you know – if the Commander hadn't killed most of you… they'd probably lock all of you up in a tower to protect everyone else!"

Elissa had overheard enough to know she had to intervene at this point, coming to a stop at the beginning of the last flight of stairs leading to the chasm floor and shuffling Anders past her. She silenced any reply Nathaniel had been formulating with a pointed glare, staying in between them as they descended to the stone below.

When they hit the bottom, they were set upon by a large pack of deepstalkers, most of whom seemed to be very fond of Nathaniel. He was forced to kick at them for the most part when they got too close for his arrows, and Elissa couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the tall bulky archer stomping about like he was menaced by mice.

"Well, they certainly seemed to like you." Elissa said, continuing to chuckle as she sheathed her swords when the last had fallen.

"It must be my animal magnetism." Nathaniel grumbled, tossing his bow over his shoulder and kicking at one of the corpses in frustration as he caught up to her.

"Maker, Nathaniel! Did you just make a joke?" Elissa sputtered, covering her mouth to prevent her laughter from bubbling up uncontrolled.

"I used to be funny." Nathaniel answered, glaring at her.

"You were never funny." Elissa snorted, catching up to the others and kneeling down with Swiftrunner in the area that must have been where the hunters fell down.

"This is the area most recently disturbed." Swiftrunner noted, poking about at the entry cautiously. "It's sealed now though, we'll have to find another way in."

"Oooh, shiny!" Anders said, pulling up a silver charm on a leather cord from the dirt at his feet.

It looked so similar to the one that Nathaniel still wore around his neck, it made him bring his hand to his chest just to make sure it was still there. He saw Elissa's eyes flicker over to him, reading the gesture for what it was. He made no effort to hide it. If she knew he wore it still, then let her. He'd already laid all his cards out for her to see.

"It probably belongs to one of the hunters." Elissa said, swallowing at the thought that Nathaniel still wore the necklace she had given him years ago – and what that might mean. "Tuck it away for safe keeping until we make it back to Amaranthine."

Elissa turned them in the opposite direction after that, moving them cautiously along the haphazard planes of the newly revealed Deep Roads as they sought another entrance into the caverns below. She could sense a few darkspawn milling about nearby, and stopped them at an intersection long enough for her to peer around the corner and see what lay ahead.

What she saw filled her with fury. Three darkspawn had set upon a single dwarven woman, attempting to capture her and drag her down into the earth below.

"They've got a woman." Elissa hissed, turning back to the group with fear and darkness in her eyes. "Kill them or kill her. They are not, under any circumstances, allowed to take her alive!" she insisted, unsheathing her blades. "Am I understood?"

"Y-Yes ma'am." Anders stuttered, seeing there was no argument she would accept and trailing behind her with Nathaniel as she ran screaming down the incline beyond.

She murdered these particular darkspawn with prejudice, taking off limbs and huge chunks of their bodies in her anger – finally kneeling to help the shaken woman to her feet once they'd all been put down.

"Well… that was… close." The woman panted, holding Elissa's eyes as she reached down. "For a moment there I thought I was really about to join the Legion of the Dead."

"Are you alright?" Elissa asked, waving Anders over to inspect her for injuries.

"I might have cracked a rib, but it's hard to be sure." the woman answered with a grimace as Anders prodded at her side. "Everything hurts."

Elissa watched as Anders passed the waves of healing energy across her, knitting together any fractured bones and broken skin with his talented hands.

"Those tattoos are Legion." the woman said, tilting her chin up to the faint markings on the right half of Elissa's face.

"They are." Elissa admitted with a smile. "I spent some time with the Legion back in Orzammar. Kardol is a good friend of mine. Gave them to me as a parting gift."

"Then you're… by the Stone, you're the Hero of Ferelden!" the woman replied, beaming up at her now and pulling to her feet once Anders had finished. "So many questions! But, unfortunately I can't chat for long. I need to go back, as foolish as that sounds. I have to see if there is anything I can do."

"Is there a battle somewhere?" Elissa asked, knowing the Legion wouldn't have been sent for a simple excavation.

"The old fortress of Kal'Hirol." the woman replied, beginning to move further down the sloped plane of the collapsing tunnels. "There's something going on in there. We think the darkspawn are breeding an army."

"An army? But there's no Blight?" Nathaniel asked, raising an eyebrow then shifting uncomfortably when his voice drew a very inquisitive look from the pretty dwarf.

"It's true. That's why the Legion went in to investigate." the woman continued, smiling flirtatiously up at Nathaniel before it was lost behind sadness with the memory of where she had just been. "But… it proved too much for us. It was a massacre. I'm… I'm the only one left."

"How did you manage to get away?" Anders asked, shivering at the thought of being swarmed by those things miles beneath the earth.

"When I saw my friends being cut down… I-I I fought back at first, but then I realized they didn't want to kill me, they wanted to capture me. After that I got scared and just ran as fast as I could go." the woman explained, trying to shake off the shame and fear that welled up inside her.

"These darkspawn are different. They've evolved somehow, and if they've managed to decimate the Legion so effectively – they've also managed to advance their combat skills as well." Elissa said, drawing a half nod from the woman as they reached the bottom end of the slope. "We will come with you. Together we can avenge the Legion and clear those monsters out from below."

"What? Really?" the woman replied, shaking her head in confusion that a stranger – even someone like the Hero, would be interested in helping a lone dwarf on a suicide mission. "Did I mention that Kal'Hirol was a death trap? Why would you want to do this?"

"Consider it a favor to a sister of the Legion." Elissa smirked, winking at the woman. "Also, I'm a Grey Warden. Killing darkspawn is kind of what we do."

"Then let's not waste time, sister." The woman smiled, reaching out her hand. "I'm Sigrun, Kal'Hirol awaits and darkspawn – when left to themselves – get up to all sorts of nonsense."

Sigrun's presence couldn't have come at a better time as far as Elissa was concerned. Her addition to the group seemed to have lightened the atmosphere between them all considerably, and Elissa was constantly entertained by the tiny woman's attempts to woo Nathaniel.

"How do you stand living under all that rock?" Nathaniel asked, attempting to dissuade the cheeky woman's constant attempts to flirt with him though he genuinely enjoyed the pleasant conversation.

"I don't understand." Sigrun replied, perplexed by the notion that anyone would find it odd.

"Orzammar is under a mountain. Just thinking about the crushing weight of a mountain overhead makes me shudder." Nathaniel noted, watching the increasingly muck ridden floors with disgust as they moved deeper and deeper into the earth.

"Surfacers live in buildings, don't you?" Sigrun asked, shrugging at him. "If a building fell on you, wouldn't it make you just as dead?"

"That's an incredibly comforting thought, Sigrun. Thanks." Nathaniel quipped, a frown crossing his face when whatever Anders had been saying to Elissa sent her into peals of laughter up ahead of them.

"Cheer up; no one loves a grump." Sigrun replied, following his eyes and bumping her hip lightly just above his knee to try and jar him from his melancholia.

"For a dead woman you're remarkably perky." Nathaniel grumbled, barely managing to conceal his smile.

"I could be less perky if that's what you like." Sigrun winked, looking down to where his eyes still lay on Elissa's back. "The darkness of the Deep Roads has seeped into my soul. The world is dead, my heart is black. Alas. Woe. Woe!"

"Let's stick to perky." Nathaniel laughed, patting her shoulder as he increased their pace to catch up to the group.

Light filtered in through the last cracks in the chasm ceiling, and the group enjoyed their last looks at sunshine until they put whatever lay beneath them to rest and made it out to the surface once again. Elissa smirked at Nathaniel as Sigrun whizzed past them, chattering away to Anders in an attempt to get him to set nearby objects afire.

"What's that look for?" Nathaniel asked, watching her trying not to laugh at him as he fell in pace beside her.

"I think she fancies you." Elissa said, following his eyes ahead to Sigrun who tossed a wink back at him.

"She's not my type." Nathaniel replied, tipping his chin up at the happy dwarf in reply.

"That's a shame. I think she'd be fun for you." Elissa chuckled, genuinely believing the perky little woman capable of chipping away at Nathaniel's hard exterior given enough time.

"If you like her so much, perhaps you should have a go." Nathaniel said, sending Elissa's eyes flicking over to his – wondering if he somehow knew about her… dalliances with women in her youth.

"She's not my type either." Elissa replied, clearing her throat and realizing this had probably not been the best thing she'd ever chosen as a topic of conversation between them.

"What would be your type?" Nathaniel asked, his stormy gaze intense where it lingered on her face.

"Blonde." Was all she said, challenge in her eyes as she tensed up and stalked away from him.

"Touché." Nathaniel muttered, watching her back and knowing he'd brought that one on himself yet again.

The chasm got increasingly more narrow as they descended out of the range of the sun and down into the cavernous tunnels below. At the apex of what appeared to be the entry point to Kal'Hirol's outer edge – Sigrun suddenly dashed ahead of the group and came to kneel beside a body flung broken against the wall.

"It's Jukka. He's hurt… bad…" Sigrun grimaced, calling out to Elissa who dragged Anders along with her to check on the man.

"S-Sigrun…" Jukka muttered, grimacing as Anders prodded at his abdomen and what remained of his broken lower limbs.

"Yes, it's me." Sigrun assured him, patting his hand and trying not to see the subtle shake of Anders head as he met Elissa's eyes. "Be still and try not to talk…"

"It's alright… I feel my death upon me…" Jukka said, knowing what the others had already discerned. "It is a sweet release."

"No! We have bandages and a healer! We can help." Sigrun insisted, looking up at Elissa in silent plea.

"I'm sorry. His body is too badly damaged." Elissa explained, reaching over to take the shaken woman's hand and squeeze it softly. "Even if Anders managed to heal it, the taint would take him in time. There is nothing we can do."

"You must listen!" Jukka hissed, grasping against the pain in his side with one hand and reaching out to lay his other on Elissa's arm. "The Broodmothers… they are breeding. I saw the makings of an army. You must stop them! But… beware the Children!" The man groaned, coughing up a great spout of blood as his body began to fail him. "They are abominations even among the darkspawn!"

"What children? Whose children?" Sigrun asked, frantically trying to rouse the man as he lost himself to the wracking pain.

"Forgive me." Elissa said, looking over to Anders and watching him gently pry Sigrun away so that she could do what had to be done. She sobbed against Anders shoulder as Elissa slit the dying man's throat, holding him against her own arm until his last breaths had fallen silent.

"Ancestors look kindly on you, brother." Sigrun said, wiping tears away from her face as she stood.

"We need to finish what the Legion started." Elissa said, slamming her dagger back into the sheath on her thigh and turning her haunted eyes to the rest of the group. "The Broodmothers must be destroyed."

"I'm sorry. I'm certain that this is covered somewhere in the great manual of Grey Wardening… but what's a Broodmother?" Anders asked, watching the dark look that passed between Sigrun and Elissa.

Oghren started to mutter in dwarvish and sat on a nearby rock to drink from his flask before tossing it over to Elissa, knowing she would need it as well.

"Broodmothers are what happens to women who are taken by the horde." Elissa explained, drinking heavily from Oghren's flask and pressing her eyes closed against the memories of the last one she'd faced. "It's why you don't see women's bodies in the wreckage after an attack… why there are so few female Wardens… they take the women, alive."

"They take them alive to do what exactly?" Anders asked, watching her eyes pop back open and nearly staggering physically at the darkness he saw there.

"Force them to feed off their flesh. Rape them. Turn them into giant grotesque breeding machines for their armies." Elissa said, watching both Anders and Nathaniel turn away from her eyes. "The Chantry tells you a pretty little story about them simply becoming… and perhaps that's how it was in the beginning. But now, now they are made – by force." She continued, pacing and drinking – finally tossing the flask back to Oghren where he sat slumped against his rock next to Swiftrunner. "That is why I say to you now, these creatures are not to take myself or Sigrun alive. If it looks as though they will, you aim to kill us. I promise you, I will gut myself rather than be taken if it comes down to it."

She shared a pointed look with each of them before pressing forward down the path ahead and into the rapidly narrowing passage that lay beyond.

Nathaniel was almost grateful when the silence left in the wake of Elissa's revelation was broken by a swarm of darkspawn descending upon them. There was an Alpha among the group, and so Elissa focused their attention onto it first.

Two Shrieks popped up beside Nathaniel half way through the fight, but he reacted quickly and covered his ears – avoiding their stun and giving Anders time to paralyze them so that the archer could back away and take them down.

It was a relief to Elissa to see that the group was beginning to come together, to learn from their experiences and to fight as a cohesive unit rather than as individuals. It would make what lay ahead for them much easier.

Elissa started to note the appearance of tall cocoon like structures with increasing frequency the further down into the earth they moved, along with the slithering movements of worm like creatures barely visible in the lengthening shadows.

"Tell me you saw that." Nathaniel said, pacing himself just behind Elissa and Swiftrunner who were looking off in the same direction as he had been.

"I saw it." Elissa replied, and Swiftrunner nodded – his golden eyes continuing to study the area around them for any further signs of movement. "They've been here for awhile, watching from the shadows."

They ran into another small pack of darkspawn around the next bend, another Alpha leading a group of five or six drones. The company put them down quickly, anxious to move to a less open area where they could better evaluate the things that watched them from beyond the edges of their perception.

As they crossed the bridge over the waterfall pouring in from a spring somewhere above, Elissa drew Swiftrunner and Nathaniel's attention to another worm darting across the dark plane of the hill above them.

"What are they?" Nathaniel asked, watching Elissa shake her head.

"I've never seen anything like that before." Elissa answered. "Though, that looks about as close to a wormlike creature as I'm bound to imagine. I'd guess that's what the rumors Kristoff came in search of were referring to."

The group was so distracted by the new discovery, that they didn't see the ambush set for them at the top of the hill until it was too late – leaving them fighting against a swarming tide of a dozen drones and one Alpha while slightly off balance and unprepared.

Elissa followed her usual routine of seeking out the Alpha and leaving the others to be taken care of by her companions. She didn't notice the archers set on the hill ahead until an arrow penetrated her shoulder from behind, causing her to cry out in pain and drop one of her swords clattering to the ground.

"Nathaniel!" Elissa cried out, drawing his eye to where she struggled against the pain in her useless arm and the still living Alpha in front of her. "Take out the archers!"

He did as she asked, firing off three perfect shots into the heads of each of the creatures and watching them crumple to the ground before focusing on Elissa's target. She was already struggling under the pressing exhaustion of their long descent into the chasm and constant battles, so the wounded arm gave the Alpha a substantial advantage in the fight.

Though his contributions did not fell the beast, he certainly helped to keep Elissa from taking any more damage at its hands, as all she could do was brace herself against the brutal swings of its battleaxe until Swiftrunner finally made his way over and finished it off.

Elissa collapsed against a nearby stone pillar after that, Anders rushing over to her side and inspecting the damage while the others gathered in around them.

"Thank you." Elissa said, holding Nathaniel's eyes for a moment in the knowledge that he had most likely saved her life.

"Of course." Nathaniel replied, looking down to see the tip of the arrow that had penetrated all the way through her body and now protruded from her chest. It had gone in at an angle, narrowly missing a lung when it popped through the other side.

"We're going to have to get the arrow out if you want me to treat the wound without having to cut off your armor to get at it." Anders explained, watching the look she shared with Oghren communicate that she wanted his flask.

"Give me a second." Elissa said, catching it in her uninjured arm and taking a long drink then pouring a bit over the tip of the area and bracing herself for the pain. "Do it."

Swiftrunner shared a look with Anders, pressing the shaft of the arrow forward far enough that he could get his hand around the point and break it off – then sliding the whole thing out of her back and tossing it to the ground so that he could work at the straps of her breast plate.

She screamed through the pain, taking in long gasping breaths once it was done and laying back against Anders as Swiftrunner worked her armor loose and tossed it to the ground as well – giving the mage free access to her shoulder.

"There's a lot of scarring here." Anders said, eyes flickering up to Elissa's when he saw the remnants of old puncture wounds marring the skin of her upper chest. "You've taken arrows to the chest before."

"Three." Elissa nodded, taking another long pull from Oghren's flask and wincing when Anders prodded the wound again and shared a look with Nathaniel. "Stop with the concerned parent routine and just heal the gaping hole in my shoulder already."

Anders glared at her, but did as he was told – pulling a warming swell of healing magic into his palm and working the wound closed again.

"There, all better." Anders said, watching Elissa flex her arm around – folding and unfolding her fingers to make sure everything was working alright before standing to retrieve her belongings and moving through the archway behind him.

"The Legion got this far with no trouble." Sigrun sighed, following Elissa's eyes up the long staircase to the entryway above. "We got careless and complacent, and stormed the main entrance up those stairs."

"Didn't work out so well I assume." Elissa said, sharing a sad laugh with the woman.

"It was a disaster. The darkspawn were just waiting there on the other side." Sigrun explained, shivering when she thought back on it. "They turned the thaig's old defenses against us."

"Traps?" Elissa asked, remembering the obstacles Caridin had set for them back beneath Orzammar and wondering what the dwarves of Kal'Hirol had come up with.

"And more. Ancient dwarven ingenuity used by the very monsters it was intended to kill." Sigrun said, laughing again at the irony of the situation. "Whelp… it is what it is and we should learn from their mistake. We need to avoid the main door and find another way around."

"Are there side entrances?" Elissa said, eying the solid looking walls around them critically as she knew they'd passed no other tunnels on their way to where they now stood.

"Most of the old dwarven fortresses had side entrances." Sigrun explained, following Elissa's eyes and searching for signs of her own. "I'm sure this one does too, we'd just need to find it."

"Well… we're not likely to find anything tonight." Elissa sighed, unable to tell the time by anything other than the massive swell of exhaustion welling up inside her. "Let's make camp!" She called out, setting them all into motion.

An hour later everyone had settled in for the night, making as comfortable and easily defended a setup as they could manage in their current surroundings. Anders had cast a sleep spell on himself and passed out in his tent soon after and Swiftrunner paced the shadows at the edges of camp – scanning constantly for any sign of movement. Oghren and Sigrun sat near the fire trading insults.

Elissa stood out on the edge, looking down into the haunting landscape of the ruins below – lost in some far away thought. Nathaniel watched her for a long time, debating whether or not he should approach her after what had happened in her room the night before. The longer he watched, the more he felt drawn to her regardless of what his logical mind was telling him to be the better option.

"How's the shoulder?" Nathaniel asked, watching her eyes flicker over to his.

She'd never put her chest plate back on and the odd blue light in the caverns made the bare skin revealed by her chemise take on an ethereal glow giving her a distinctly otherworldly appeal.

"Sore but I'll survive." Elissa replied, pulling her eyes away as quickly as she'd given them to her and suddenly wishing she'd thought to replace her armor when she felt his eyes on her skin.

"Did you really take three arrows in the chest?" he said, the words popping out before he could stop them – knowing how stupid they sounded.

She turned, pulling the chemise aside so that he could see the scars and immediately regretting the motion when she saw him swallow against his desire.

"When did this happen?" Nathaniel asked, moving closer to her and reaching out his fingers to brush them lightly against the scarring on her skin.

"Tower of Ishal, back in Ostagar." Elissa replied, trying not to feel the electricity flowing from the light graze of his fingers against her chest and shoulder.

"That seems an odd spot to fight a battle…" he continued, watching the rapid increase in the rise and fall of her chest as her body reacted to his touch.

"We weren't a part of the battle." she answered, watching his eyes latch onto hers again – realizing the path he had unknowingly stumbled on to. "Alistair and I were sent to the tower to light the signal fire that was supposed to call in Loghain's reinforcements… but instead, he turned away with your father's men and left us all to die."

He pulled his hand away then, watching her retract back into herself and feeling the heavy weight of their past bearing down on them once again. He started to say something more, to apologize or encourage or make some effort to bridge the gap that was opening wider and wider every day – but suddenly the camp was flooded by the wormlike creatures that had been tracking them throughout the day.

Elissa and Nathaniel were left scrambling for their weapons as they were swarmed by the hideous monstrosities bearing down upon them. They barely managed to arm themselves in time to fight off the six or seven grouped around them and make it over to the others in the center of the camp.

"What are these things?" Sigrun said, panting as Swiftrunner dashed in from the shadows and finished off the last two.

"If I had to guess, I'd say these are the Children that Jukka was referring to." Elissa replied, sighing and then turning to look at the group. "We'll need to set up watch for the rest of the night. I'll take first with Swiftrunner. The rest of you turn in and sleep while you can. I'll wake you when it's time."

Everyone moved off, leaving Elissa to fall into a crouch – face covered in her hands. Nathaniel was a distraction. A distraction she could not afford, and one that could have easily cost someone their life.

"Elissa…" Nathaniel said, knowing what she was thinking even before she stood up to glare at him.

"Just leave me alone." Elissa whined, brushing past him and disappearing into the shadows in search of the wolf.