Takes place literally after chp 9.. :P

..*~*..

"we're here." Alistair said from behind them cutting of shale.

Nahalanee looked up, just ahead of them was the entrance to Orzammar. She stopped in the center of what looked like a makeshift market, many different merchants were standing around trading and chatting about this and that.

She stood there for a long time and when it was apparent she was not in a hurry to enter, most of her party dispersed, heading to the merchants to trade or find out information that might be vital. Alistair was the only one to stay behind. He approached the dwarf and frowned. The look on her face was not the one he was expecting. He had expected sadness, or anger, not confused wonder.

"Its... small!" She said in a low voice as she stared up and the mountain.

"What is?" Alistair now confused himself.

"the mountain, goofy! What else would I talk about."

Alistair turned and looked up at the peak before them. "Umm." he was at a loss for words.. A mountain small?

Nahalanee catching the confusion just laughed. "When we get inside, you will see." She had never seen the outside of Orzammar, never realized the true scale of her home before. No way this one small peak harbored the whole of the city.

"Ali?"

"Hmm?"

"You know there is a chance I will die here, either at the door or in my sleep. I am not welcome here. Warden or not."

Alistair nodded, he had been worried about it too. "We won't let that happen, can't let my sister die now can we. Are you Ok?"

Nahalanee smiled, a forced smile that didn't reach her eyes but she nodded. "I'm fine. Lets go." She grabbed Alistair by the arm and pulled him along toward the heavy iron doors.

"I said no, human! Until the throne is settled NONE will enter. I don't care who you claim to be!"They heard the gate captain yell.

Nahalanee froze for a second at the guards words then approached. "Settle the throne?" She blurted out.

"The king is dead and the Assembly is deadlo... Exile?"

Nahalanee ignored the name. "Then it is true, my father is dead?"

"That is right, kinslayer."

"Kinslayer? Oh your not getting in." The human that had been arguing with the guard chimed in and she heard Alistair suck in his breath behind her.

"If you value your ability to speak I suggest you watch your tongue, human lest I rip it out of your head."

The guard chuckled, he remembered the fire in the Aeducan princess and was almost glad to see it had not been dampened.

Nahalanee turned back to the guard. "I need to speak with the Assembly, there is a blight and I require the aid of our... your armies." She held out a scroll for the guard.

The guard took the scroll and read over it, then nodded. "This treaty is legitimate, but I am afraid you will not find much help here until the throne is settled you know that, Warden." The guard handed back the scroll, Nahalanee was relieved to hear him call her warden instead of exile.

"I have to try anyway. You know as well as I do, this is NOT just a surface problem."

"Wait no!" The forgotten human chimed in again. " The wardens killed the king, and she is an exile you said it yourself! She is a kinslayer, I demand her head! I will not..."

He was so wrapped up in yelling at the guard he was unaware of Nahalanee's movements until a blade materialized in the small gap between the armor under his arm. He looked down at the blade then at Nahalanee with a look of utter disbelief.

"I TOLD you not to call me that, human." Nahalanee growled and pushed the blade upwards as far as she could, the height difference making it a rather odd and almost comical looking gesture.

She pulled the blade out of the mans side as he slumped to the ground and Nahalanee could only smirk as he died with a stupid confused grin on his face. As the other two humans that had accompanied the speaker moved, the assassin materialized behind them had only a second to feel the blades slide into the back of their necks.

"really warden, you should not pick fights without me. I cannot bear to think you having all the fun and leaving none for me." The blades made a wet sickly sound as the bodies fell to the ground dislodging the blades. "And I do love to watch when you get that fire in your eyes." He winked as he wiped his blades clean.

Nahalanee chuckled as she wiped her own blade and turned back to the guard who was just watching, a slight amused grin on his face.

"sorry." She mumbled.

"You have not changed one bit lady Warden. You and your companions are free to enter Orzammar." He stepped aside as the grand iron gates were pushed open by several dwarven guards.

"Thank you, Grimmol." she bowed slightly to the man and entered, the smell of stone and steel hit her like a hammer and she couldn't help but smile.

"Now I know why you thought the mountain was small." Alistair gasped as he looked around. "this place is.. huge!" He leaned over the thick stone barrier and stared down into the never ending pool of molten rock. Nahalanee had a brief image of the man tumbling over.

"Alistair come here." She waited for him to rejoin." Ok I need to go … make some inquiries. Diamond quarter, is that way." She pointed to her right. "Dust town is that way, don't go there especially YOU Zev. And the proving is across the bridge ahead. Don't bother with that either. Don't get to lost and try not to get killed."

She ran off before any of them could say a word leaving her companions staring at each other in confusion.

Nahalanee ran to the diamond quarter then began to walk as she took in the sights of her old home. Of course nothing had changed, but that didn't stop the homesickness she suddenly felt welling up inside her.

"Nahalanee?" She heard a voice say from behind her. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned.

Nerav Helmi?" She raised an eyebrow as she stared at the noble who had called her.

"Nahalanee! Your alive, we all thought you dead! How did you survive?" The woman grabbed Nahalanee and hugged her, she hugged the woman back.

"Ran into the Grey Wardens in the deep roads, they rescued me and recruited me. Now I'm here to ask for the army with my Senior grey warden. How have you been?" She knew the answer was vague and perhaps a little rude.

"I've been Ok I miss your brother, and I've been staying home a lot. Since your father died it has not been safe around here." She sighed softly and slowly began to walk. Nahalanee kept pace.

"So tell me, whats been going on? I heard something about Harrowmont trying to take the throne?"

She walked with Lady Helmi up to her estate listening to the news, the rumors surrounding her exile and Trian's death. Rumors from both sides about her father died, the deadlocked Assembly and the deshyrs. Then they went onto lighter news, Helmi told her about the new babe born in house helmi, Nahalanee told her about the surface.

"Is it true, there is no caste up there?"

"It's true, there are poor and nobles, but they are all men. I wouldn't say it's equal, they treat elves badly, but I think even they have it better then the dusters."

"And..." she hesitated.

"What?"

"Do you really fall into the sky if you lose your stone sense?" Nahalanee laughed despite herself.

"No, if that was the case there would be no dwarves on the surface. Most of them have forgotten their ancestors and worship the human god the maker because some woman named andersay or something heard voices." Oh how she hated saying human names sometimes. "But no you don't really fall into the sky although I have to admit it made me nauseous for awhile. Everything up there so big and, open! And yet their houses are so small. It's strange." She thought a moment. "And they don't have paragons."

"Really? How can they not have paragons?" She shook her head.

"Don't know, just a woman they call a prophet who swears she heard a voice telling her magic is bad. And that everyone should worship some god they have never seen, and who apparently abandoned them." She laughed. She knew it was a bad and confusing explanation but an accurate one none the less.

They reached the Helmi estate and Nerav turned to Nahalanee."Well I hope you support Harrowmont, your father saw that Bhelen would be a bad ruler."

"You know the Assembly wanted me to rule at one point." She said with a small smile. It was true though she had spoken with Duncan about her being a Warden. Funny how things work out.

"And I am sure many regret their decision to exile you. Good luck Nahalanee, I am going to lock myself in until the streets are safe." They hugged again and parted ways.

Nahalanee smiled as she hurried to the shaperate. She had some questions that needed answering before she hunted down her companions, and if anyone had the information she needed, it was the Lord Shaper.

"When I last walked this hall, Endrin was king and Orzammar was at peace. The memories often speak of the swiftness with which change overtakes us, but it is different to see it first hand." Czibor mumbled then straightened up. "Forgive me, Warden. I should not burden a stranger with such thoughts. I am Czibor, the Shaper of memories."

Nahalanee frowned. "I am no stranger to Orzammar my Lord shaper." She said in a low voice. He had called her stranger, the man who she would run to for old stories all the time as a youngen.

"Your exile is written in the Memories, Warden. I am sorry, but Orzammar cannot be your home, nor I your shaper... We must obey the ancestors rules." Czibor responded, a slight sadness in his eyes as he did.

Nahalanee stood a moment regaining her thoughts, those words had hurt more then she would have expected. But he was right, the ancestors' demanded she be forgotten.

"Lord Shaper, I have come to speak to you about this deadlock. My senior Warden and I must acquire the armies for a blight." She showed the shaper the treaty, he nodded.

They spoke a great length about several things, mostly the Assembly, the battle for the throne, she even found out her brother Bhelen was going to marry a castless. This shocked even her. And she had established that Alistair was the leader of her rag tag group. Better they think he led while in Orzammar, she thought.

She was about to dismiss herself when she heard the heavy stone feet of a golem behind her and she turned with a smile. "Shale. What are you doing here?"

That warden Alistair demanded we find it. It has been gone to long apparently." Shale grumbled.

"This golem is yours?" The shaper asked.

"I hold it's control rod yes, but Shale is special.. It is it's own."

"Indeed." The golem chimed in.

"It's small for a golem but it is definitely one of the old war golems." The shaper was very interested in shale and began circling it.

"Does it always speak about others when they are standing right in front of it?"Shale said a little annoyed at the old dwarf.

"we would pay a hefty sum for this golem. We are always in need." He seemed to not hear Shale, or simply ignore it.

"I'd sooner jump int of pit of lava." Shale said causing Nahalanee to giggle.

"See? I told you. Shale is one of a kind. Are any of our golems so... weird?"

The shaper smiled. "No. And it's unfortunate it won't stay. Oh well.. was there anything else?"

"No my lord shaper, I should return to my Senior Warden before he has all of Orzammar looking for me."

The shaper nodded, smiled and turned back to his book. Nahalanee and shale left.

"It told the shaper the other was it's senior, but it is obviously the leader. Why did it lie?" Shale asked.

"I was exiled Shale, the people here do not like me. I figure it will be easier to get things done if they think Alistair is in charge. Not a kinslayer who has come back demanding armies."

"Hmmm."

They walked in silence across the diamond quarter and back down to the commons. Shale had gotten many stares, and even a few of the younger noble children decided to follow them until the reached the iron doors.

"There you are! I thought you had gotten lost!" Alistair pipped in.

"Sorry." Nahalanee grinned. Gotten lost, in Orzammar. Snort.

"Alistair, I am sorry to say, but you need to take the reins on this one. The dwarves need to think you are the boss." She giggled as his face twisted in a rather comical look.

"Me? Seriously?"

"Only on the outside." She heard the words of the shaper again and shuddered. "I am nothing more then a forgotten memory here. Exiled for killing the next king. But don't worry I will right there telling you what to say. " She grinned.

"Ok lets get this over with." She said as the rest of her party arrived, she lead them back to the diamond quarter and toward the Assembly

Dwarven politics she thought to herself and smiled.