Something warm and soft pressed against her back, embraced her giving her a sense of safety she had not felt in weeks. She didn't want to wake up and lose the feeling, she wanted to stay here in the darkness where it was silent and she didn't remember. She was comfortable here in the back of her mind lost in that place between sleep and awake. There were no dreams, no song, no whispers she almost understood. It was how it should be, dreamless and silent. How it was before she was a Warden when she was a real dwarf. Yes she wanted to stay here and not remember the horror of the human world where she was no more then casteless filth, where she was forced to dream of monsters and demons like some human peasant.

She heard a small noise as something shifted against her back sending a puff of air over her neck. Her eyes flew open as her hand reached for a dagger that wasn't there. She looked down and saw a tattooed tan arm wrapped around her midsection and she couldn't help but smile. Carefully she pried the hand off of her and pushed it away causing the sleeping elf to roll away from her with an annoyed sleepy mumble. She sat up with a groan and closed her eyes pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead. Her whole body throbbed and ached, demanding more rest and a hot bath.

"The painted elf has not left it's side since the swamp witch forced it to sleep. It seems odd that the painted elf would be so concerned for IT after all the complaining and arguing over the last few weeks."

"I've been told it's called human nature." Nahalanee said softly as she forced herself to her feet. "But seeing as he or I are not humans it would make no sense." She hissed in pain as she straightened her back, every muscle and joint screamed at her as she stretched her back and arms.

"I call it squishy nature, you have an odd way of showing what you people call love."

"I don't know what your talking about." Nahalanee said softly as she rubbed her temples. She had a headache that could split stone, but at least for the moment her mind was her own again. She heard nothing of the whispers and voices that had haunted her every thought, thank the ancestors for small favors.

"Right, and I am made of water."

Nahalanee sighed as she walked over to where Shale was standing watch and leaned against the tunnel's cold stone wall. "He is a Crow and I am a Warden. There can be no true love between us, no happy endings." She let her body slide down the wall into a sitting position with another soft sigh. The cool stone felt good against her back and she wondered if she might not be coming down with some sickness.

"IT'S tone suggests IT wishes otherwise."

Nahalanee scoffed as she pulled her knees to her chest and looked over at the sleeping blonde. "Zevran is cold and heartless, incapable of love. He made that perfectly clear a long time ago."

"Then why would the painted elf remain at IT'S side and show such concern?"

Nahalanee laughed. "Without us he is alone against a guild of assassins. I am nothing more then a late night distraction and a shield to protect him from the crows wrath. I will never be anything more then that to him." There was a sadness in her voice as she spoke her eyes focused on the dirty golden locks of the sleeping elf.

"Then why not just send the crow away and save IT the trouble of having to fight the other birds?"

Nahalanee chuckled softly at Shale's words. The golem was the only one she knew who could make the word bird sound so vulgar and distasteful, like a filthy curse rather then a word for a winged animal. She looked over at the sleeping Antivan again and sighed, Why not just end him away? She had asked herself that question and a dozen more a hundred times, always the answer was the same. Why had she not send him away? Why had she released him from his Oath? Why did she protect him? Why did she let him sleep in her tent? Why did she let him stay when she knew he would leave the moment his freedom was secured?

She rested her cheek on her knee as she looked over at Shale, the dim glow of her eyes making it hard to see the sadness that dwelled within them. "Because I love him." She said softly and smiled. "But let's just keep that between us."

Shale scoffed "IT has suffered to many blows to the head."

Nahalanee laughed and pushed a lock of grime matted hair from her face. "Indeed Shale, indeed."

As the two continued to talk, the Antivan who had been awake for some time closed his eyes tightly trying to push the words he had heard from his mind as unshed tears stung the back of his eyelids.

..~~

She let her mind wander as she shuffled down the tunnel, she had sensed no darkspawn in quite some time which was both comforting and disturbing. But what was more disturbing was this brood mother and the means on how she came to be. Would a Paragon of Orzammar really fall so far as to turn against her own kin in such a way? It was understood that she was indeed still alive, how was beyond her but.

Her mind switched back to the brood mother, the horrid monstrosity that was once a dwarven woman. Did the Wardens know what happened to the women they sent away during their calling? Was this the future she had to look forward too? Her whole childhood had been about fighting darkspawn, oh how she looked up to the Wardens. Had she but known joining the wardens would lead down this road of nightmares and monsters maybe...But would it really had changed her mind? It was the duty of all nobles and royals to fight the darkspawn.

She shuddered slightly at the thought of all the women in the warrior caste that had been lost to the deep, of all her cousins. Did they all become Dark mothers, forced to eat the meat of the exiled and the darkspawn?

"It would figure the Aeducan's would send their own princess to find me."

Nahalanee's head snapped up at the unfamiliar voice and came face to face with a crazed looking dwarven woman.

"Paragon Branka." She said softly.

Branka grinned down from her perch on the small cliff. Nahalanee hadn't even noticed they exited the tunnel into a small cavern of sorts. She gave a quick look around, it didn't look natural the paths that were carved through the rock.

"Branka is that you? Well shave my nug and call me a..."

"Shut up Oghren. What are you even doing here, I told you not to follow me." She said cutting off the warrior. "What do you want Princess?"

"Paragon, you are needed in Orzammar. The throne..." She was cut off by the most vile sounding laugh she had ever heard from a dwarf.

"So your father is dead and you seek to take his throne is that it? Did you kill your brother to become next in line? Or did the Deshyrs turn on Trian?"

"Trian is dead by my hand yes, but it was not for the throne." She stared up at the woman and tilted her head to one side. "Why would you do this to your own House Paragon?" Her voice took on a rather disgusted tone.

"I needed bodies to test the traps, and my house turned against me. They pledged their lives to this and then turned against me when the risk became to much for them. I would not allow them to hinder my plans. And now here you are ruining my hard work. Well Aeducan I hope you are as tough as they say you are."

The sound of metal sliding against rock echoed through the cavern as a metal sheet slid into place blocking their way out.

"Who do you think you are?" Nahalanee yelled suddenly, her anger beginning to surface.

"I am your Paragon." Branka said as she turned and walked out of sight.

Nahalanee bit the inside of her mouth to keep from yelling out. Branka was indeed her Paragon and the Paragons demanded respect, no matter how crazy they were.

"She is not your paragon. You are not a true dwarf anymore, no?" Zevran said in a soft tone that lacked any sort of emotion. Had his voice taken on any other tone she might have snapped.

"You're right." Nahalanee said softly and headed down the path, her golden eyes showing the first hints that darkspawn were nearby. Branka was not her Paragon anymore, she was nothing but a traitor and an ally of the Darkspawn. Nahalanee would see she was treated as such the very moment she had a chance.

"So you have anything knew to report, or are we going to sit here talking about feelings that don't exist."

Shale was far from stupid and had heard the hesitation in Nahalanee's voice, but shale also knew now was not the time to egg on the dwarf while it was in so much pain.

"I have seen things that make no sense but also a great deal of sense. If I see correctly, I remember traps, trials set in place to hide something of power."

"Trials? Like booby traps.. Riddles?" She was thinking of the dragon mountain with the urn.

"Something like that. Poison and anvils I do not know where or what it pertains to. However if I had to guess I would say it had something to do with getting to this Anvil you are obsessed over."

"I am not obsessed with the anvil. I need the dwarven army to defeat urthemiel." She said in a voice that was almost to low for Shale to hear.

"Who?"

Nahalanee shook her head and winced. "The arch demon."

"What does it hear when it does that?"

"A voice. Shale have you ever wondered what happens when a warden's time is up?"

"I do not wonder over such things."

"I always thought when the time would come I would die alone to the darkspawn. But... How many countless female wardens and dwarves have come down here and..."

"Tis not wise to dwell on such matters." Morrigan said sleepily as she slowly rose to her feet. "Not until your time comes anyway."

"I would rather fall on my own blade then suffer... that."

"Tis always an option." Morrigan said dismissively.

"Now if you are rested enough, I suggest we press on. We are running low on supplies and it would do us no good to linger." she said as she kicked awake the antivan.

"Right." Nahalanee said softly as she slid her daggers into their sheaths.

"Are you ok my warden?" Zevran brushed a matted section of hair from her face and brushed a thumb over her scarred cheek.

"I'm fine, thank you." She said and gave a forced smile before turning away. It seemed a bit rude, but she was in no mood for him. A piece of her swore she had heard something in his tone, but it was easily buried under the sound that was rising in the back of her skull again.

It took them nearly ten hours to find what they were surching for, and it was NOT what they had expected.