A/N: Sorry about the delay, I've been going through some personal stuff on this end that's leaving me without a lot of motivation. That being said, I'm gonna try to move past it for my lovely fans. Speaking of which…

Snowhelm, who could ever clip the wings of the infamous Jack Sparrow? Duncan give this wildling a pruning?! I hardly think so. Thanks for the support.

Xaiael, sorry about not keeping you guys in suspense, I was just too excited to get that chapter out :P Hopefully this delay is more to your liking

Pertypooper6, thank you very much for that, I aim to please.

So, this is the chapter where all those crappy tiny hints I've been leaving will jump out at you. That is, if I write this well enough. Which I probably won't. But this chapter contains a massive hint anyways.

Hope that you all enjoy what's coming next.

Chapter 7: And Darkness Descends on Ferelden

"We'll camp here for tonight," Duncan says quietly as we enter a small clearing in the forest with a small stream running through it. I hardly register the words before falling on my face, groaning in pleasure as my feet cry in relief. This body was not made for that much walking.

"Thank god," I mumble, face down in the dirt, which after such a long day feels amazingly comfortable. I hear Duncan laugh as he lays his pack on the ground. I hear him move off, probably to gather firewood. I sit up with a groan, sliding my pack off and lying against it. I stare dumbly at the ground for a few moments before getting up, hearing my bones click and pop into place as I yawn. I move off towards the stream and pick up a dozen large rocks. Moving near mine and Duncan's bags, I lay them in a ring before grabbing a few handfuls of dead leaves and such and placing them inside. That done, I wait for Duncan to return.

I've been on the road with Duncan for... 2? 2 months? Possibly. It's hard to remember when you don't have a calendar of some sort. Which means I've been in this world for roughly nine months. That hits me. I've been here for most of the year. Wow.

Just... wow.

Duncan returns, rousing me from my musings. He lays some of the logs into the flamepit and looks to me, arching an eyebrow. I sigh and raise and arm, causing Duncan to backtrack quickly.

"Abracadabra ," I say wearily as a fireball shoots from my palm. It catches in seconds, reducing most of the wood to flaming ashes as Duncan piles on most of the remaining logs, unafraid of quenching the mage-fire. That done, he moves towards his bag. I've gained a large degree of control over my fire starting now. But at times like this, where I can feel the marrow in my bones aching, I just couldn't care less.

We enjoy a quiet meal of bread, meat and cheese. I stare into the fire as I chomp on the doughy bread. Nine months... Time really flies when you're life sucks. After my failed execution, Duncan bundled me away from Denerim in case Cailan changed his mind. Apparently he's fickle like that. I was in no position to argue, having just accepted the King's shilling from Duncan.

I haven't gone through the Joining yet, much to my relief. Duncan says it's because he doesn't have the ingredients - such as Darkspawn blood, I imagine – to hand but I know the reasons. If I die, which is all too likely in that particular ritual, then Duncan loses the font of knowledge that I present. Essentially, I've very valuable so he's not going to risk my life until I spill the beans. Because he knows that Oracle stuff is bull, he doesn't trust me.

Yet.

Proof of this is the lack of horses. I could get very far away while he slept if I had a horse. And then there's the matter of weapons. I have none. Not even a knife to cut my cheese. I'm not trusted with anything that may be lethal or dangerous.

He doesn't talk to me when he doesn't have to. I suspect that the only reason that I'm not gagged and bound is that it's easier to lead someone to water rather than drag them. As long as I feel as though I'm co-operating, Duncan sees no need to manhandle me.

Which fills me with all sorts of warm feelings...

"Why don't you trust me?" I ask after... "dinner". I stare at Duncan across the fire. He stares into the embers and seems to ignore me. I'm about to ask again when he looks up.

"You killed innocent men," he says, with only the tiniest trace of anger. I don't see why he cares. It was self-defence. Besides, those guys were many things, innocent is not one of them. I sneer at the Warden.

"And I suppose Guy was oh-so-guilty?" I mock, anger burning in my eyes. Duncan's jaw tightens and his eyes narrow.

"Hold your tongue boy," he warns but I lean back, a smirk across my features.

"Or what? Is the big bad Warden gonna hold it for me. Maybe I'll stay silent then. I won't say another word. Let's let half a million die because you have a hissy fit. I've killed. Fine, that's detestable. Almost as detestable as a hypocrite. You killed Guy in an accident, but you were still trying to rob him. I killed in self-defence, because it was either me or them. So you can get the fuck off that high-horse you've got there. There's more honour in my first blood than yours."

I pant lightly after my little speech, filled with all my pent up emotion and frustration. Man, that feels good. Duncan sits a little wide eyed at my outburst. To be honest, I am as well a little.

"Honour?" Duncan echoes hollowly. "What honour is there is death? What honour in taking a life? Is that what stands for honour where you come from? Depriving a family of a father? A brother? A son? There is no honour in what we have done Sparrow. None at all. That's why we are cursed to this life. The Grey Wardens. Not White, pure. Grey. We have a duty to hold back the tide of darkness. Both within ourselves and without. That is our penance." His voice is low, so low I almost have to strain to hear. He stares into the fire intently, face slack and looking decades older. "Mages are locked in towers because there is a chance that they may become abominations. That they might kill. But what of us? We're killers Sparrow. We've shed the blood of others. We should be locked away, or worse. But we're not."

His eyes dart to mine and I'm caught in his gaze, unable to look away. They burn with a fierceness and determination that staggers me. "We can fight the darkness. We can drive it back. Because the darkness is within us. I don't mean the Taint. I mean the darkness in our very souls. It is a part of us and we part of it. It's what makes your sword-arm strong, your mage-fire bright. It's what causes death and war. It's how boys can murder men over a ring." His eyes cloud with shame for a moment and he looks away. And then he's back. "We can succumb to the darkness, become it's puppet, and become little more than a rabid dog that needs put down. Or we can rule it. Shape it. Mould it. Make it our sword. Make it our shield. Make it deadly. Make it bright. Make it the bane of any and all who stand in our way."

Duncan sighs and leans back as I sit there in a daze. Well that was unexpected. Guess he's not a fan of honour. And his words… those are powerful things. I'm… I can't think of anything to say. I'm stunned.

"So… you don't trust me because there's a darkness in me?" I question. He turns his head to me, his face blank. "And right now, you don't know how I'll be dealing with this darkness. If I'll rule it or if it'll rule me?" The corners of Duncan's mouth turn upwards for a second and he nods. He turns on his side, so his back is towards me and the fire. Conversation over.

Fuck that.

"You were given a chance you know. That's all I want, a chance, before you get with the stabbing," I say sullenly over the crackle of the fire.

"You're still alive aren't you," Duncan says quietly, with a hint of a smile in his voice.

I stay quiet after that.

We arrive at the mine soon after sunrise. Which is about an hours marching. I think that's called a league or something...

Anyway, we arrive at the mine soon after sunrise and I plant my arse on the ground outside. The mine is empty. Why the hell is it empty?

"Why is it empty," I ask tersely.

"What, did your vision not tell you of this?" Duncan mocks as he examines the entrance. My guess is the only people who've been in this place in years are kids on dares.

I growl angrily. "Not in the mood Duncan," I say. His words on the inner darkness troubled me last night. Is that what I'm becoming? Some mad dog? No, I'm trying to help. Amn't I? "Why is the mine empty, I thought there'd at least be darkspawn guarding it, maybe even a miner or two."

"This mine is said to be haunted. One day the entire workforce is supposed to have disappeared without a trace. Superstition dictates you don't go back. Not even the Arls gold would convince them. I suspect that children have entered it on more than one occasion," he says, crouching nearby and squinting into the darkness.

"Of course they have. Abandoned mine in the middle of the woods? This is like an ice cream van!" I say drily. I pat Duncan on the shoulder and he straightens. "So, sense anything?"

"Pardon? And what do you mean by that?" he asks, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Do you sense anything?" I ask again, slower. He looks at me in shock as I cock my head to the side and look at him. "I know you can sense the Taint in others. I was asking if you could sense anything down there?" I say in confusion. Then it hits me. That's a trade secret. I shouldn't know that. But I just smile and tap Duncan's head. "Oracle," I say with a smirk.

Duncan scowls imperiously. Then he closes his eyes and takes a breathe, frowning. "Nothing," he says, looking into the mine. Then at me. "Are you sure this is the right place?" he demands. I squint in annoyance. I've already told him that I don't expect the Architect for another 5 years.

"Why don't we look. The Architect has had non-Tainted allies before. Or he's not even been here yet. Either way, I'm not going in there," I say, leaning against the mouth of the entrance. Duncan glares at me.

"And why not? You lead us here. Your 'visions' are the entire reason we're here-" before he can continue I blurt out why.

"I wanna sword." Duncan pauses and looks at me incredulously. "We're about to go into a dark mine that we suspect may be filled with people working for the Architect. I want a sword to defend myself. I'm not walking into the lion's den without a weapon of some sort pally," I say stubbornly. Duncan looks at me, then the cave, then at me, eyes hardening.

I don't even see the strike, just the feeling of it smashing into my cheek, sweeping me off my feet and spinning me into the mine. I land on my back heavily but in seconds my hands are aflame, blue flames licking the ceiling as I glare hatefully at Duncan, who's unsheathed his swords.

"Now you have a weapon," he says calmly, despite the fact we both know that if I wanted it right now, he'd be ash before he knew it. "And we have a light. I can sense nothing with the Taint in this mine, but we will investigate regardless. If this turns out to be a trick or trap, then you will never leave this mine. Are we in understanding?" He lowers his blades to his sides, though still ready to strike I notice. I hesitate for a moment before lowering the flames, making them white and bright in one hand, extinguishing the other.

"The chances of finding anything are small. But okay. Let's go, Grey Warden," I say, turning towards the darkness. For a moment, I shiver. Then I sniff and press on.

"I have a deep sense of foreboding," I say quietly as we make our way through the tunnels. Behind me, Duncan remains quiet. I know why. This place is giving me a bad vibe. I mean for one, there's a weight in the air. Like… I don't know, like something's watching. It's really getting spooky. Then there's the feeling, like something terrible has happened here. My light is hardly making a dent in the dark, despite the fact that it's almost blinding me with its intensity.

I take another step and my foot crunches. Oh yeah, did I mention the bones?

Thousands of bones, some smaller than my eye, some as big as my legs. I see ribcages, skulls, legs… From all sorts of animals. And a few humans. Some are pretty small. I don't think they were adults. My stomach turns.

There's something very bad in this mine. I look back at Duncan, my face grim. He looks at me, face alert for anything. "I think we should get out of here," I murmur towards him. Before he can answer we both spin, turning to my right as I try to increase the intensity of my fire. What the hell was that? I definitely heard something move. I'd ask if he heard it, but Duncan turned quicker than I did. I'd take a step forward but I'm frozen with fear. There is something here and if I was a betting man – which I am – then I'd guess that it's the thing that made these skeletons. And we put ourselves on the menu.

There's a scrabbling, almost like a whisper, and a growl, almost like a shout.

Duncan and I recoil a step. Whatever this thing it, it sounds huge. And I doubt it's in a good mood.

"Fire?" I query, ignoring the shake in my voice.

"Fire," Duncan says, his voice steady, resolute. I throw my arm out and a fireball arcs through the air before colliding with something. Something very, very bad.

Long, spindly legs. Tall, about twice my size, but hunched, incredibly thin and small body compared to its head.

Ghostly pale face. Spiky forehead, like a crest of some sort. Serrated mouth that goes across it's whole mouth, filled with teeth that are more like pale stalactites and stalagmites. Six eyes, bottomless black eyes. I know it.

I know it sounds insane… TOO insane. And ith everything else that's happened this year, this is even more insane. Why should this be any different? But this is against the rules? This is the wrong place. This is the wrong world. How can it be here? And why now.

How has the Crawler come to Ferelden?!

The monster hisses, almost like it's laughing at us. I blink in shock. My fireball didn't collide with him. He stopped it! I see it now, hovering a foot away from him. The Crawler's eyes lock on me and then Duncan. They settle on me as my hands burst into fire once more. I sweep my arm towards the Crawler and a wave of fire is unleashed. A moment before it connects I see the Crawler vanish. Duncan slams into me as the two fire streams collide. Detonating.

The fire sweeps past tearing past us. We would've been obliterated instantly, even our ashes burning into nothing. It's quite impressive to know that's my power. That if it was my wish, I could turn this world to ash...

Shut up and concentrate, I tell myself.

For a second, I wonder how Duncan and me alive as I see the maelstrom of fire begin to dissipate. We should be crispy critters right now. Then I hear a buzzing noise. A familiar buzzing noise. I look and see a blue aura surrounding me and Duncan. I move off him and his aura disappears. I stand, staring at my hands, my legs… it's everywhere.

Is that... a shield? Did I conjure a shield?

Okay, what the fuck is going on. How...? I...?

What?

"How are you doing that?" Duncan asks, a trace of fear in his voice as he pants lightly. I'm panting heavily, exhaustion sweeping over me as the aura fades to nothing. I look at him, unsteady.

"I don't know… I just…" I shrug, making a fist. I feel a little stronger now. "We should get out of here," I say and this time he nods. We start making our way forwards, with me in the front. It's hard to see, the maelstrom of fire having left my vision blurred and green, like looking at the sun for too long.

After a minute of struggling to see, I come to a sudden stop, and Duncan almost barges into me. "What is it?" he asks, and I hear his leather armour creak as he raises his hands. "Is it back?"

Ahead of us I hear a low growling and see two small globes of light. The creature takes a step forward and I see a hairy black muzzle, snarling. It steps into the light and my breath hitches. "It's a wolf," I say quietly. Of course, it's not just a wolf. My mum had wolf dogs. This thing couldn't compare to them. It's huge, almost up to my chest. And I'd never recognise that vicious look in any of her dogs. Despite my terror, I hope to god it's the Alpha, the biggest and strongest. Because if there's a bigger one here…

The wolf snarls and I flinch, taking a step back, heart rate skyrocketing as my heart tries to jump from my chest. I want to throw my fire at it, but I know that if I stop looking in those eyes, those horrible yellow eyes… it'll pounce. And I'll die.

Behind it, I see more lights appear, more eyes shining in the light. "This is their den," I say quietly. Now, my only experience with wolves is the documentaries Mum would watch on them – which I usually ignored – and that movie with Liam Neeson "The Grey". So I know how screwed we are. We're in their den, their home. They're not going to let us get away with that. And if they have cubs here, then we're double dead.

"How many are there?" Duncan asks, voice clear but low. I shake my head. Too many to count, too many to fight. Even with my fire – and this mysterious shield – I doubt we'd be able to take them all, or enough to run. The only thing I can think of is to take down the Alpha, and hopefully the rest will scatter. But I doubt that'll work. These wolfs are big and mean, apex predators. And they've been living with the Crawler for god knows how long. They're not wild, they're his now. Which means that they obey him and his order is death.

"Duncan, you have to get back," I say. I can hear his head snap towards me. "I'll do what I did earlier, make an explosion. That should buy you some time. But you have to move now."

"No, you'll not-"

"No time to argue Warden. That thing's controlling them," I say, more bravado in my voice than I feel. I'm fighting the urge for my teeth to quake. "If we get out of here, I'll tell you everything. But right now, you have to run. And run fast Duncan. You're the only hope Ferelden has right now." The whole time, I keep my eyes on the alpha, watching for any sign of movement. The fear is fading now, determination taking its place. I don't know if I'm brave or stupid. I doubt Duncan does either. But he places a hand on my shoulder and squeezes, reassurance flooding my body.

"I'll wait for you outside," he says sternly, and I hear the order in his voice, before I hear him moving off, bones crunching under his feet. The alpha takes a step after him, but I light my other hand as a warning. It looks to me, growling so loudly I feel my chest vibrating along with it.

"Okay, listen up fuckwit. I don't know how you're here Crawler," I say into the darkness, still staring down the alpha. "And I don't especially care right now. You're not leaving this cave. You're not going to win here. Just like I know you didn't win in Albion. I killed you there as well. So this time, it's gonna be a piece of piss."

I take a step back to steady myself and the alpha lunges. The world seems to move in slow motion as it sails through the air towards me. I see my hands, moving faster than I'd expect, crashing together, and their flames colliding. The fires seem to warp, trying to burn each other. I can almost feel their chaotic energies trying to overcome the other. But there's too much power behind both and I just… let go.

And the world is filled with light.

So, that's that over with. Let me know what you think, and I'll try to be a little quicker next time.

Now review my precious fans! And fan the flames of creativity…

Or whatever it is fuelling this thing