A/N: A new chapter, on time even! Again out of necessity, this one is fairly DA plot heavy, but I tried to add sprinkles of originality in there. I also tried not to go into great detail when going through the temple, but still wanted to follow through it a little bit. I hope you guys like!

Thanks as always go to those who have read, favorited, and followed the story. It's awesome knowing that you're all enjoying this so far!

Special thanks go to dude41, KaeliRed, Valtharia, and Triple T 123 for their awesome reviews, I really appreciate it! Since this seemed to work nicely last time: PLEASE REVIEW! It is hugely motivating to get reviews and totally makes my day, so please let me know what you think, even if it's just a few words! Or PM me if you don't want everyone else to read what you have to say. Anyway, read onward and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own DA, its characters, or the dialogue from the game. Do own Ayla and everything else.

Chapter 25: The Dragon Cult

Aedan dropped back to stand at her side as they gathered in the store, having obviously overheard her sigh, and the fact that Striker was giving out a low, rumbling growl. "Something the matter, Ayla?" he whispered.

"Another dead body," she answered in a low voice.

His eyebrows shot up as he glanced over at the shopkeeper, who was arranging potions behind his counter. "Are you serious?"

She nodded. "I'm afraid I am. It's in the back room again." She indicated the open archway in the back right corner of the room they were currently in, at the far end of the counter. The rest of the room was bare except for the shelves and barrels along the walls that held the store's wares.

"Great," he muttered. "It couldn't just be a simple matter of finding the village and finding the Urn; no, there had to be a dead body involved." He shook his head and started toward the back room with a determined stride.

Ayla and the others watched as the shopkeeper, suddenly realizing where Aedan was headed, ran out from behind the counter. "What are you doing? That's private!"

Aedan stopped a few feet from the door and turned to face the man. "Why? What are you hiding?"

The man scowled in reply, darting an anxious glance at the open doorway behind Aedan. "I don't see how that is any of your concern."

Aedan regarded the shopkeeper for a moment longer before responding, "I'm afraid I have to insist on making it my concern."

"No!" the man shouted, a crazed look crossing his face. "You have no right!" Out of nowhere, he swung his fist at Aedan, who dodged the blow easily in spite of the obvious shock written on his face.

This didn't stop the shopkeeper, however; he continued to swing and relentlessly try to attack Aedan, although he was unarmed and wearing only rough homespun clothing. Ayla was frozen in shock and surprise that the man would actually try to attack a party of six armed people single-handedly with no weapons and no magic; the look on everybody else's face indicated they were equally floored. Striker was growling, but had no move to attack yet, not seeming to believe his master was in serious danger.

Aedan was the first to recover, as the shopkeeper finally landed a punch to his face, making him stagger back a few steps. He unsheathed his sword and ran the man through; he stopped dead, gurgling as blood spilled out of him, before he slumped to his knees and fell backwards, sliding off Aedan's sword.

"What were you thinking?!" Alistair exclaimed in shock, crossing the room as Aedan cleaned his sword off. "He wasn't armed!"

Aedan fixed Alistair with an impassive look as he sheathed his sword. "Nor did he look like he planned on stopping anytime soon. I couldn't take the risk that he would find a weapon or alert the rest of the village to arm themselves and attack us."

"But –" Leliana began.

"He's right," Ayla cut her off. "It wasn't like in Redcliffe, where the soldiers and Teagan were possessed, and we could just render them unconscious and they'd be on our side when they woke up again. If we knocked this man out, he'd come to and organize an attack on us. It was far too risky to leave him."

"I suppose that you have a point," Leliana murmured. "I still do not like it." Alistair looked disturbed as well, looking back and forth between her and Aedan, but not saying anything further.

"Still, 'twas a remarkably foolish thing to do," Morrigan commented. "I do not see how he could have expected any other outcome when he attacked."

"He looked crazed; I doubt he was thinking straight," Aedan said as he moved towards the back room again. "Let's see this dead body he was hiding."

They followed Aedan through the open doorway into the back room, which was a long, empty space stacked with barrels, boxes, and various other supplies. Just like at Brother Genitivi's, there was a dead body lying in the corner, with no attempt to cover it or hide it. It did not smell quite as strong as the other one had, but Ayla hung back anyway, not wanting to test her stomach.

"This armor . . ." Alistair said slowly as he and Aedan leaned over the body, examining it. "This man was a knight from Redcliffe."

Aedan straightened up, frowning. "Looks like we weren't the only ones to follow clues here. But where is Brother Genitivi?"

"Another excellent question would be why they find it so difficult to dispose of a body," Zevran remarked. "It is not a difficult task, especially if you are in a village in the mountains."

"Well, it will be for us this time." Aedan glanced down at the body. "We'll have to leave this here. Let's take what supplies we can carry before we go up to the Chantry and talk to that Father Eirik. I think it's time we got some real answers about just what is going on here."

They went back out into the main room and began rooting through the barrels, finding all the health and lyrium potions that they could and storing them in their packs, as well as any herbs or ingredients that Morrigan could use to make more. They also took all the food that they could find. They were nearly finished up when Alistair suddenly looked towards the door. "Someone is casting magic out there."

Ayla looked towards the door, too, straining her ears to try to hear what was going on. She was able to pick up the faint sound of swords clashing as well. "There's definitely a battle going on out there; I can hear weapons."

Aedan stuffed more food in his pack before slinging it over his shoulder and heading for the door. "Wynne and Sten are still out there; let's go."

They all followed him out the door. As soon as they got outside, they spotted Wynne and Sten fighting off two of the villagers several yards away from the door. More villagers appeared from every direction as they left the shop, some armed for battle like the guard they'd seen at the entrance, but some not armed at all. The villagers streamed towards them to attack, similar crazed looks on their faces as the one the shopkeeper had worn.

"Well, I guess there will be no sneaking through the village unnoticed now," Aedan said with a shrug as he drew his sword. "It appears we have no choice but to fight back."

They all drew their weapons and launched into the fight. Ayla noticed that Alistair went towards the armed villagers first, and she quickly moved to take up a position at his back, having the feeling that he wouldn't defend himself properly against the other villagers. Leliana, too, though she was firing arrows with her usual accuracy, was only aiming at the armed villagers. Morrigan and Zevran, however, obviously had no such qualms, dispatching anyone who came near them, as did Aedan.

Ayla stayed at Alistair's back, and took down anyone who came near him, even the unarmed villagers, as their party fought its way through the crazed bunch. Even the ones without weapons seemed unnaturally strong, and Ayla noticed that something smelled off about their blood that she couldn't quite place as more of it spilled on the ground. However, their party was able to succeed in eliminating all of them without serious injuries.

Ayla ran her sword through the last villager that approached her, taking him down unmercifully in spite of his lack of weaponry or armor. As the villager fell and she sheathed her swords, she turned to find Alistair watching her. "Ayla . . ." he began, shaking his head as if he didn't know what to say.

She approached him, stopping in front of him with her hands on her hips. "I will not take the chance that any of them would come back later and harm us." Harm you, came unbidden to her mind as her greatest concern, but she didn't say it. She only met his eyes, pleading with him silently to understand.

He searched her face, a faint look of – what? disapproval? disappointment? coloring his face before he nodded at last in acceptance. "If that's what you feel is necessary," he said at last.

"I do," she replied firmly. "They killed at least two people that we know of for no other reason than to cover up where this Genitivi fellow is. Who knows how many more people they have killed? And they were completely ready to kill us."

"Speaking of that, why did they suddenly attack us?" Aedan asked as he approached them, the rest of the party gathering around. "Did they somehow know we killed the shopkeeper without even seeing it?"

"I do not know what happened," Wynne responded. "Sten and I were heading up the hill to rejoin you all when villagers suddenly started attacking us without warning. We had no idea what prompted them to attack."

"There is something unusual about them," Zevran agreed. "They are stronger than the average opponent that we face."

"There is something off about the smell of their blood as well," Ayla offered, looking at Aedan. "I don't know what it is, but it's not normal."

"Hmm." Aedan studied the bodies lying around them before he shrugged. "We won't find anything out here. Let us go confront this Father Eirik, see what he knows. He must still be in the Chantry."

So saying, he headed up the path next to the shop, a steep, rocky path that wound its way up the hill between wooden arches set with torches. The others followed him up the steep climb. A group of about another half a dozen villagers, these ones all armed, raced to attack them as they neared the top, but were quickly taken care of.

When they reached the top, it levelled out onto a flat surface where a single building sat, a one story structure that was a combination of wood and stone, with a roof constructed of ornate woodwork that came to a peak at the top. It was surrounded by pine trees and backed by a mountain, and a light layer of snow lay on the ground around it. Ayla shuddered from the increasing cold as the wind swirled more snow around them. She could hear the sounds of many voices chanting in unison as they stopped just outside the building. "Sounds like the rest of the village is in here," she whispered to Aedan.

"One of them is a fairly powerful mage," Alistair added.

"All right, everyone be prepared for battle," Aedan murmured. "Morrigan, Wynne, try to shield us from spells if you can."

He pushed open the large wooden doors, strolling through first, everyone else close behind him, tense and readied for a fight. There were about a dozen villagers inside with their backs to them, half of them armed for battle, half not. An older man with greying hair and a beard, wielding a staff, obviously the mage Alistair had referred to, was preaching to them at the opposite end of the Chantry from where they entered, standing in front of a wooden table.

The walls and floor were made of stone, with a red carpet covering the middle of the floor. The walls around them as they made their way into the building were lined with tapestries, tables and chairs, and bookcases filled with books and scrolls. An open archway was on the left side of the room across from the priest. As they approached with Aedan in the lead, the villagers parted to let them by. The priest, who must have been Father Eirik, stopped his sermon, his eyes narrowed on Aedan as he stopped a few feet away, before saying, "Ah . . . welcome. I heard we had a visitor wandering about the village. I trust you've enjoyed your time in Haven so far?"

Aedan snorted, folding his arms as he stared the Father down. "We've found the dead bodies your villagers were so carelessly hiding, and been attacked on our way up here. We are well past pretending this village is normal."

Father Eirik glared at Aedan in turn. "Perhaps, but staying hidden means staying protected – and we must protect Haven and our charges at all costs. We don't owe you any explanations for our actions." He turned to the villagers, raising his voice. "We have a sacred duty; failure to protect Her would be a greater sin. All will be forgiven." He nodded at the villagers, before a burst of magic came from him.

Morrigan and Wynne had been prepared; the magic was halted by the defensive shield they'd thrown up around the party. Ayla and the others immediately moved into action, drawing their weapons even as the villagers moved forward to attack them, and Eirik went about casting another spell.

Alistair and Aedan focused their attacks on Eirik, keeping him busy, while Morrigan and Wynne cast supporting and attacking spells as needed, and Ayla and the others fought off the villagers. Some of the unarmed ones had fled, but the majority stayed behind, particularly the armed ones. Though they were, as Zevran had pointed out, unnaturally strong, they didn't have the experience in battle needed to make proper use of it. As such, it wasn't long before Ayla and the others were victorious over them.

Ayla turned back to check on Alistair. Aedan had just dodged out of the way of a lightning bolt, and while Eirik's attention was focused on him, Alistair ran the man through before following up with a finishing blow. With a pained grunt, the elderly mage dropped to the ground. "Well, I suppose that's that," Aedan said as he scanned the room for any further threats. "We didn't get any useful information out of him; let's check to see if we can find anything in here."

The party split up and began to check around the room and through the open doorway for any information on the Urn or Genitivi. While Ayla was checking one of the bookcases over on the right side of the room, she thought she could hear a cry of pain from behind the wall. She glanced at the stone wall, then across the room. The open archway on the left side of the room that led into another area was directly across from here. Did that mean there was a similar room hidden behind this wall?

"Zevran!" she called out to the elf, who was looting his way through the bodies and boxes in the room. "Can you come over here?"

"For you, my dear? Anything," Zevran replied, winking at her as he came over to her. Ayla bit back an amused smile as she noticed Alistair glaring a hole into the elf's back from across the room.

"What do you wish?" Zevran asked, stopping next to her.

"Do you think there might be a hidden door here?" She nodded at the wall next to them. "I thought I could hear something coming from behind this wall."

"Ah, a secret room? It is certainly possible. Allow me to have a look." The elf began running his hands over the wall as he pressed his ear to it, presumably searching for the way to open it. The rest of the party slowly gathered around them, watching curiously.

The elf suddenly smiled as he pressed down on a portion of the wall. "There it is! Well hidden, but I am too awesome by far." Ayla rolled her eyes at him, smiling as a section of the stone wall moved to the side with a grating sound, leaving an opening leading into another room.

"Good job, Zev." Aedan clapped him on the back as he slipped through the opening into the room, the rest of them following.

The room itself was fairly bare, decorated only with several more bookshelves and a desk against one wall. Lying on a rug on the floor in front of said desk was a middle-aged, balding man in brown rumpled clothing who was grunting with pain. He looked up as Aedan approached, reluctant acceptance mingling with fear in his eyes. "Who are you? They . . . they've sent you to finish it?"

"Brother Genitivi?" Aedan asked, kneeling next to the man. "I'm Aedan; we're here to help you."

The man smiled in relief, giving a brief nod acknowledging that he was the one they'd been searching for. "You don't know how glad I am to see someone who isn't from this village. I . . ." he cried out in sudden pain as he tried to move. He struggled to a sitting position with a groan, and Ayla noticed his right leg was bleeding and swollen. "The leg's not doing so well and . . . I can't feel my foot."

"Wynne, can you do anything?" Aedan looked over at her.

The mage moved forward to kneel next to Genitivi, studying his leg. "I will do what I can," she answered, "but the leg may not ever fully recover. It has been like this for too long for me to heal it properly."

Aedan nodded, gesturing for her to go ahead, and she got to work casting her spells and bandaging the leg with Leliana's help while Aedan turned to Genitivi. "Did you find the Urn?"

"Did I fall to my knees in front of it and weep?" Genitivi replied. "No. Did I discover its location? Yes." His lips tightened in pain as Wynne tied the bandage, before he continued, "Haven lies in the shadow of the mountain that holds the Urn. There is an old temple there, built to protect it. The door is always locked, but I know where the key is. Eirik wears a medallion that opens the temple door . . . I've seen what he does with it."

"Might that be this medallion?" Zevran held up a large, circular medallion on a chain. When everybody turned to look at him, he shrugged. "What? It looked valuable."

Genitivi squinted at the medallion before nodding. "Yes, that is your key. Take me to the mountainside, and I will show you."

Aedan looked down at the man, frowning. "Are you sure you can make the journey?"

"It is not that far and . . . will you let me lean on you?" Genitivi looked up at him hopefully. "For the Urn, any pain is worth enduring."

Aedan glanced at Wynne. "What do you think?"

"I have done all I can for him," she replied, straightening up. "I would prefer it if he remains behind and rests, but if he insists, he should be capable of coming along."

Aedan looked back at the man, whose eagerness was shining out of his eyes as he nodded. "Please allow me to come. This is my life's work."

"All right, let's go." Aedan put a supporting arm around Genitivi's shoulders, and they began to make their way out of the Chantry to go in search of the Urn.

It was nearing nightfall by the time Genitivi had led them to the massive stone temple set on the mountain by Haven, and had managed to use Eirik's medallion on the inner carved wooden door to get it open. Aedan had decided to press on in spite of the darkness, figuring that they could find somewhere to set up camp for the night inside the temple. Genitivi stopped just inside the doors as they entered, looking around in awe.

"Oh, what I would give to have seen this hall in all its splendour, as it was meant to be . . ." he breathed, studying the massive entry room, with ornately carved pillars spread throughout the hall supporting its high roof. Though Ayla could see it was clearly beautiful and well-constructed, far beyond anything she'd ever seen before, the years had begun to wear away on it, and some of the stones had crumbled, and the hall itself was filled with snowdrifts and icicles. "Still, sweep away the ice and the snow, and traces of beauty remain," Genitivi continued, studying the room around them.

"Yes, well, we can't afford to linger," Aedan replied. "We need to find somewhere to set up camp for the night, and then press on in the morning."

"I'm sorry . . . what? I was a little distracted, I apologize." Genitivi hobbled over to the wall, running his hand over it. "These carvings were created just after Andraste's death, and they may reveal things about Her life that we do not yet know . . . I think I need more time to study these statues and carvings."

"We cannot wait for you." Aedan looked back at him, uncertainly. "We do not have any spare time to waste on this."

"I could not keep up with you with my injuries. I should be safe; I don't think there are any villagers here. Go, I will be all right." Genitivi waved his hand at Aedan when he still hesitated. "Perhaps my destiny was only to lead you to the Urn."

"I will leave Striker here with you, just in case," Aedan decided. He gestured Striker over to Genitivi's side, ordering the dog to stay and guard the man until they came back. Striker whined, but plopped down next to Genitivi anyway. Aedan looked up at the man. "Thank you. You've been a great help."

"Bah, it's my job," Genitivi replied, waving off the praise. "Just be careful, that's all I ask. The temple is . . . perilous. I'll be right here if you need me."

"What did he mean by perilous?" Ayla asked in an undertone as they all followed Aedan deeper into the temple, crunching over the snowdrifts.

"Likely the place is full of traps to discourage looters," Zevran answered cheerfully. "Old ruins like these are full of such things. Do not worry, my dear. I have not yet met a trap that I could not spring."

"Oh, please, Zevran, you are far too humble for your own good," Alistair said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and making Ayla laugh. She was glad that Alistair did not seem to be overly upset with her over the villagers; she'd been afraid he would distance himself, but he'd been acting normal since then, for which she was grateful.

Leliana laughed. "Indeed, you will overwhelm us with your humbleness." Zevran bowed and winked at her as she continued, "But between the two of us, I am sure we should be able to disarm any traps before they harm anyone."

"Good," Aedan called back from the head of the group. "You two keep an eye out for traps while we search the ruins. The rest of you, keep an eye out for more villagers. I don't think we've seen the last of them."

True to his prediction, they had only just reached a large set of stairs at the opposite end of the hall from the door, just past a circular dais where a fire was burning using large pieces of wood, when several more villagers came running down the stairs to attack them. Unlike in the village itself, all of these people were armed, and there were even a couple of mages with them, but the crazed look in their eyes was the same.

The party moved to intercept them, and were able to defeat them after a few minutes with only minor injuries that were quickly healed by Morrigan and Wynne. They went the rest of the way up the stairs to a set of double doors at the top, but the doors were locked. "We'll have to search the rooms that lead off the hall," Aedan said, after Zevran and Leliana had unsuccessfully attempted to pick the locks. "See if we can find a key."

The next few hours the party members spent searching the several rooms that branched off from the main hall, finding a few more groups of villagers that they had to dispatch, as well as some treasure they were able to take with them. They found the key to the main hall, as well as a set of rooms set up with cots to sleep on, indicating that these villagers obviously lived or at least frequently stayed in the ruins. Aedan directed them to stay there for the night, deciding that they could move on through the locked door in the morning.

The next day was more of the same; after they unlocked the door and moved into the next section of ruins, they were attacked by more of the villagers. This pattern continued as they searched their way deeper into the ruins. The further they went in, the more groups of villagers they found that attacked them immediately and without warning. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured during any of the fights, and they were able to find quite a bit of supplies to help them keep going also.

Finally, they came upon a room with four incredibly tall statues in the center of it. A hole had been busted through the wall on the left side, and the hole in question led into an intricate series of caverns in the mountainside. As it was the only way to go, they all crawled through the hole and continued on through the tunnel carved in the rocks.

They hadn't gone far along the tunnel when they were attacked by a group of baby dragons. The dragons were obviously very young, being only about half the size of Striker, but their teeth and claws were still dangerously sharp.

"Why are there baby dragons in here?" Alistair exclaimed, after they'd finished off the last of them.

Aedan shook his head. "I have no idea. The more we find out about this place, the stranger it gets. There's nothing to do but keep going, though."

As they went further into the tunnels, it became apparent to Ayla that the villagers were responsible for the presence of the dragons. They came across more of the villagers fighting together with the baby dragons, and hunks of raw meat that they'd obviously been using to feed them. Down one tunnel, they found a room with cages, where they were attacked by two older dragons, about the size of the one they'd come across in the Brecilian Forest. This fight was much more difficult, there being two of them, but they were able to make it through with the combined efforts of the entire party.

It was when they came across a room at the end of another tunnel that it became obvious that the villagers were deliberately raising the dragons. The room was a hatchery, with facilities set up specifically for dragon eggs. They fought a particularly tough battle in this room against a small dragon, a powerful mage, and a group of stealthy assassins.

"That was close," Ayla panted after they were finished, leaning against the wall holding her wounded arm until Wynne or Morrigan could get to her. She'd only narrowly avoided being completely skewered by the assassin thanks to her sense of smell. As stealthy as they were, they couldn't mask their scent.

Alistair came over to her, studying her with a concerned look. "Are you all right?" He appeared to be mostly unharmed, though his plate armor was covered with scorch marks and a small amount of blood dribbled down his leg from between his greaves.

"I'll live," she answered, smiling up at him. "Just a minor wound."

"Good." He cupped her face in his hand, leaning down to press a gentle kiss on her lips before pulling back slightly. She sighed. It had been a few days now since they'd had any private time alone, and she was on edge now from how badly she wanted him. Though they had continued to sleep in each other's arms whenever they could, they had been too nearby the others to attempt anything further, no matter how tempted they were, and had not had any spare time otherwise. She missed his touch more than she wanted to admit.

"Don't tease me like that," she whispered, letting go of her wounded arm to tug on the collar of his plate armor to bring him back down for a more thorough kiss.

"Maker, Ayla," he muttered when they pulled apart again, bracing himself on the wall behind her. "That's only going to make it worse."

"I know," she sighed. The longer kiss had only stoked the fires in her blood further, but she couldn't seem to help herself with him. She didn't want a day to go by without his touch anymore, and she didn't quite understand why that was - or maybe she didn't want to understand.

"Move out of the way, you great idiot." Morrigan shoved Alistair aside, taking Ayla's injured arm in her hands to cast a healing spell.

"Well, hello to you too, Morrigan," Alistair replied bitingly.

Morrigan glared daggers at him, though her healing spell continued uninterrupted. "Should I have let you remain in my way while she bled out, you oaf?"

"Well, most normal people would have just asked –"

"Enough, you two," Aedan interrupted with a sigh as he approached them. Ayla was trying her hardest not to laugh, since she couldn't help but find it amusing when the two squabbled like that. "Any guesses as to why there's a dragon hatchery here, Morrigan?"

Morrigan finished off her healing spell, having completely closed the wound on Ayla's arm, before she turned to Aedan. "I suspect those villagers are a dragon cult. I have read about such things before. They worship, raise and care for the dragons. In exchange, the dragons will fight for them, and they can also use the blood of the dragons to enhance their abilities. That is likely why these villagers are stronger than one would expect."

"A dragon cult. Terrific," Aedan muttered, shaking his head. "What is a dragon cult doing guarding Andraste's ashes?"

Morrigan shrugged. "That I cannot say."

"I believe now would be a good time to stop for another rest," Wynne remarked, as she approached Alistair to heal the wound on his leg. "We do not know how much further these tunnels go, and it must be nearly nightfall again, though it is hard to tell in here."

Aedan nodded. "That's probably for the best. We'll stay in this room; it should be fairly easily defensible if we set up watches. We'll continue on in the morning."

So they stopped again to eat and rest before continuing on through the tunnels again in the morning. They ran across a few more of the small dragons and cultists before the tunnel finally opened up into a large cavern, with a roof that stretched high overhead. Ayla could see, on the far right of the cavern from where they had entered, sunlight streaming in through a gap in the wall. She breathed a sigh of relief; she wasn't sure how much longer she could have taken being stuck in these mountains. The endless tunnels and oppressing rocks were starting to make her edgy.

However, there was obviously at least one more obstacle before they could leave the mountain tunnels. A large, dark-haired man in finely wrought plate armor waited in the middle of the cavern, arms crossed as he glared at them fiercely. He was flanked by two more armed warriors and two mages. No one had made a move to attack just yet, so Aedan led them forward.

"Stop! You will go no further!" the dark-haired man shouted imperiously when they were only a few feet away.

Aedan halted, the rest of them stopping behind him. He stood at the ready, though he had not yet drawn his sword, watching the man warily. "Who are you?"

"You do not have the right to demand my name. You have defiled our temple!" the man bellowed. "You have spilled the blood of the faithful, and slaughtered our young. No more. You will tell me now, intruder, why you have done all this. Why have you come here?"

"Slaughtered their young?" Alistair whispered to Ayla. "What in the Maker's name is he talking about? We didn't kill any children."

"I think he's probably talking about the dragon babies," Ayla whispered back. It was the only thing she could think of, anyway. Though they had killed unarmed people, they had all been adults.

"Oh," Alistair wrinkled his nose, looking disturbed.

"We have come for the Urn of Sacred Ashes," Aedan said, ignoring their whispered conversation behind him.

"You did this all for an ancient relic?" the man scoffed. "Know this, stranger … The prophet Andraste has overcome death itself and has returned to Her faithful in a form more radiant than you can imagine." He spread his arms, looking up as though he could see the radiance above him. "Not even the Tevinter Imperium could hope to slay Her now. What hope do you have?"

Aedan frowned, looking back at everyone in confusion; they could only shrug in response. Leliana looked appalled at the man's statement, Ayla noticed. Aedan turned back to the man, asking, "And what has happened to the ashes?"

"They are still within this temple, but why do we need ashes when we serve the risen Andraste in all Her glory?" the man retorted dismissively.

Aedan studied the man for a moment longer before shaking his head. "You're mad. Andraste is dead. She died centuries ago. The ashes are all that is left."

"You know nothing!" the man roared, anger blazing in his eyes. "Andraste revealed Herself to us! We are Her Chosen!" He turned to the men behind him. "To arms, my brethren! Andraste will grant us victory!"

The dark-haired man drew a huge battleaxe, even as the four behind him readied for battle, and swung it at Aedan. Aedan dodged backwards, pulling out his greatsword. "Get the mages first!" He met the axe's second blow with his sword. "I'll handle him!"

"Stay back here!" Alistair shouted at Wynne and Morrigan. "I don't want you in range when I smite them!"

The two women nodded, though Morrigan had a scowl on her face, and Alistair darted forward towards the mages, Ayla sticking close on his heels. Sten and Zevran were engaging the two armed warriors, while Leliana alternated between firing arrows at them and at the two mages, trying to keep them distracted until Ayla and Alistair could reach them.

Between her, Alistair, and Leliana's arrows, they managed to cut down the mages before they had done much harm, though Ayla had to dive out of the way a couple of times. Alistair had somehow neutralized a bolt that had nearly hit him square in the chest, but he appeared no worse for the wear when the fight was done.

They turned back to see Aedan still fighting with the leader, bleeding from half a dozen places. The dark-haired man appeared to be faster and stronger than any of the cultists they'd faced so far. Just as they turned, Sten came up behind the man while he was distracted with Aedan, and swung his greatsword, separating the man's head from his shoulders. Zevran had just finished off the warrior he was facing, leaving all their opponents defeated.

"What do you suppose he was talking about when he said Andraste had risen?" Alistair asked as they reached Aedan, who was now being healed by Wynne. The others had all gathered nearby as well.

Aedan shrugged, brow wrinkling in pain as Wynne's magic passed over him. "The man was obviously as crazy as the rest of those cultists. He must be imagining things."

"Indeed," Leliana sniffed. "It is blasphemy! Andraste is at the Maker's side, where she belongs."

"Well, at least we know the ashes are still here." Aedan turned to Wynne as she finished, thanking her. "He said they were within the temple. There must be another temple out on the mountain, through there." He nodded at the patch of sunlight across the cavern. "Let's get this over with."

They all trooped out of the cavern following Aedan. The open doorway came out onto a half-collapsed stone bridge that led down onto the mountaintop. Before they could go any further down the bridge, Ayla felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise as panic shot through her. She jumped backwards, flattening herself against the mountain, just as a massive dragon swooped by overhead, far larger than any of the ones they'd faced inside.

The rest of the party, seeing the dragon, immediately ducked down or flattened themselves against the mountain, too, trying to hide. The dragon let out an earth-shaking roar before it flew down to land on a cliff to the left of the path where the bridge led. It settled itself down, curling up like a big cat, as the party watched with baited breath.

When the dragon made no immediate move to attack, they slowly stood up, one-by-one, studying the path ahead. Directly across from the bridge they were on was a temple made of white stone, built into the mountainside across the way. But in order to get there, they would have to walk directly past the cliff the dragon was on, and there was no shelter between here and there. There was a ruin of a white tower off to the right, but it was too far away to be of any use.

"A high dragon, between us and the Urn," Aedan sighed. "Just what we needed."

"A high dragon is not a joke," Alistair said, his face pale with tension as he studied the dragon. "We'd better be careful . . . real careful."

"No kidding." Ayla shivered, rubbing her arms, trying to get rid of the goosebumps that had sprung up all over her body. Her instincts were screaming at her to turn tail and run in the other direction. Seeing her distress, Alistair wrapped a steadying arm around her, and she leaned against his side, surprised at how his mere touch took the edge off her panic. Still, she could hardly believe her eyes; that was a true dragon up there, the likes of which Fallor had not seen in centuries. Not since King Escal had been the one and only shifter to change form into a dragon, and had commanded dragons to help him clear Fallor of the demons that had tried to take it over. How in the name of the Goddess had he been able to control something like that?

"Perhaps that dragon is what the cultists believe is Andraste reborn," Morrigan said thoughtfully. "It would make sense as to why they worship dragons."

"I suppose." Aedan stared at the dragon for another moment. "Will it just let us go by?"

"I doubt it," Ayla shook her head, trying to suppress the remnants of her panic. "We'll be walking right through its territory, and we're covered in the blood of its young still. It will likely attack us as soon as we get down there."

Aedan blew out a breath, pushing a hand through his hair before shrugging fatalistically. "I suppose we have no choice. At least it will be good practice for the archdemon." He turned and looked at Sten. "Still think I'm taking the easy way out, Sten?"

The qunari gazed down at him impassively. "That remains to be seen."

"Well, practice is a good way to look at," Zevran remarked. "How many points is a high dragon worth, if I land the finishing blow?" He winked at Ayla.

She couldn't help but chuckle, in spite of the panic that would not completely go away. "If you land the finishing blow, Zev, I will admit that you are as awesome as you say." Alistair snorted next to her, rubbing his arm over hers.

"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Zevran grinned. "Let's go!"

"Well, if we do end up fighting it," Aedan said, turning back to face them, "try to aim for the eyes, like we did with the pride demon, Leliana. Wynne and Morrigan, stay back and heal as much as possible and try to shield us. The rest of us will keep on the move; try to wound the legs or put holes in the wings if you can, and get at the neck if possible. Let's see what happens."

Everyone nodded in agreement with his plan, and they began to cautiously make their way down the bridge, spells, arrows, and weapons at the ready. The dragon didn't make any moves as they reached the bottom of the bridge, and as they carefully began to make their way across the rocks, trying not to run as that would only draw attention, Ayla began to hope she'd been wrong.

But when they were halfway across, she knew she hadn't been when she heard the sound of wings beating. The dragon landed with a crash in front of them, blocking their way to the temple. "Move!" Aedan yelled, diving out of the way of the dragon's mouth as it snaked down to try to grab him. The party scattered around him.

Ayla, swords drawn, raced around behind the dragon, trying to flank it as Leliana fired arrows. As Aedan instructed, everybody was constantly on the move, trying to cut at its legs or wings and stay out of reach of its claws and teeth. Sten opened up a gash along one of the dragon's back legs seconds before it kicked out, launching him backwards.

Ayla just barely got a tear into its wing on one side at the same time as Alistair did on the other, before the dragon roared and leapt into the air. The wind from its wings flattened most of them to the ground, and Leliana and the two mages barely got out of the way of its fiery breath. The dragon only flew a few feet before it wobbled and had to land on the ground again, the tears in its wings obviously affecting its flying. Scrambling to their feet, everyone renewed their attack.

Ayla had just gotten another good blow into one of its back legs, stabbing in from both sides with her swords, when its tail slammed into her, sending her flying. She landed with bruising impact on the rocky ground, stunned, barely able to breathe, much less move. So she could only watch as the dragon's head whipped toward her and its mouth descended down, its intentions clear, but she knew she would never be able to move out of the way in time. This was it, then.

When the dragon's head was only a few feet away, strong arms suddenly picked her up and flung her to the side. She landed on the ground again, just in time to see the dragon's mouth close over Alistair. He let out a cry of pain that ended in a gurgle as the teeth crunched fully through his armor, and blood bloomed out of the sides of the dragon's mouth.

Ayla's world shattered in a maelstrom of crippling terror and grief as she screamed in abject denial, rocketing to her feet. The dragon still held Alistair in its mouth, blood pooling on the ground below, and she couldn't breathe for the fear and crushing sadness that were freezing her heart. Pure, blood-red rage began to override everything, though, when she met the dragon's yellow eye. She would make that dragon drop her mate if it was the last thing she ever did. That was the last coherent thought that went through her mind. There was nothing after that but blood, claws, teeth, rage, and darkness.

A/N: Yes, I ended it in a cliffhanger! Couldn't help myself, as mean as it is! I will try to get the next chapter up before the biweekly date to make up for it, especially since I've been wanting to write this next chapter for a while. :)