Author's Note: A big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review! We're rounding the final corner of the story, though there's still a few surprises in store, of course.

Chapter 80 - Strategy

"I must admit, I'm still a bit foggy on why you would want my help, my lady."

"Because you are an exemplary fighter, Samuell. And because you are one of the City Guard already, and an extremely loyal knight to my father before that." Serena nodded to the man keeping watch at the Alienage's large wooden gate. "You are used to making other people's safety your job."

The former knight frowned. "Won't that alarm the elves, my lady? The city guard has... has often turned a blind eye to the plight of the elves, I'm afraid."

"That's precisely why I want some of them to meet you. I think it'll go a long way towards forming that very important bond. It's been too long that the elves have been segegated within the city." Serena arched an eyebrow at the nervous looking man. "And Maker's breath, Samuell, you can call me Serena. We've only known each other for years now."

"I didn't even call you Serena when you were a teyrn's daughter, my lady," Samuell replied. "Imagine if I did so to the queen."

"I figured you wouldn't, but I thought it worth a try. Besides, if you're going to be captain of my personal guardsmen..."

"What?" Samuell momentarily lost his professional attitude as surprise rolled over him. "Captain?"

"Did I forget to mention that? Dear me, I've become so absentminded of late." Serena grinned, to let him know she was joking. "Alistair, er, the king, er, His Majesty, I mean, thinks it prudent I have a personal vanguard of sorts. I have to say, the idea as certainly grown on me once I made it clear I would be picking the guards myself."

Samuell glanced around, taking in the dilapidated structures that the elves called home. "And we're going into the Alienage because...?"

"There's a few people here I'd like to recruit if I can," Serena replied. "Beyond the young lady I'd like you to meet, who is fantastic with a blade, I think it will go a long way to repairing the enormous fracture Loghain caused with his slave trade to have it seen that the Queen of Ferelden trusts the elves, and has a few in her personal guard."

"That is... very wise of you, my lady. Anything we can do to lighten the tensions between the Alienage and the rest of the city is a gift of innumerable measure." Samuell sighed. "Your father would be so proud to see you now, my lady. I know it."

"My mother would simply be happy to see me settled down with a nice man."

"You are engaged to be married to the King of Ferelden, my lady. Teryna Eleanor would be over the moon."

"I wish they could be here to see how far we've come," Serena said quietly. Samuell patted her gently on the shoulder, his face etched with the same sadness she felt.

"They are, in a way. But they rest now at the Maker's side, my lady, and they watch over us all."

The sun shined brightly over them as they made their way through the Alienage's twisting passages. Many of the elves were out today, working to repair the various damage to their homes. A few Serena recognized, and found herself surprised when they waved merrily back at her.

"My lady! It is good to see you once again." Kallian's father, Cyrion, strode up to the pair. Nearby his nephew was working with another elf to replace their broken wooden door. "What brings you to the Alienage? Not more slavers, I hope."

"Not at all, thank the Maker. I find myself on much more pleasant business today, dear ser. I wanted to know if Kallian was quite busy?"

"Oh, I don't suppose so. She was helping Shianni look after a few of the young ones." Cyrion leaned in. "We've made it a sort of unofficial fixing day, if you will, so a lot of the children needed to be looked after while adults made repairs. You can find her over at Shianni's house, but would you mind if I ask why you want to see her? She isn't in trouble with the Wardens, is she?"

"No, no, nothing of the kind. I actually have a proposition for her, since she's so keen with a blade."

"Gets that from her mother, I'm afraid. The temper, too." Cyrion looked around, grabbing his nephew by the scruff. "Soris, go find Kallian, will you?"

"Of course, uncle." Soris dipped his head in a slight bow to Serena before rushing off.

"Warden! You're the last person I expected to find here." Kallian came around from a row of dilapidated houses, her eyes wide. "More baddies to kill, I hope? The Alienage has been so quiet since we took care of those slavers…"

"Yes and no. I wanted to offer you a position in the Queen's guard." Serena exchanged glances with the former knight. "This is Ser Samuell, he'll be your Captain, that's if you accept, of course."

"So, I'll be guarding that bitchy blonde in the palace?" Kallian rolled her eyes to the sky. "It better pay well…"

"Actually, there's been a regime change. Assuming we aren't all consumed by the Blight, Alistair has taken the throne-"

"The big blonde you're all lovey-dovey with? So that makes you Queen, right?"

Serena smiled. Kallian was very bright, and very blunt. "Correct."

"So… this Queen's guard is… your guard, right?"

"Correct."

"Then I accept." The tiny blonde smiled crookedly. "Though I still hope it pays well. Where do I sign?"

Crows, sparrows, pigeons and hawks perched on every available tent in the King's camp. The birds had been coming and going constantly over the last few days, letters and other missives tied to their legs. Serena's mabari, Peanut, kept a vigil outside the tent she currently occupied with Alim and Leliana, watching the birds with large brown eyes.

Serena re-read the message she had received from Elora, the Dalish master herder, from the day before.

Serena,

Though we Dalish have little to gain from the happenings on in human cities, I find my heart very glad to hear you are commander of Ferelden's armies against the Blight. The darkspawn threat grows greater every day as blighted lands travel further and further north.

I am very pleased to hear you have kept up with the meditation practices. Your power can only increase in range and control. How grand it would be to see all our brothers and sisters of the forest join us in protecting this land from the darkness below. It is something to consider, perhaps.

Dareth shiral, falon.

Elora

Serena could just imagine a pack of wolves coming to the defense of a farmholder, chasing down darkspawn at her urging. Smiling gently at the thought, she picked up the letter from Elora's Keeper, Lanaya.

Warden-

Our aravel moves north of the Brecilian Forest, settling in a once fertile valley. The land is now spotted with blight, but I believe the land can be returned to its natural state once the darkspawn are destroyed.

The human lord of this land, Sighard, has been very kind to our clan, which has done much to ease my clans tensions with humans. His men work with our hunters to secure the area from darkspawn who continue to attack from a nearby cave.

This brings me to the point of my letter. One of our scouts, and one from another clan who has answered our summons, have become tainted by darkspawn blood while exploring this cave. We have sent them, with one of our finest warriors, to join your troops in the river valley to the west.

I pray you find something to help them. I have heard many tales of the Wardens, and many more rumors of what runs in your blood. Please, help them, Warden. I know we owe you much already, but I also know your heart is strong, and you can solve this problem. The Gods bless you.

Keeper Lanaya

Silently, Serena passed the letter over the table to Alim, who looked up from his maps, his face a mask of confusion. With a smile, she nodded to the letter, urging him to read it. "Looks like we may have more friends soon."

Alim raised an eyebrow, picking up the small piece of parchment hesitantly. "More… friends-?" Serena watched as soon the other dark eyebrow slowly ascended, joining the first, both of them resting somewhere near his hairline in surprise.

"More Wardens?"

Serena nodded. "If they get here in time."

"Commander Cousland? There's another message from Orzammar..."

The scout stepped in, a young elven man Kallian had recommended for the job, and handed Serena the small scroll. Serena was pleased to see he had quickly grown out of the nervous shifting he'd had around her and Alistair when he had first started. "It has the seal of the King."

"Oh, it's about time Bhelen got back to me," Serena murmured, rolling out the scroll. "I've gotten three scrolls from Faren in the time it's taken him to write one…"

Warden-

It is good to hear from you again. The second wave of our army marches steadily south to converge with your second lieutenants' men near the River Dane.

My brother-in-law, as I'm sure you know, has roused an overwhelming amount of men and women from among the casteless to add to our ranks. I daresay the surface shall have one of the finest armies ever seen once our troops reach you.

Faren leads the troops headed for your capital, while my general, Frandlin Ivo, will lead the warrior caste to your position in the valley. I believe you are correct in dividing the army as we are unsure where the bulk of the horde resides. I also have two bands of scouts combing the Dead Trenches to pick up any possible trail, but so far it has yielded little information other than firmly pointing south.

I shall keep you updated if my scouts find more.

Most sincerely yours,

King Bhelen Aeducan

Serena had barely put down the note when Alistair's voice drifted in through the tent flaps.

"Another bird for you, my dear." Alistair plucked the scroll from the tiny bird's leg as it hopped about on his shoulder. "Oh, and it's from your most favorite woman in the army." Unrolling it, he grinned across the table. "Shall I?"

Without waiting for a response, he began speaking in a loud altered voice, one Serena could only figure he thought sounded vaguely feminine in nature.

"Commander. Our unit awaits instructions from Hafter Valley. Lieutenant Fergus' scouting party took down a darkspawn enclave one day north of here. We also have received the mage and templar units from Circle Tower. Signed, Lieutenant Cauthrien." Alistair turned his head to address the small sparrow on his shoulder. "Not much for gossip, is she?"

"Not much for personality," Serena replied, rolling her eyes.

"You know, Commander, I think it is very gracious you allowed Cauthrien to keep her position after… after she was so polite and well-mannered towards us." Alim smirked, a rare sight on the usually serious elf. "Many would not be so amicable."

Serena shrugged. "She is a good lieutenant. She just… lost her way a bit, under Loghain. Many people lost their way, I think. He was a... forceful personality. To say the least of it."

"I do wish she would be a bit more friendly, though," Leliana said. "And maybe if she'd let me do a bit with her hair…" The redhead sighed wistfully, as if this was the greatest of Cauthrien's crimes. Glancing over, her eyes sharpened on the maps Alim was reexamining. "You've been looking over those for hours, Alim. What are you doing?"

"Mapping the horde," Alim said. "I've marked all the areas around Ferelden where we've had reports of darkspawn activity." He pushed the map forward as Alistair took a seat at the table.

Alistair raised an eyebrow skeptically. "It looks like a dart board."

Alim nodded, as if this was to be expected. "It would, to the untrained eye. No offense, your Majesty," he quickly amended. "I've been studying it since we left Denerim." He traced a line that led from Ostagar up to Lake Calenhad. "They followed this path, then raided that town southeast of Redcliffe... there... Lothering?"

"We saw Lothering weeks ago," said Serena. "The darkspawn had nearly burned it to the ground. The ground seemed to be fighting the taint as much as it could, but given time, the area would probably be taken completely."

"Only the Chantry still stood," Leliana added. "Though even the Maker's house was badly damaged."

Alistair frowned, his eyes roaming the little symbols Alim had made all over the parchment. "Can you see where they went after that, Alim? I can't really figure what these little blue marks mean. Or what any of them mean, honestly."

"The blue ones are animal casualities, mostly farm animals people reported as slaughtered by darkspawn. The red marks are human, elven, or dwarven casualities... these yellow ones are...um..." The elven man looked away, running a hand through his spiky hair. "The yellow ones are missing. People. Reports of people who went missing or were otherwise taken by the darkspawn."

"Alim... were they..." Serena choked on the words. The memories of their time down in the Deep Roads were still so close to the surface. "Were they women? The ones taken, I mean."

"Yes. All of the missing persons are women, so far. They are... they are only interested in the women, I would imagine."

"When did these... do you have dates?"

"Serena..."

"The dates, Alim."

"Most were weeks ago. The women are dead."

Serena huffed a breath of air out, her mouth twisting unhappily. This was the most unpleasant news she'd heard since they'd left the capital. "We can only hope they're dead."

Alim cleared his throat, the awkward moment passing slowly. "Anyway, after Lothering, they went around the lake to Orzammar, which is where we saw them in the Trenches, then back southeast. Though the trail sort of scatters after that… into these pockets of randomized chaos and ruined villages. The horde could be anywhere, and we're within two or three days walk of nearly everywhere of consequence."

Outside the tent, a loud cheer went up as Kallian poked her head in the tent.

"Serena, err, my lady, er, that fellow- the scruffy Orlesian one? He's back in camp." When they all looked confused, she raised her hands up, indicating his relative height. "You know, tallish guy. He's yammering on about darkspawn and the like. The Warden!"

"Oh, Riordan!" Serena popped out of her seat eagerly, nearly knocking the small wooden chair right over. "I'd forgotten I received word from him a few days ago from his falcon. Is that what the cheering is about? Does he have the archdemon's head on a pike?"

"No, my lady. Though the way the arl is hopping around him, I think he has some news."

"Indeed he does," Eamon said, marching into the tent unannounced. "Though he is loathe to tell us non-Wardens."

Behind him, Riordan hobbled in, his leg obviously causing him pain. Wynne followed just after, her hands glowing blue as she moved to keep pace with the injured Grey Warden. Riordan slumped down gratefully into the seat Serena offered him as Samuell motioned to her that he and Kallian would be right outside the tent should she need them.

"Ah, yes, thank you madam," the older Gray Warden said in his lilting Orlesian accent. "That feels much better. I tell you, had your scouts not ran into me a day ago, I would have been in much sorrier shape. May I ask whose idea it was to add a mage to the scouting parties?"

"That was Alim's," Serena said. "Cano helped you, then, I assume?"

"Ginger haired youth, about seventeen or so?"

"That would be him. He's very talented. He has been studying with Wynne, in fact." Serena smiled over Riordan's head at the older mage. "You can never have too many people with a talent for healing."

"Certainly not," Riordan replied. "My lady, it is wonderful to see you once again. Command suits you quite well. I apologize for my delay in returning. I needed to move more carefully to avoid darkspawn detection, and even then, as you can see, misfortune befell me."

"How did that happen?"

"I fell down a hill, actually," Riordan said, his face taking on a bit of a hangdog expression. "In my defense however, I was being chased by shrieks."

"Which would have me wetting my armor, so I applaud you for not taking that route, Riordan." Alistair laughed, as only someone comfortable in their position as king could about wetting themselves.

"Thank you, Your Highness. We can at least rest assured that the shrieks are now dead, and my ankle…" Riordan nodded to Wynne then, "Thanks to your magical abilities, my dear, is feeling much stronger."

"You said there was news, though?" Serena prompted. "Is it the archdemon?"

"Yes, I've found the horde. I originally headed for Ostagar, and after following an underground tunnel… Well, they amassed above the ground in the Korcari Wilds, and moved north."

"That's in line with the intelligence we've received from Fergus and the Dalish," said Serena. "The dwarves are on their way here, with another squadron to be stationed near Denerim as a contingency unit."

"It would be devastating if we lost the capital," Eamon said suddenly, his face going gray. "I don't know if Ferelden could survive such an onslaught…"

"That's why we've taken steps to ensure it's not taken by surprise, Your Grace. The Dalish and the South Reach troops are near enough to the city that we should have a few days warning should the horde change direction." Serena turned her attention back to Riordan. "Where do you think they will strike?"

"It is hard to say, but the nearest town of consequence is…" Riordan paused, frowning as he thought of where the horde would head from their current position. "Ah. I think it is probably a safe bet they will head for Redcliffe."