Chapter 31

The Fall of the Chantry

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Mahariel

If before I had any hope of getting out alive of that cursed building, now I had none.

I did not expect them to be so well organized. I thought the Darkspawn were just wild beasts who took pleasure in destroying everything they touched, instead they were like a well-run army.

First, the Ogre not only broke down the door, but also collapsed half the wall down to the floor. Thank the Creators that he hadn't entered the Chantry. With so many people crowded inside, two strokes would have been enough to annihilate them all, but by some miracle, the hole was not big enough for him to pass through. I would not say that relieved was the right word to describe what I felt when I saw the back of the monster retreating, because sooner or later we would have to get by him to escape. Yet the main reason was the amount of genlocks and Hurlocks who'd invaded the place, followed by archers and those corrupted wolves that looked like little demons coming from the Void itself, hungry for fresh meat.

The first shock hit the Barricades, when Hurlocks threw themselves hard against the banks and shelves, trying to open the way. At first, the advantage was ours, because they fell dead as soon as they touched the barrier. The wolves were perfectly capable of jumping over it, obviously, but the archers and squires on the frontline were doing their best to prevent them from invading our area. It was working to some extent.

"Protect the barricade!" I heard Alistair screaming from the frontline, mercilessly cutting and impaling each Genlock that entered in his range.

The biggest problem was not in our defensive ability, but in the ridiculous number of Darkspawn that were against us. For every darkspawn that fell, it seemed two more took it's place, and even though we managed to kill them before they got to us, each onslaught meant more damage to the barrier. And to make things even more interesting, the mages had appeared.

"Look out!" I yelled, pulling Leliana out of the way of a lightning bolt, which exploded the pillar where she'd been hiding behind. She was about to thank me, but it was her turn to push me out of the way. A square stone struck exactly where we both had been standing. With a short nod, we ran in opposite directions, looking for another place to hide.

Stones, piles of ice and sparks began to fly through the air, bouncing off the walls and hitting the front line, causing significant damage to the structure of the barricade. With that, the Templars finally had realized that there were other things that needed their attention. With their focus shifted to draining the mages, and with less soldiers to defend us, more and more wolves began to sucessfully cross the barriers and consequently, our numbers finally began to fall.

It wouldn't be long before the first barrier was brought down.

The good part was that the Darkspawn apparently stopped coming in, but the bad part was that the hall was a veritable pandemonium. The Mages - or Emissaries, if you care that much - were low on mana, but it didn't matter - no one needed them anymore. The first broken seat was enough for other gaps to open as well, and soon the place was filled with black and gray dots fighting against each other, all stained with the blood of those who'd fallen.

My fingers were bleeding from shooting so many arrows, metaphorically speaking. I still had my archer gloves, but with each arrow I positioned on my bow, I felt the taut line ripping the skin off my fingers. At this point, I was out of ammo, and all I could do was run from one side to the other, collecting arrows and quivers from the bodies of the dead, trying to continue to fight. I saw Leliana from the corner of my eye in the distance, putting her bow on her back and pulling out a pair of daggers hidden in her weird robes. She was also out of ammo, so she ran to Alistair to assist him as she could, disappearing and reappearing to stab the Darkspawn, before vanishing again. Maybe I should have done the same, but I did not have much experience with melee combat, so any failed strike could mean my end.

I knew it would not work, but even so, I tumbled one of the shelves in order to block the stairs. I didn't want any of these bastard reaching the second floor.

Maybe it was the desperation of my group, or the cruelty of the Darkspawn, or perhaps the children crying upstairs, I don't know. What I knew was that I was not doing it for the humans, but for myself - I would defend that place with my life if needed.

Kallian

Maybe I could say I had seen such cruelty before, but I certainly had never witnessed a massacre like this. It was an unprecedented genocide, just like it had been in Ostagar, only on a smaller scale. You see, when I felt the presence of these hundreds points of evil energy in the distance, I felt scared. It was a terrifying number, without a doubt, and I couldn't say that I wasn't ready for what I would find. But there is a stark difference between feeling and seeing, and standing here, looking at the city, I could say that I felt suffocated.

There were bodies wherever I looked. Bodies being looted, bodies being burned, blood rushing through the land like a red river that seemed to have no beginning and much less an ending ... If someone talked to me, I didn't listen. I think, for a brief moment, I was paralyzed with shock, just breathing and staring at the Darkspawn running around town, hunting humans like an army of ants attacking a small and fragile crop. It was too cruel.

Duncan warned about the villainy of those wild beasts, but I never thought it would be anything so extreme. Before long, the houses were destroyed, the Inn was on fire, and people were gathered in small groups, trying to defend themselves. In the distance, I could see the Chantry, with its broken doors and smoke pouring from all sides. And that when my real despair settled over me.

The others were still in the city. Morrigan was at the Inn. Mahariel and Leliana were in the Chantry. Alistair ...

No... No, no, no! By the Void, no!

I remember I started to walk in circles, pulling the strands of hair from my face and holding them behind my head, in a futile gesture of trying to keep my thoughts in order. Of course I failed miserably, because deep, deep down, desperation had already been established. All I could think was my mates were still trapped inside the city. I tried to focus on the presence of Alistair and Eileen, but my fear of the worst happening wouldn't let me think - they were overwhelmed by so many points of negative energy in the same place, that any attempt to locate them was lost amidst of the chaos.

"What we're gonna do?" I thought, not realizing that I had given life to those words.

"Fight our way into the city, grab our people and get out," Noah said, stopping beside me. His voice was so low, so restrained, yet so full of emotion that I was sure he was willing to follow through with the plan. I don't know if his motives were the same as mine, but I couldn't see Noah making a different decision. "It was not the plan?"

"We're going to die." I was not complaining, or trying to make up an excuse to escape - I was simply stating the obvious.

"Yeah, I know." He whispered, moving his shoulders that way that people do when they are restless. "Have you changed your mind?"

"No," I answered with conviction, breathing deeply to try to empty my mind. When my eyes fell on the Chantry, I finally felt the weak presence of two Grey Wardens, the only uncorrupted energy inside the building.

They were alive ... Alistair and Mahariel, they ... were still alive. It was all I needed to know.

Noah

"To the Chantry, then," I said, taking a step forward. We were stopped at one of the access bridges linking the town to the main road. The scructure was tall and far enough away to pass unnoticed, and at the same time, low and close enough we could smell the blood coming from the city. "We should go around the city limits, and approach the building from behind, on the sly." I drew a circle in front of the Elf's eyes , creating an imaginary line connecting the end of the bridge to our goal. "We will avoid most of the fights and, with some luck, we will pass unnoticed by the larger groups. Can you see that?"

"Uh-huh," she muttered, but I don't think her attention was completely on me. She frowned and looked down as if thinking, turning her head slowly to study the acess stairs alongside bridge, just like a Mabari does when they hear something. Then, suddenly, she ran in that direction and jumped over the side. The bridge was not that high - perhaps only two or three feet from the ground - so I knew she wouldn't beak anything, but even so I ran up to the short wall and looked down just in time to see her land with her daggers upon an Hurlock, right next to a cart. Around her, at least ten others were preparing to attack her.

"Maker!" I exclaimed indignantly, placing my leg over the short wall, ignoring the shocked soldiers at my back.

What else could I do? Watch her kill herself? Yeah, I could - it would be easier, faster and safer - but then, what did I do? I jumped, too.

Damned elf.

I'd barely set a foot on the ground, and my sword had flown at one of the Hurlocks, gracefully taking down two Darkspawn with one hit. While the elf was doing that juggling rogue thing with her daggers, I ran toward them with my blade in hand. I should have probably bought a better sword, but that corrupted thing was with me for so long, that was almost a lucky charm. Served me well so far, at least.

"What's your problem with a low-profile?" I asked as I approached her. "Do you even know the meaning of the word discretion?"

"Don't be stupid," she complained, dancing as light as a feather. She was good, but wouldn't be able to hold those beasts alone. Not without help.

"Since I've met you, the last thing you've ever been is discreet." Finally I managed to reach her, and soon we were back to back against the other five remaining enemies. "In Ostagar, you jumped over the barricade like a monkey," I raised my sword to defend against an attack from above, using a loophole to kick the stomach of the Hurlock, making him fall. "When we arrived, you attracted bandits before you even got into the city." I stepped forward and stabbed my sword into the stomach of the beast.

"How did you know about the bandits?" She asked from beside me, protecting me from a well-aimed blow, coming diagonally at me. I believe that, because she wouldn't have enough strength to stop the ax with her hands, she'd decided to launch a dagger against her attacker's face, but I had no time to see where it hit, because soon she was throwing another dagger, which stuck in its body, right through the wrist of its weapon hand. Before the Darkspawn could react to the blade in its face, she pulled it free and stabbed deeping into its neck.

"I didn't," I replied, positioning myself to be back to back with her again. I saw the wound in her wrist - it was a matter of putting the pieces together, I'm not stupid. "The point is, you ignored the plan again. Either you have no love for your life, or you are completely crazy."

One by one, the Darkspawn were falling, and Maker be praised, the blood spilled on our clothes was only theirs, not ours. She didn't answer my provokation, just helped me to kill the last Hurlock quietly before walking into the carriage.

"Maybe, I am the one crazy here," I moved to retrieve my sword. "To let someone who barely reaches my waist protect my back ..."

She didn't need to say anything - just the disgusted look on her face was rewarding enough. But I didn't laugh, despite this being my inclination. To my surprise, two Dwarves came from inside the wagon, and I finally understood why she had jumped in the first place.

Maybe she wasn't that crazy after all.

"Maker's breath ..." The older Dwarf said, stroking his long brown beard. His other hand held the arm of the smaller one, who appeared to be much more younger than the first. I think that was the first time I saw a Dwarf without a beard. "Are we safe?"

"For now, yes," the elf replied smiling. "Now go, get out of town as quickly as possible."

"R-right ..." The man said, making a brief bow. "Thank you so much!"

I saw the boy approaching me kind of shyly, extending his hand to me. He looked deep into my eyes, and for some reason I didn't see any evil in them, just a surreal intensity, almost innocent, like a child. Almost hypnotized, I reached out to him, and in my palm, he placed a stone. Yes, a ordinary stone, irregular and dirty, with a small yellow rune on it.

"What is it?" I asked, crouching down so I could see him better. He had a sheepish smile on his face, playing with his fingertips while stared at me expectantly.

"Boom ..." He whispered enigmatically, and graced me with a huge smile.

"What?" I asked confused, but smiling. I didn't understand anything, but I was infected by his sudden excitement.

"Enchantment!" He suddenly exclaimed, clapping before joining the other Dwarf. Maker! I almost fell backwards. The elf, as expected, smiled at him, but for some reason the boy took a step back when their eyes met. He was suddenly apprehensive, with a frown and scowl. I saw the elf tilt her head to the side as her smile faded from her lips. It was ... weird, to say the least.

Before I could even try to understand what was happening, again my thoughts were interrupted. An explosion came from the middle of the city, and captured everyone's attention. The largest building in Lothering, perhaps the strongest structure with probably the largest number of people sheltered, just exploded.

The elf and I looked at each other dumbfounded, while the Chantry was burning in front of us.

Mahariel

I don't know how, but somehow, the situation was under control again.

There were still so many Darkspawn inside the main hall, as well as bodies and more bodies on both sides and around the corners. There were no barricades anymore - just blood everywhere - but we were impeding their progress. They would not advance, but sadly their numbers never fell significantly, without ours also following the same path.

I kept close to Bryant and Alistair most of the time, since Leliana had no standard pattern for her attacks. Increasingly, I became convinced that she was not of this world, but some kind of haunting ghost that kept disappearing right before our eyes. The two humans were fighting back to back, defending each other fiercely as the amount of enemies decreased around them.

I was trying to support them as best as I could, but as time went on, it was harder to keep the pace. First because it was not as easy to blend into the crowd as before, and second because they simply had no more arrows for me to use. At least, none in good condition. My bow was on my back, and all I had to defend myself was my father's hunting knife - a simple blade, smooth on one side and serrated on the other, with a leather handle.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Alistair looking at me strangely, first at my knife and them at my face. It looked like someone had thrown a bucket of blood on his head, he was so dirty. He shouted the name of the captain of the Templars, and both ran towards me. Before I realized it, I was between the two, in a weird sort of defensive formation, as he kept me behind his shield almost all the time.

"What are you doing?" I asked indignantly.

"Giving you coverage," he said, breathing heavily as he spoke. I would have complained, but something in his face caught my attention. His brow was furrowed, and he winced every time he brandished his sword, but that did not stop him from continuing to slash and cut those wild beasts.

It took a while, but when I finally recognized the red liquid oozing through the cracks of his breastplate, camouflaged among the dark blood and dirt, it all made sense.

"You..." I began, but he cut me off as soon as he'd realized where my eyes were fixed .

"Don't." He put his arm close to his right rib, as if to protect it from my gaze.

"Alistair, we can not keep this up forever," I warned, picking up a potion in my bag and forcing it into his mouth, while he used his shield to defend us from a barrage of arrows.

"But we have to..." Alistair gasped, but did not have the strength to finish.

"There's more of these things coming," Leliana said behind us suddenly, covered in sweat and blood. I almost hit her by reflex, but I stopped myself in time. "They are gathering at the entrance, and it seems that Ogre is with them."

The sister was right. The Ogre's presence was so strong that it was like it was screaming inside my head.

"Your friend is right, Alistair," This time was Bryant who gave his opinion. "The men are tired ... We won't be able to hold the darkspawn for much longer." Alistair frowned at Bryant's words. "The plan was good, but if another wave hits us, it will be our doom. We must retreat."

"We have to take the refugees out of the building, then!" Alistair said, starting to open the way towards the stairs but he would never make it - the ogre was already in the doorway, carrying two strange objects, one in each hand. And the worst part was, that I seemed to be the only person aware that the ogre was about to throw them at us.

"Alistair, watch out!" I screamed, but it was too late to avoid it. All he could do was hide behind his shield while the wooden barrel exploded above him, against the head of human's holy statue. The contents of the container spread throughout the place, giving a bath to most of the warriors who were fighting in the bottom of the Chantry. Alistair escaped by very little.

"This is oil?" Leliana asked, trying to clean the black liquid off her clothers with her hands. Before I could answer, however, another barrel was thrown our way, this time against Bryant and me.

We didn't have much choice. Besides the wall at our backs, we were trapped in a corner, surrounded by oil and bodies.

Our only option was to take cover in the side room - the lecture room. Three strides were enough to get there, but still we could not escape the from oil bath.

More barrels were thrown, this time by the Hurlocks. They didn't break, but it appeared that the contents were the same.

Maybe it was the heat of the moment, the adrenaline or the stress, I can not say for sure, but the truth was that I just realized their plan when the genlocks set fire to their arrows.

"They will burn us alive!" Bryant shouted, running at Alistair and Leliana. "Go quickly! There's an exit behind one of the bookcases. If you stay,you will die!"

"But ..." Alistair answered, looking at the stairs.

"You are our last hope!" He pushed both into the room at once, across the skidding floor, with all his strength. I held Alistair so he would not fall, while Leliana took a step back to the Main Hall. "Just go!"

"Bryant?" Leliana reached for the Templar, calling him to come with us. He reached out too, but they never even touched each other.

If you ask me, I'd say the enemy did what they did advisedly, coldly calculated. Definitely they had a sense of humor that was very disgusting.

The flaming arrow hit the exact point between their feet. It didn't take long for Bryant to be covered by a blanket of fire.

"Bryant!" Leliana shouted desperately, while I held her from behind, preventing her from touching the flames. The scene was so shocking that I didn't blame the tears in her eyes and or Alistair's temporarily paralyzed muscles. The commander of the Templars, who helped us the whole time and done everything to protect us, was burning alive before our eyes. "Bryant, Bryant ...!"

"We have to go!" I said, hugging the human even tighter to prevent her attempts to pull away from me. Meanwhile, the wall of fire was growing in front of us. "You can not do anything for him, let's go!"

"Mahariel is right." Said Alistair, pulling Leliana gently but firmly to the emergency exit. With tears streaming down her face, the sister followed us.

We left the Chantry before the first barrel exploded, with the cries of the man who saved our lives echoing in our ears.