"You heard the plan. You and Alistair will go to the Tower of Ishal and ensure the beacon is lit." Alistair had been waiting by the fire for us, where Duncan explained things to him.
"What? I won't be in the battle?" Alistair protested, looking like he wanted to hit something.
"This is by the king's personal request, Alistair. If the beacon is not lit, Teyrn Loghain's men won't know when to charge."
"So he needs two Grey Wardens standing up there, holding the torch. Just in case, right?" My eyes widened at his sarcastic tone.
"I'm ready to go." I murmured softly, looking at the two men.
Alistair sighed and muttered, "Yeah, so I am."
"You'll need to cross the gorge and head through the gate and up to the tower entrance. From the top, you'll overlook the entire valley."
"When do we light the beacon?" I glanced toward the tower.
"We will signal you when the time is right. Alistair will know what to look for." The older Warden assured me.
"I know what I have to do."
"Then I must join the others. From here, you two are on your own. Remember, you are both Grey Wardens. I expect you to be worthy of that title."
I swallowed hard, nodding.
"Duncan… may the Maker watch over you." Alistair called out as Duncan started walking away.
"May He watch over us all."
Alistair and I looked at each other, sharing a nod, before setting off ourselves.
Crossing the bridge turned out to be more harrowing than I'd imagined. Chunks of stone rained down upon us, the bridge receiving the brunt of the boulders flying through the air. One hit just next to me, the ground crumbling from underneath my feet.
A squeak escaped me, alerting Alistair to my predicament as I dangled helplessly, barely having gotten a decent hold on the edge of the new crater. He quickly reached me and pulled me up like I weighed nothing.
I let out a breath of relief, "I'm sorry. I should have paid more attention."
He shook his head, frowning, "It wasn't your fault. No one could have seen that coming. I mean…." He laughed, "even though it was a giant rock, hurtling straight for that one spot."
I rolled my eyes, dusting myself off, "Let's keep going."
Que a stray group of Darkspawn that happened to be in the way. How had they gotten this far? Where had they even come from, that no scouts had seen them and sent word? Where were the soldiers that were supposed to be here, waiting for us?
We cut them down easily, no sweat. My apprehension only grew, though. If it had been this simple, why hadn't they already been dispatched?
Of course, there had to be even more problems, such as the mage and archer running from the Tower. I suppressed a sigh. Nothing was ever easy, here.
"The Tower's been taken!" the mage shouted at us.
"What do you mean, it's been taken?! By who?" Alistair demanded.
"Darkspawn, everywhere. They've taken the Tower." Both men were obviously shaken, their trembling almost knocking them off their feet.
"That explains a lot." My grip tightened on my daggers, "Are you fighting with us, or are you going to keep running?"
The archer straightened, glaring at me, "I am no coward, child. What are you even doing here?"
"I'm a Grey Warden, actually. And this is no time to posture. Either you fight with us or you get out of our way." I brushed past the scared men, Alistair on my heels.
A beat of silence followed as we made our way to the Tower, where they were no doubt exchanging looks.
"We'll join you." The mage called out, both of them trailing us.
"Good job." Alistair sounded impressed.
"It was easy. As men, they don't want to be outshone by a child. Especially a girl." I shrugged, waving him off.
"That is true. I, as a man, can attest that it is a fact."
I hid a grin, "Come on, it's just up…. Damn."
A larger group of Darkspawn awaited us.
"Alistair, watch the archer. I've got the mage." I barked, jumping in to the fray.
Keeping an eye on the mage, I made sure to block the path of every single Darkspawn that tried to take him out. Alistair and I worked in tandem, defending the other two as best we could. In no time at all, we ran out of enemies.
"The Tower is sure to be crawling with them. We need a plan." My eyes roved over my three companions, "Any ideas?"
"We sneak in, obviously." The archer was beginning to grate on my nerves.
"And how do you propose we do that? That's not a solid plan in the slightest, ser." I shot his 'contribution' down.
"What do you say, then, if you're so wise?" he sneered.
"You and I," I gestured at him, "we're the best option at stealth. We slip in and set traps. While one of us keeps tabs on the darkspawn, the other goes and lets them in." I pointed at the mage and Alistair, "The one that stays then distracts the Darkspawn, drawing them toward the traps. Any strays that survive would be easy prey for us to pick off. The confusion would give us a better chance of getting through to the beacon."
Silence.
"Any questions?"
"Which of us will be staying in there with those creatures?" the archer frowned.
"Me. I'm small enough to go unnoticed."
"It sounds like a solid plan of attack." He grudgingly ceded.
The others nodded.
"Let's go. We're wasting precious time that the King's army doesn't have."
Sticking to the shadows, the two of us effortlessly infiltrated the building. I'd prepared for this, a nagging feeling of unrest had spurred me to fill more than half my pack with traps. It wasn't unusual for me, really. I almost always had a handful within arm's reach.
Holding out the bag, I motioned for him to take a few. We set them up efficiently, working until the floor was littered with them. Claw traps, wire traps, barrel traps.
A signal from me sent the archer back outside. This had better work, I told myself. If it didn't, I had no clue what we were going to do. Aside from die. Probably horrifically, too.
I eased across the floor, finding a spot that enabled me to watch unseen. There were maybe fifteen of the hideous creatures. Standing. Waiting. It was eerie, to say the least.
Even being as stealthy as possible, I knew the second my companions entered; Alistair's armor clinked almost soundlessly. Almost. I cringed, my lips moving on a silent prayer. We would get through this. We had to. The second phase of the battle depended upon us.
When they were in position, I darted out of my hiding place and ran to the middle of the room, catching the attention of the closest Darkspawn. They cried out at the sight of me and charged, raising the others' awareness. Soon, I had them all coming for me. I stood my ground until the last possible moment and-
Dodged backward, barely missing the arc of an axe. I grinned and retreated. They followed without hesitation. Several had already fallen victim to the traps we'd set. It caused confusion within the ranks, allowing the mage and archer to pick them off one by one.
When the last one had been killed, I made my way to the others, "Is everyone alright?"
They each nodded.
"What about you? Are you alright? I thought for sure you were just going to stand there and take the axe blow." Alistair's brow furrowed in concern.
I shook my head, "No, I'm fine. We should hurry, though."
"To the next floor!" the mage declared, a little too loudly for my comfort.
My eyes narrowed at him, "Was that necessary?"
He mumbled an apology, having the grace to look chastened.
Each floor, we enacted the same plan. Each floor, we wiped out all life. Each floor brought us closer to the top.
Motioning for everyone to wait, I snuck up the stairs and peeked around the room. An earth shaking roar caused me to stumble, the Ogre too engrossed in devouring the body it held in its huge hands to take any notice of me.
"Oh, Maker…." I breathed, my eyes impossibly wide.
Swallowing, I dashed back down the stairs. My whole body shook.
"What was that?" the mage was pale.
"An Ogre. An Ogre is standing up there." My voice came out breathless.
"….What?" Alistair glanced the way I'd come.
None of us were prepared for this.
"I'll go up first and draw him away from the stairs. I-"
Alistair cut me off, "What was the roar about? It didn't see you?"
I shuddered, barely able to whisper the words, "It was eating a man."
The men paled.
"It'll give you three time to attack. Don't get too close, though. Try not to get within arm's reach of it." Another shudder rippled through me.
Without waiting for a response, I steeled myself and ran back upstairs.
"Hey, ugly!" I called out, pushing aside my fear.
It turned on me, immediately rushing forward. I jumped out of the way just in time, hitting the floor hard. The Ogre swung around and bore down on me. Waiting until it was close enough to see the dried blood on its skin, I rolled out of range. A meaty fist hit the spot where I'd just been lying. This was starting to get dicey, where were the others? Just as that thought popped into my mind, something heavy smacked into me, knocking me against a wall. Reaching up to touch the back of my head, I saw the archer holding Alistair back. The mage was collecting energy, trying to get maximum power for a spell.
I staggered to my feet, dodging another blow with difficulty. I needed to be a better distraction. This was going to be over before the others were ready.
Centering myself, I tapped into my magic. It gave me the boost I needed to stay on my feet. I stuck out my tongue and did a raspberry, running opposite the guys, keeping the attention all on me.
"Come at me! I bet you can't hit me again, you big oaf!" I taunted, dancing away.
Several minutes passed before the mage had finished. All that was needed was getting me out of the way, now. I darted toward the Ogre, jumping as it swept an arm out, and slid across the floor on my back between its legs. I was clear.
A battle cry signaled the release of the fireball. With the Ogre panicking, trying to put out the fire, my fellow Warden swooped in and stabbed his sword deep into its chest. It fell, shaking the floor.
As he pulled his blade free, the Ogre roared and reached up, grabbing for him. Alistair plunged the metal into its eye, piercing the brain, and finally killing the beast.
I fell to one knee, feeling rattled by how easily I'd been knocked around. Honestly, I was surprised I was even alive; I'd hit the wall pretty hard.
"Are you alright?" Alistair and the others rushed to my side.
"I'll be fine. Just dazed. It's catching up to me, now that the adrenaline is leaving. You should focus on lighting the beacon." I murmured, allowing the mage to help me up.
"Here, lean on me. As soon as we get it lit, we're out of here."
"Agreed." The archer chimed in.
Alistair turned and set fire to the logs, "There. Now, we just have to wait to see if Loghain's army gets the signal."
I nodded, "Hopefully, we weren't too late."
His face paled, everything about him tensing.
"What is it?" the archer frowned.
"Loghain's army…. It's retreating…."
"What? That's not right. Is that supposed to happen?"
"No. It means he's abandoned the king." I closed my eyes, "The battle might be lost."
We didn't have much time to think about the ramifications, though, because a large group of Darkspawn rushed the stairs. Arrows flew from what seemed like every direction.
I fell with several arrows to the chest, fighting for consciousness. I didn't last long.
The darkness swallowed me with minimal protest on my part.
It was a welcome relief.