Dragon Age: King in Exile
Part Four
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King Cailan has written Alistair into the succession and is ready to recognize him publicly. Loghain will do almost anything to keep that from happening. The darkspawn give him the perfect opportunity. Alistair/Cousland, featuring F!Tabris.
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Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize from Dragon Age belongs to me.
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After putting on his armor in the morning, Alistair exited his tent and looked around. It didn't take long to spot Elissa and her dog watching some of the soldiers train. Alistair frowned slightly, a little puzzled by the apparent lethargy of the camp. Wasn't there going to be a battle today? No one seemed to be preparing.
"Hey," he said, greeting Elissa with a smile as he stepped up beside her. "What's going on?"
"Word is that the battle's delayed," she told him. "The darkspawn have amassed, but don't seem to be approaching yet The wardens think they intend to attack after dark, when they think we'll be sleeping."
"Oh," Alistair said with a sigh. "I guess it will be a long night."
Elissa's eyes sparkled at him. "Are you disappointed?" she asked, showing a little of her former spirit.
He grinned, pulling her close. "To get to spend the day with my favorite person?" he asked. "Never." He kissed her, and they might have forgotten where they were had they not heard a wolf whistle that was clearly aimed at them.
They were both blushing as they pulled away, but Alistair couldn't help his sheepish smile.
Elissa cleared her throat, still blushing. "What do you say we do some training this morning?"
They practiced for a while before taking a leisurely afternoon nap in preparation of the evening's battle. As the sun went down over the camp, the atmosphere shifted. There was a restlessness among the troops and an urgency that hadn't been there before.
Soon, a runner came to claim the knights who had faithfully guarded them, asking them to rejoin their company. The battle was soon to begin.
Alistair and Elissa headed to the spot they were supposed to meet Kallian, leaving an annoyed Kitty to stay by their tents. They waited and waited, watching the armies gather below.
"Do you think we should go without her?" Alistair finally asked.
Before Elissa replied, Kallian seemed to appear out of nowhere. "What are you all standing around for?" she asked. "Let's get a move on." And she began marching across the bridge.
Alistair and Elissa shared a look, shrugging their shoulders and moving to follow her.
Not long after they had crossed the bridge, they heard the bombardment begin. Darkspawn-made catapults flung large stones at the army below and the men on the bridge up above.
"Focus, pretty boy," Kallian said, snapping her fingers in front of Alistair's face. "Keep your mind on our mission, not theirs."
He blushed, but didn't respond as he turned to follow her to the Tower of Ishal. They marched across the barren winter landscape until they reached the building, tall and imposing.
Kallian looked up at the enormous doors and took a step back. She looked at Alistair. "Well?" she said impatiently. "You're the biggest."
With a roll of his eyes, Alistair went to open the large metal door. As he did, two arrows came flying out, embedding in the snow behind them.
"Darkspawn!" Elissa cried, already nocking an arrow in her bow. Kallian slipped inside and Alistair felt obligated to follow, much as he would rather just close the door instead.
Watching Kallian fight was a revelation.
Alistair was certain he'd never seen anyone move so quickly or fight with such ruthless efficiency. She was in one place and then another, leaving bodies in her wake. But that didn't keep him from teasing her a little bit.
"Say, aren't grey wardens supposed to be able to sense darkspawn?"
"I'm new at this! You try learning all there is to know about the grey wardens in two days!"
The fight was brutal. In some ways it was harder than fighting through Castle Cousland had been. It would be a long time before Alistair could forget the darkspawn's twisted faces and evil laughter. And there was always an extra level of care that had to be taken—if someone swallowed darkspawn blood or got it inside a wound, it could kill them.
They fought their way through the first floor of the tower, and when they reached the last room before they could ascend, they found a large hole broken through the stone floor, deep and dark enough that they couldn't see the bottom.
"Darkspawn must have tunneled up," Kallian said, wiping her daggers on a hanging banner. "They love tunneling in and taking us by surprise."
"It must have been within the past day or two," Elissa replied. "Didn't Loghain say that his people had checked out the tower a couple of days ago?"
Alistair peered over the edge. "Maker, they must work fast. That's one big hole."
"Whatever," Kallian said, tossing her ponytail. "Let's get a move on." She marched up the stairs and pulled on the large metal door.
They made their way through the next level and the next, all full of darkspawn. After what seemed like an eternity, the finally reached the top of the tower and cleared it of darkspawn.
Alistair and Elissa moved to the window, looking down over the battle. "We've probably missed the signal already," Alistair said urgently. "It took so long to fight our way up here. We should light the beacon."
"Can't," Kallian said, her voice flat. "No kindling."
"What?" Elissa called out, turning from the window. "How can that be?"
"Don't know," the elf replied. "But there's not a stick of wood or scrap of fabric in this room either."
All three of them were silent a moment, looking around the room, before Elissa spoke up again. "The darkspawn bodies," she said. "We can drag them over and light them. Bodies are flammable, at least."
"That'll work great if all you want is smoke," Kallian countered.
"Well we have to do something!" she replied angrily.
Kallian rolled her eyes, but began dragging darkspawn over to the hearth. The other two quickly moved to follow.
"I don't understand this," Alistair said. He tossed a body on the pile. "The darkspawn couldn't have known our plan. Why would they empty out the kindling so thoroughly?"
Elissa dropped the darkspawn she was carrying suddenly, turning to meet Alistair's eyes. "They didn't. Those darkspawn didn't tunnel in overnight either." Her voice was flat. "We've been betrayed."
Even Kallian's head snapped up at that, but before she could comment, she paused, turning towards the door. "Do you hear that?" she whispered, and the other two fell silent, listening.
There was a low rumble, and sounds of clanging metal.
"More darkspawn," Alistair said, and readied his shield and sword.
Elissa moved to nock an arrow, but Kallian held up a hand to stop her. "Better try to light the beacon while we have a chance. Pretty boy and I will handle the darkspawn."
Alistair's brows shot up—Elissa didn't usually take well to being ordered around—but she did as requested, running to the darkspawn pile and trying to light it. Alistair returned his attention to the door, waiting for whatever was going to burst through.
After a few more tense moments, the door slammed open, and darkspawn began to pour through. In moments, he and Kallian were surrounded, fighting for their lives. A glance over at Elissa showed him that she had given up on lighting the beacon, forced to use her sword to defend herself.
"They're still coming," Kallian said in disbelief. Her blades were flying faster than ever.
Alistair was fighting harder than he ever had before when he heard a cry of pain. "Elissa!" he cried out, turning towards her just in time to see a blade ripped from her side. She crumbled to the floor. "NO!" He barreled through the darkspawn, slamming them out of the way with his shield.
He stood over her crumpled body, unable to help her as he fought with all his might. The bodies were beginning to pile up around them.
"Shit!" he heard Kallian yell. When he glanced her way, she was staring back at him, horror written on her face. When he looked down, three arrows stood out from his chest. Pain began to bloom, and then all went black.
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