A little over an hour before nightfall, Grayson gently shook me awake. I opened my eyes, blinking in the grey half-light that pooled into the room. I propped myself up with one arm and regarded my fellow Warden with a thoroughly disdainful look.

"It's getting late." He said, apologetically. "And I know what you're like when you first wake up. If I thought we could kill an army of the undead by pouting at them and calling them names under our breaths, I would have waited until they were almost upon us."

I opened my mouth to argue, but he had a good point. I'm really not a morning person. Most of my companions had already learned to avoid me until after we'd pulled up camp and were on the road. I sighed, swinging my legs over the side of my bed and stretching. I glanced over to where Alistair had slept but he was already gone.

"Alistair has gone to speak more with Bann Teagan." He explained, answering the question before I could ask it. I nodded, rising wearily to my feet and stumbling over to my armour pile. "You looked good last night."

I turned my tired eyes on him, frowning.

"I always look good." I muttered. His mouth twitched as he stifled a laugh.

"I meant during sparring practice. You're getting faster." He said, sitting heavily on the bed I had just vacated.

"Alistair was holding back." I replied, brushing off the compliment. He nodded.

"Yeah, I noticed that." He replied, thoughtfully. "Still, it doesn't make what I said any less true."

I had really grown to admire Grayson, not just when it came to leading the rest of us, but in general. I liked talking to him. He always had something interesting to say and he was unfailingly honest, but always fair; funny, but never mean.

"Where's Larry?" I asked, shrugging out of my t-shirt.

"He's been playing in the lake with Kahn for the last hour or so." He replied, and I groaned.

"Well, you're bathing them later." I told him, buckling up the last of my armour and trudging over to sit on the bed beside him while I pulled my boots on. "How did things go with the militia?"

"Good, I think. We found some oil in storage and we've set up some blockades to slow the things down. It should buy us some time, hopefully. Most of the townsfolk are farmers and millers, but there are a couple of decent fighters among them. And the blacksmith is working on armour repairs." He prodded a dent in my breastplate, pointedly. "You should pay him a visit. I don't know what to be prepared for tonight. Fighting darkspawn is one thing, but the walking dead?"

"Don't worry." I shrugged. "By the time we're done with them, they're going to wish they had stayed dead the first time."

"I wish I had your confidence."

"So what's the strategy?" I asked. "If the dead are coming from the castle and the militia are stationed there, my guess is we're going to want to create a bottleneck."

"That's the general idea." He agreed.

"It's a good one, except it leaves us open to being flanked if they come at us from the lake." I explained, keeping my tone casual, as if I had just thought of it.

"Do you think they will?" He asked, frowning in concern.

"I think it's a possibility that we have to be prepared for, yeah. So, what do you think? Divide and conquer?"

"I'll speak with the mayor and Teagan. But thanks, Lauren. That's...I wouldn't have thought of that."

"Don't mention it. Tell them it was your idea." I suggested. He rose to his feet and pulled me to mine, evidently worried that I would go back to sleep the second he left me alone.

"Get that armour seen to." He said, and I rolled my eyes automatically at the parental tone in his voice. "And get something to eat. There's a tavern up the hill a ways, Sten and Leliana are already there."

"Yes, sir!" I barked, saluting. He shook his head at me and opened the door, gesturing for me to go first. As soon as my foot touched the ground I was almost bowled over by a large, soaking wet Mabari. I stumbled, before finding my feet again. Larry woofed happily at me, before stiffening when Kahn came bounding over and he took off like a bullet as the hounds chased each other in circles. I took this opportunity to slip away, deciding that I'd rather not spend the rest of the night smelling as much like wet dog as the rest of Ferelden.

My first stop was the armoury. I strolled through the village, watching the villagers train as I passed. The new battle aspect of my brain scanned the men, critiquing their skills and strategy, or lack thereof, and I actually stopped a couple of times to give some pointers and fix some sloppy footwork. I noticed Dwyn and his bodyguards standing off to one side, muttering to each other, and I approached him, with what I hoped was a friendly smile.

"You're one of the Grey Wardens." He said, looking me up and down. It wasn't a question. "Kind of small for a Grey Warden, aren't you?"

I cocked my head to the side. He was a dwarf and I was small?

"I thought so too, but when I was standing in line to join up, there was this sign: You must be this tall to fight darkspawn." I said, holding my hand out at shoulder height. "So I guess I just made it."

"Are all Grey Wardens like this? That blonde one was a sarcastic ass too." He replied.

"Aaw, you must be Grumpy. Where's Doc?"

"That doesn't even make sense." He snarled, unamused. "The name's Dwyn. That other Grey Warden talked me into joining the fight. Don't know why I bothered. Look at these sodding nughumpers." He gestured to the men practicing. "We're all going to die tonight."

"You think you would have had a better chance cowering under your bed and hoping the undead wouldn't find you? At least this way if you die, you die fighting."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" He spat. I thought about it and shrugged.

"I guess not. I don't really care about your feelings. I care about keeping as many of these "nughumpers" alive as I can. You could help, you know. You're obviously a warrior. Give them some tips, show them how to block. Give them a better chance." He opened his mouth to protest, but I was already walking away. "Or don't." I called back over my shoulder. "But remember that the more people who fall in battle, the more the army of the dead grows."

He didn't reply but when I left the blacksmith's shortly after, kitted out in brand new armour after Owen had declared mine unfit for purpose, I caught sight of him demonstrating basic blocks and jabs to a group of the men and smiled to myself as I made my way to the tavern. I waved to Leliana as I entered and she beckoned me to come and sit with her and Sten at their corner table.

I collapsed into the seat next to Sten, facing Leliana, and the barmaid brought over a bowl of soup and a flagon of water. I picked up the bowl, not bothering with the spoon, and drained the contents in seconds, smacking my lips. Leliana shook her head in disbelief.

"The appetite of the Grey Wardens is astounding. Though I suppose all of that stamina has to come from somewhere." She mused. We chatted a little about the upcoming battle, and Leliana kept trying to include Sten in our conversations which irritated him greatly. A sudden thought struck me.

"Where's Morrigan?" I asked, gratefully accepting my third helping of soup from the barmaid.

"It was incredible. She shape-shifted into a black bird and has been flying around keeping an eye on the castle. She said she was going to try to see what was happening if she could get close enough."

"Huh." I said, surprised. "That never happened in the game." I whispered to myself, but Leliana's hearing was better than I had anticipated.

"Game?" She asked. "Do you mean The Grand Game? I didn't know you spent time in Orlais."

I hesitated and her eyes narrowed, discerningly. If there was one person I didn't want to mess up in front of, it was Leliana. I knew she'd be able to smell bullshit a mile away. I was saved from having to come up with a story when Grayson appeared in the doorway.

"It's time." He said, grimly.

We followed him out of the tavern and made our way down the hill to the Chantry, where Alistair, Teagan, Morrigan - in human form - and the mayor were waiting for us.

"What's the plan, boss?" I asked, turning to Grayson as we approached the rest. He tensed at my use of the word "boss" but let it slide.

"Two groups, the main bulk of the militia will stand guard at the top of the hill and we'll have a few men stationed in the village, in case we face any sort of threat from the lake." He winked at me. "Sten, Leliana, Morrigan, the hounds and myself will stay with the main group. Alistair, you and Lauren will stay with the villagers, just in case."

Alistair flashed me an awkward smile which I tried to return, but it ended up being more of a grimace. I quickly looked away, feeling my face grow hot, and Leliana caught my eye. She looked at Alistair, pointedly, and raised an eloquent eyebrow. I ignored her, quickly turning back to Grayson.

"Okay, then." He said, looking nervous for the first time that day. "Everyone knows where they need to be. Let's get going."

I told Larry to go with Grayson and he hesitated, whining, before eventually doing as he was told, though he kept looking back at me every few yards. We watched as the rest of the group took off up the hill to their stations and Teagan bid us the Maker's blessings before heading into the Chantry with the women and children and those too old or sick to fight. I looked over at the men who were gathered in the village square. They really were a sorry looking bunch, equipped with ill-fitting, mismatched armour and fear etched on every single one of their faces.

"Maybe you should say something to the men." I suggested quietly to Alistair, still refusing to look directly at him.

"Why me? Why not you?" He asked, reluctantly. I shrugged.

"I don't know. You're good at talking to people. You're all inspiring and shit. I only know how to be sarcastic."

"In what world am I inspiring?" He drawled, and I flicked my eyes to his face, before remembering that I was supposed to be not looking at him, and I dropped my gaze to the men again.

"In the Wilds, before the Joining. You looked after us. You spoke to us...encouraged us. You made me feel brave." I said, quietly. When he didn't respond, I sighed and walked towards the men, deciding that somebody had to do something to boost their morale, or they really were all going to die.

"Okay, listen up. I know you're all scared...and that's okay." I started. They all looked at me, a little uncertain. I racked my brains, trying to think of something motivational to say. "Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the decision that something is more important than that fear. You want your homes back?" There was a murmur of agreement. "You want to protect your families?" The murmur grew into a cry. "Then turn that fear into anger and use it to put the dead back where they belong. I know we don't have an army, but one man defending his home is more powerful than ten hired soldiers. And Alistair and I are with you. We will fight with you until the sun rises and we will put an end to this evil, once and for all."

There was a rallying cheer amongst the men, and suddenly they didn't look quite so pathetic. I took a step back and Alistair nodded.

"Well said." He muttered. We both turned in unison as the sound of fighting broke out from the hill above us. We couldn't see anything from where we stood but we heard the shouting, the roar of flame and the clashing of swords. "Alright, men. Form a circle, shoulder-to-shoulder. Keep your eyes peeled and be on your guard." Alistair yelled, marching towards them, taking command. I followed, taking my place beside him, facing the lake. Everything down here was quiet. There was no sign of them. I started to wonder if maybe I had been wrong when the first corpse shambled towards us out of the darkness.

"Oh, thank God." I said aloud. Alistair barely had time to throw me an incredulous look before they were upon us. Between the two of us, we cut down most of them before they could reach the rest of the villagers. They were slower than I had expected and, though they carried weapons, they didn't appear to be interested in using them. Whenever one of them got close, they gnashed their teeth together, hungrily, and I realised they had more in common with traditional, flesh-eating zombies than I had previously thought. One of the corpses rushed me from the side, almost taking a chunk out of my arm and I shrieked, leaping backwards and lopping it's head clean off. A few of them managed to slip past us, but Dwyn and his bodyguards were there to take them down.

"This is so gross!" I called to Alistair as he impaled two of the corpses at once, and he grunted in agreement, kicking their lifeless bodies off of his blade. I couldn't help but admire how skilled he was with a sword. He seemed so much older when he was fighting. It was like he went from being a giant goofball to a complete bad ass as soon as he had a sword in his hand. I must have stood watching him for longer than was smart, because when I turned around, the next corpse was on me. I thrust a dagger up through it's jaw and it let out a gasping, gurgling cry as it fell. "So gross." I repeated, before moving on to slash at the next one.

By the time the last corpse fell, I was exhausted. Most of the men had already collapsed to the ground, despite the fact that they hadn't actually done anything but watch us as we worked. If it wasn't for my new and improved Grey Warden stamina, I might have done the same. I turned to Alistair.

"Do you think that's all of them?" As one, we looked over the sea of corpses we had left in our wake.

"I mean...it has to be, right?" He replied, and I nodded.

"For tonight, anyway...we need to get inside that castle, Alistair."

"You're right. Come on. Let's go and join the others." He turned to Murdock, the mayor. "If you have need of us, send a runner."

We turned to leave but I'd only made it two steps when a rotten hand shot out of a pile of bodies and grabbed my ankle. I fell, twisting in mid-air to avoid landing on my face and Alistair thrust his sword into the offending corpse. It sputtered and gasped, releasing it's grip.

"Are you alright?" He asked, reaching down to help me up. I held onto him as I took a step, gingerly testing ankle. I cried out in pain, almost falling to the ground again before he caught me. I roared in frustration.

"My ankle is twisted. I don't think it's broken but I can't put my weight on it."

"Here, sit down." He helped me over to the chantry steps and lowered me down, gently. "I can send someone to fetch Morrigan, see if she knows a spell that would fix it." I shook my head.

"Nah, Morrigan's not a healer." I replied, focusing so much on my pain that I forgot to feel awkward around him.

"Figures." He huffed in response.

"You really don't like her, do you?"

"What gave you that impression?" He asked, sarcastically. I grinned, before the pain caused me to wince again.

"Go get the others. See how they're doing. I'm good here." I motioned to the daggers on my back. "If it comes to it, I can still defend myself."

"I'm not leaving you here like this." He argued, sitting down beside me. I threw my head back, closing my eyes, trying to think the pain away.

"This fucking hurts, by the way." I laughed.

"I'm sorry. I should have seen-"

"What? The dead body under the pile of dead bodies? You have to admit, it was kind of the perfect camouflage. Besides, it was on my side. That means it was my miss."

"So...what you're saying is this was all your fault and you're not going to hold it against me?"

"Something like that." I replied. I looked around and noticed that the sky had turned from black to pink. "The sun's coming up."

"Soon." He agreed.

"I guess we really did get them all."

"Yeah. Now we just have to figure out what's causing the dead to rise in the first place and put a stop to it. And find out if the arl is alive. And if he's sick. And try to help him. And hope he gives us an army. And then go to lots of other people and hope they give us armies too. And then kill an Archdemon and end the blight."

"Oh, is that all?" I asked, sarcastically. "And then what?"

"It's a lot, isn't it? For three people? The fate of the world depends on us. How do you stay sane?"

"What I find is most helpful is just...out-and-out denial. I'm also a big fan of using humour as a defense mechanism. And compartmentalisation. One thing at a time, one day at a time. Look around. We just defeated an army of the walking dead, basically by ourselves. We're doing okay, so far." I said, looking over at him. "Trust me."

He raised his eyes to meet mine.

"I do." He replied, quietly.

"I'm glad." I said, resisting the urge to look away this time.

"Lauren," He shifted in his seat, uncomfortably, and took a deep breath. "I know this might sound strange, given that we haven't known each other for very long, but-"

My gaze drifted over his shoulder and I caught sight of our companions approaching us. They looked exhausted, but unscathed.

"There they are." I interrupted. He frowned, looking behind him. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"Oh...nothing. It's not important. Just post-battle ramblings, I suppose." He said, but I thought he looked a little crestfallen.

"Oh. Okay, then. Could you...?" I held my arm out as an invitation for him to help me up, and he gave me his shoulder, wrapping his arm around my waist and heaving me to my feet. We walked over to meet them...well, Alistair walked, I limped, leaning heavily on him. Larry met us first, whining and running around us, before stopping to inspect my injured leg. I rested a hand on his massive head to comfort him, before retracting it quickly when I realised he was coated in corpse goo. I wrinkled my nose in disgust when he promptly licked the foul slime off my hand.

"You're disgusting." I told him, and he wagged his tail happily. "Good boy."

"You're hurt." Grayson frowned in concern.

"No, I'm fine. Alistair and I are just practising for this three-legged race he signed us up for. Don't look so worried. I won't be winning any dancing competitions any time soon, but I'll live." I said, brightly. "It's just a twisted ankle, I think. Stupid selfish reanimated corpse."

Grayson surveyed the village square as I spoke and let out a low whistle.

"Well, from the mountains of bodies around here, I'd say you got hit worse than we did." He said. "We should have had more men down here."

"We did fine. No casualties. Only one injury and it was my own fault. I was careless."

"It's a miracle." Breathed one of the militia who I took to be Ser Perth, although we hadn't been formally introduced. "Not a single death. We owe you our lives, Grey Wardens."

"Don't thank us just yet." Grayson muttered. "We still have to stop whatever is behind this. Come on, let's go and let Bann Teagan know it's over...for now."

AN: I know I said I wouldn't be able to update for a week but insomnia ftw. Thank you to writingNOOB for the review, your feedback really does give me the motivation to keep writing. And thank you to everyone else who's read, favourited and subscribed. I know there are thousands upon thousands of fics on this site to choose from, and I'm grateful you've decided to come along for the ride with me on this one. I hope you're enjoying the story so far, let me know what you think.