Disclaimer: We do not own Dragon Age Origins or Skyrim

Co-author and Beta: Etheral-23

Holy knight and children of the stone

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The breeze was gentle, caressing the waters of Lake Calenhad as Oryrn gazed out from the shoreline. His eyes took in every splendor of the natural world Lady Kyne had blessed Thedas with. From the beautiful lake to the mountain tops in the vast distance, Ferelden was a beautiful land if nothing else.

With his helmet off he could feel the wind as it flowed across his face and moved his hair. His skin had been turned into a light color, while his eyes shifted to blue under the influence of his magic, a simple disguise as not to draw too much attention. His journey through this foreign land had been relatively uneventful save a skirmish with poorly trained bandits. Seeing his armor and gear, they had sought to take it from him as they assumed, regardless of height and stature, that he was just a weakling 'knife-ear'.

They were sorely and fatally mistaken...

Afterwards his traveling had led him to his current location, Crestwood.

It was a pleasant looking town near the lake, built up with several huts. The village was lively with activity; he could spot a few people tending to tanning racks while others ploughed small fields where they grew their food. The sound of a hammer hitting an anvil was so familiar to him he could spot it very far away, the results of having grown up with his mother practicing her craft so often. He pondered if they had designs and schematics for sale, it would make for a nice gift to his mother. Whereas some women preferred flowers or sweets, Miara Redoran was a woman whose heart could be reached through the melting and shaping of steel.

He stepped into the village, ignoring the glances sent his way. The whispers about his height and race bothered him not; his focus was set on following the sounds of the local smithy.

A few children ran through the village, laughing without a care in the world. They stopped to stare at him in awe, eyeing his weapons and armors. A girl with a freckled face and pigtails skipped to his side, a woman who was knitting on a porch looked up with frightened eyes, "Sarah!" She called out. The woman was most likely her mother, clearly worried about her daughter approaching a stranger like that. If his race had anything to do with it he did not know.

"Your armor is so dark but so shiny too!" She said in childish wonder.

"It's the metal" He curtly answered, sparing her a simple glance.

"Can I see your sword?"

"It's on my waist, you're already seeing it"

"Can I hold it?"

"No"

"Sarah!" The girl winced as her mother came up quickly behind her and held her by the shoulders; "What have I said about talking to strangers!" She gave an apologetic look to him; "I'm sorry she troubled you Ser..." her voice trailed as she noticed his elven features. "...knight...?"

"It's no trouble ma'am." Oryrn responded casually as he kept his pace towards the blacksmith.

The reverberating sound of hammer on anvil rang loudly at a modest sized hut. Beside it a large forge burned brightly as a human man in his early thirties worked with dedication and skill with his hammer and hot metal. Close by were two large tables with an assortment of weapons and armor.

Oryrn stopped by the tables inspecting the gear. "Made all these myself." The smith said in a rough but honest tone without looking up from his work.

The elf picked up a longsword inspecting it. "Good hammer work, nice job on the fuller too."

Glancing from his work and looking back down the smith grunted; "I'm might not be as good a dwarven smith, but my works can speak for me."

He didn't brag, a sign of a good smith. And while it was not fair to compare his work to his mother who is a savant master, the man had skill. Putting the weapon down Oryrn turned to the blacksmith; "You have any weapon and armor schematics?"

At that the smith pause to direct a curious gaze at the armored elf; "You want schematics? You a smith too?"

"A bit, but my mother is a master at it and loves the craft with utter passion. She enjoys trying out anything new."

The blacksmith barked a loud laugh, "Wish my own ma' had been a smith. Wanted me to farm the land, but no sir" He shook his head as he took the red hot metal and cooled it on the water at his side, it hissed angrily and released a large amount of steam. "I ain't spending my time next to no stinking animals, wrecking my back kneeling over the dirt all day long" He took out the now cooled blade to inspect it. "Metal though, that's my vocation"

"Mhmm" Oryrn made a sound of vague interest, "So, do you have weapon designs to sell?"

The blacksmith hummed in thought. "Let me check, everything is up here" He tapped the side of his head, "But I ought to have some left" He went back into his house where he disappeared behind the door for a minute before returning with old papers in his hands. "Got my hands into a few of these last time some mercenaries passed by, they needed equipment so they gave me schematics to make it for them. One of them a pretty interesting design, dwarven craft even" He frowned as he sorted through the schematics, his eyes soon lit up. "Aha! Here it is" He laid the papers on the table for Oryrn to see. "Bownammar plate, pretty heavy, but a strong defense is well worth the weight."

"Hmm" Oryrn looked over the design with interest. "Heavy shoulder pads, full chest plate, gauntlets, greaves, ringed mail underneath... This armor is made for a front line warrior"

"Yup!" The smith also put down more papers; "Here is some weapons schematics. Mostly axes and swords."

Oryrn gazed at them with a critical eye at each paper. One-handed short-handled battle axes and swords. Design wise they were very different from back home. His mind was already made as he picked up two papers, one of an axe and the other a sword. "I'll buy these and the armor schematic."

"Alright! Those were collecting dust on my shelf for a while; I'd say... three hundred silver a fair price?"

Oryrn went to his leather pouch attached to his belt. "How about twenty gold pieces?"

The eyes of the smith nearly bulged from his sockets as he was handed a small cloth purse and looked inside. Sure enough there was twenty pieces of gold! "T-Thank you!"

He soon frowned as he noticed the symbol upon the coins themselves, "Wait... these ain't sovereigns. Not Orlesian coins either" He mused as he stared suspiciously at the elf in heavy armor. "What are you trying to pull here?"

"They're not from any land you know. But gold is gold is it not?" Oryrn shrugged, "If you fear others won't accept it, you can just melt them down yourself"

"I guess so... Bah! Why am I complaining when I have this much gold in my hands!" The blacksmith gave a toothy smile, "It's more than my family ever made in a year!"

"A pleasure doing business" The elf gave him a grateful nod as he pocked the schematic inside back his pouch.

Was it too much to give the smith that much gold? Perhaps. But neither Oryrn nor his family lacked for riches in any way, his mother as any true dragon loved to horde her treasures, but would part with some of it if she saw somebody who needed it more. Oryrn grew up with her example, and money meant little to him. It was risky to give the smith so much, greed often cause for rational people to become jealous and violent. It would paint a target on his back.

But that was not his responsibility. Oryrn trusted the man was smart enough to not go about flaunting his riches to the whole world.

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"It's called Caer Bronach?"

"Yes, it was erected during the war with the Orlesians by King Brandel."

"Hmm."

Oryrn gazed upon of what looked like a once now abandoned well-fortified keep. Like in Denerim he saw Caer Bronach had the familiar architecture like that of the royal castle. Beside him stood the Crestwood's mayor Gregory Dedrick, who encountered the tall armored elf while wondering through his village.

A conversation was sparked as Gregory explained the places around his village. In turn he learned of an unknown foreign land which visibly made him cautious given the events with Orlais. The young Templar explained Tamriel presently was keeping to itself which was a half-lie, but the mayor need not know.

Gregory sighed; "Caer for the most part has been abandoned save highwaymen or bandits who roll in. Normally we'd have soldiers on patrol take care of them but with the situation in the south…"

"Are there any highwaymen or bandits there now? Think that is a bit dangerous given the dam controls is close by."

"Not even the bandits are dumb enough to mess with that thing, that's a sure way to get the attention of the bann's forces" The mayor's face morphed in concern. "But I wish it was bandits, not too long ago we've heard roars coming from the fort; we fear some monster has made its nest there"

Oryrn made a humming noise as he frowned in thought, "Do you have any idea what might be there?"

"Some folks around her claim it sounds like the sound of wyvern, they usually keep to themselves in caves or closer to the lake, but it might be that one wandered off"

"Wyvern?" The elf asked, lacking in knowledge as to what creature the mayor was talking about.

"Some say it's kin to the dragons" Oryrn sincerely doubted that claim. He guessed it was exaggeration like the dragonlings of Tamriel, which were... another complicated case altogether. "Though it lacks wings and fire it makes up with its nimbleness and powerful venom. Only prepared knights ever go hunt for them"

The elf looked upon the fort once more; "It's too close to the town, if it finds a mate and breeds the situation will grow out of control" He turned to the mayor, "I'll hunt this beast for you"

"By yourself?" The human said incredulously, "My good sir, I beg you reconsider! The antidote for wyvern venom is not rare in its materials, but we have none prepared at the moment. And the beast's strength will be too much for just one man to handle"

"I have my ways of working around the venom issue" He calmly replied. "And for my own strength, well I have faith in my chances" He had faced powerful daedra by himself; he would not back down from a monster just because it was dangerous.

Facing an unknown without any information on its characteristics was foolhardy, but Oryrn carried with him potions that enhanced one's resistance to poison, along with spells to ward it off and cure him if need be. Plus, he could not lie and say the thought of facing a new challenge didn't intrigue him.

"...Are you truly certain you want to do this?" Seeing Oryrn nod Gregory rubbed his eyes; "I know I can't stop you but please be careful. These beasts are very crafty. Maker preserve you." The mayor felt a knot in his stomach as he watched the elven man put his helmet on and stride for Caer Bronach.

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Oryrn drew closer to the fort with his shield and sword at the ready. His senses were focused as he moved silently towards the large wooden doors. Ever observant he took notice of deep claw marks that showed to scale upwards. The Wyvern likely climbed its way inside and had decided to stay.

Nearing the doors he ever so gently opened on as silently as possible. Through his helmet he saw a stable and two large stone stairs on either side. The beast was quiet, likely sleeping, but as he was taught always expect anything in battle.

He did not have to search long.

The creature did not meet his standards for its supposed relation to the dragons. If he were honest, Oryrn thought it wouldn't be out of place somewhere like Black Marsh or perhaps Hammerfell. Its body was muscular and sinewy, this one possessed a greenish-brown coloration to its scales, if that was a common trait of the species or just this beast's own coloration he did not know. The head was stout and squarish with a split-mandible mouth and protruding fins. The wings connected to its front limbs did not look like it would enable it to fly, they were far too small, but rather it looked like the creature was meant for gliding rather than true flight.

It slumbered under the roof of the courtyard's stables; the entrance of the fortress was wide enough that maneuverability would not be an issue. The gears in his mind shifted quickly as he began his strategy.

Firstly, he casted a muffle spell for all sound made by his person to disappear entirely, not even his armor clanked as he moved. He stood ten feet away from the creature and silently casted a frost rune between him and the wyvern. He took out his shield and buried the sharp lower end to the ground so it would stand there, his stance shifted to that of a marksman, a bow of pure golden light manifesting in his arms as he did so. He knocked the ethereal arrow, drawing in a deep breath before releasing the shot.

The projectile impacted the side of the beast with a burst of light, awakening it with startling pain. It let out a shill cry, shaking its head as its eyes furiously scanned for the aggressor. The wyvern quickly caught the elven warrior on its gaze, it roared defiantly as Oryrn quickly dismissed the bow and took up his shield while drawing his long blade.

The beast began to run towards him, focusing its entire attention on the aggressor and missing the rune on the ground that shifted from a faint glow to a bright shine the moment it stepped close. The rune exploded with frost, shards of ice flying through the air as a freezing wave of pure cold coated its body. The beast staggered its movements sluggish and pained.

Oryrn seized his chance, keeping his shield up as he ran towards the wyvern, raising his sword to bring it down upon; it slashed the wyvern's neck, piercing through hard scale and into the flesh, unable to resist the bite of ebony.

Its body slumped forward onto the ground as its head lay close beside it. "I either caught it completely off guard or was just not fully grown." The elf muttered with a shrug; "either way dead now."

At any rate he should tell the mayor the place is clear and the area should be safer now.

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Gregory almost fell out of his chair at his table when Oryrn had returned and came knocking at his open door, alive and having slain the Wyvern! The mayor expressed both utter relief and gratitude and offered to pay the elf but graciously said he would rather have some preserved and dried meat for his journey

Saying his farewell to the mayor the elven warrior made his way out of the village and back onto the road, but not before an older woman had come to his side, saying she was in need of a courier to deliver a letter to a family in Honnleath, which was way further south. Unable to say no to the elderly, Oryrn took the letter and promised to deliver it.

He glanced over towards Caer Bronach as he passed it, well he could say that wyvern was no true dragon. Having grown up around Odahviing, Durnehviir, and other dragons loyal to his mother like his sisters know full well when a true dovah's roars it shakes the very ground beneath it. It was simple impossible for the creature to be kin to the might dov, distantly or not.

With the fort behind him he entered the farmer's side of Crestwood. Lush fields swayed in the wind as large horned beasts of similar to bison's grazed passively throughout the fields. What were they called... ah yes druffalo the mayor called them.

"Come back here you filthy knife-ear mage!" a man's voice yelled in the distance.

A frightened feminine voice screamed back; "Get away from me!"

His instincts flared in response at the sound of terror, he sprang into action, running swiftly towards the source of the commotion. The tall grass did not impede his movement even as these got in his way, he carved a path through the fields at speed few mortals were capable of achieving, much less in such heavy armor.

Oryrn could hear the sounds of magic being casted, and there he saw it, on the fields a battle was taking place. A very one-sided one.

An elven mage, a woman with long fair blonde hair that cascaded down her back and clear blue eyes. Her beautiful face displaying fear and anxiety, adrenaline clearly pumping throughout her veins, she was on the verge of panic as her eyes quickly shifted between her pursuers. Her robes were stained with dirt and mud; she clung to her staff with trembling hands.

The men who perused here wore heavy plates with long skirts, carved on their chests and shields was the symbol of a sword. Their helmeted faces concealed most of their features, except for the thin slit that revealed their eyes. Oryrn's experienced eyes noticed how they held their shields before them, their swords poised to strike as they slowly circled the woman that was as stance used to hide behind the shield at a moment's notice as to protect themselves from splash attacks or spells.

These were the Templars of Thedas, the mage hunters of the Thedosian Chantry, and the woman they were surrounding was most likely a mage.

His suspicions were proven right when the woman in act of desperation blasted a bolt of pure arcane energy at one of the Templars. Said Templar hid behind his shield as the energy dissipated the moment it clashed against it; their gear was designed to withstand spells of such level.

"This is your last chance!" One of the Templars shouted with authority. "Surrender now and return to the Circle! Continue fighting and your life is forfeit!"

"My life was already forfeit the moment you took me to the Circle in the first place!" The woman shouted in defiance, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She was desperate, and saw no way out. "I won't go back; I'll never go back to that prison!"

The Templar gripped his sword tightly, "Then you leave us no choice!" His group slowly advanced upon her.

The mage prepared herself for the inevitable; if she was going down then she would at least take them with her.

It was at that moment that Oryrn arrived at the scene, catching the mage and templars completely off-guard. The sight of a tall warrior in full plate armor, one whose superior quality was evident just by looking at it with a red thick skirt with from the waist down much like their own. It took them all quite by surprise to them, as they had not expected any interloper to arrive out of nowhere.

"What's going on here?" Oryrn demanded to know, his voice strong. "Why are you cornering this woman?"

"Ugh!" The lead Templar made a sound of annoyance as he stared at him, "Templar business civilian. That woman!" He pointed his blade at the blonde elven mage. "Is a runaway mage from the Circle, we have orders to detain her, so step aside!"

"You threatened her life" Oryrn remarked, as he stood in front of the mage, who stared at him in disbelief that someone seemed to actually be defending her.

"She attacked us, which goes to show how far she'll go. If she does not surrender then she must be put down" The way he spoke made it seem like he did not think of her as a person. "Before she turns to demons and blood magic in order to get what she wants"

"You attacked me first!" The woman cried out, "I just want to be left alone, but you already think I sold my soul to a demon!"

"Just shut your mouth, mage!" The Templar snarled. "And you, stranger, if you know what's good for you, you'll step aside and let us carry out our duty! She's a danger to everyone!"

Oryrn's helmeted head turned to the woman, who was on the verge of tears, the fear in her eyes, the desperation in her voice as she began to sob. For all the power a mage wielded, this woman looked so frail... but the Templars only saw a mage, a threat to be contained or put down if necessary.

Oryrn had tried to stay away from the Chantry and its politics, knowing no good would come if he got involved. Evading them as much as possible, hiding his magic... but he could not ignore someone in need, no matter how much he tried.

"She doesn't look dangerous to me" He spoke earnestly, earning a shocked look from the mage.

"Either you are a fool, or she's bewitched you already" The lead Templar shook his head, "So be it, Maker spare your soul, for we must carry out our duty"

"They'll kill you," The elven woman sobbed as she gripped her staff close; "Please whoever you are save yourself!" desperation rang in her voice as she did not want this noble man to die along with her.

Oryrn was quiet for only a moment as he drew his sword and held up his shield; "And how could I call myself a knight if I turned away from someone in need." His voice spoke with steely resolution as he took stance; "Stay close to me."

The elven mage only looked in utter disbelief with tears streaming from her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Take them down!" The lead Templar ordered as his men charged forward.

One Thedosian Templar raised his sword with shield at his side went for Oryrn first. The elven warrior steeled himself, raising his shield as the blade was brought down upon him. It bounced off with a cry from the Templar, the strength of his stance and the sheer toughness of the ebony shield unable to even budge him. The Templar staggered, and Oryrn charged, using a tactic favored by his mother, the shield bashed right against the Templar's helmet, the impact stunned him as the metal in his helmet created a painful ring. He fell down to the ground unceremoniously with a thud.

The helmeted face of the ebony knight turned to the other Templars who stared at him stunned, one was brave enough to attack, swinging his sword in the air before striking. Oryrn was faster and deflected the blade with his own, before trying the same shield bash tactic again. The Templar anticipated this so brought up his shield, but Oryrn's strength was far superiors than his, managing to push the Templar back. Oryrn dropped his blade and with his free hand grabbed the Templar's sword arm, twisting it at a painful angle as much as the armor would allow. The Templar let out a cry of pain, losing his footing and allowing the ebony knight to kick his legs and drive him to the ground, where he knelt to deliver a powerful punch to the Templar's protected head.

Another Templar shouted, charging towards him. The black helmet snapped back up, and the warrior took out his shield from his hand, throwing it with far superior strength than a normal person should possess, it flew through the air swiftly, impacting the Templar right on his helmet, throwing him to the ground.

Two out of the remaining four Templars attacked at once, Oryrn rolled away with far greater mobility armor like his should allow, but his gear was enchanted to be rather flexible and light, so such things were possible for someone of his strength. He picked up his blade as he stood up, holding the end of the sword with the palm of his gauntlet, raising it just in time to deflect two sword strikes at once.

Like the wind the Dunmer parried as the other two Templars came to strike and he dodged. One leaving himself open Oryrn kicked the man in the chest, denting his armor and sent him flying back before hitting the ground with great force.

If Oryrn had one thing to say was that these men were well trained in combat, he could respect their abilities even if he did not approve of their motivations. He sidestepped a thrust from the lead Templar while also avoided his shield with attempt to bash him. This man was the most experienced among this lot. He fought with precision and fluid movements.

Close by the elven mage watched in utter shock as her surprise protector was fighting seven Templars and knocked out four in a matter of minutes!

He moved like a man possessed, speed and strength that the Templars just couldn't hope to match. All their training and experience to fight against mages and demons could not help them match this warrior whose sheer skill put even the most senior members of their order to shame. Not a single hit had been landed on him, almost like the Maker himself had deemed this man the victor long before he even decided to face them.

Oryrn grabbed the Templar's sword arm and delivered a painful elbow strike to his shoulder, dislocating it, the Templar could only wail in pain as he dropped his sword before being kicked away by the ebony warrior. He turned to face the last two remaining Templars who shook in their boots; blades trembled as their armor clanked repeatedly from their shivering forms.

He slowly took a step forward, then another; ever so quietly he calmly approached them.

One of the Templars took a step back, tripping over a rock and falling to the ground with a yelp, even still he crawled over the ground with his back to it, trying to avoid the wrath of this walking engine of battle. The last knight standing didn't even pay attention to his fellow Templar's act of cowardice, he stared as ebony warrior approached him, feeling his own body seized as though trapped by a paralysis spell from a mage.

The warrior towered over him by half a head, looking down at him beneath that dark, featureless helmet, not even his eyes could be seen. But the Templar felt them, oh Maker did he feel them staring back into his very soul. All he could do was struggle to hold his trembling blade up.

The warrior sheathed his own sword and proceeded to grab the Templar's blade, yanking it away from his hands. The Templar barely resisted. And then broke the sword in pieces by striking it upon his knees, as though the specially designed metal meant nothing to neither his own strength nor his impressive armor.

Oryrn threw the pieces away and turned his back to him, "You are beaten, take your leave and pursue her no longer. I do not want to kill you, but if you prove yourself stubborn enough then you will leave me no choice"

"You… This is not the end of it!" One of the Templars swore as he and his comrades backed away, they knew they were outmatched and couldn't hope to best him. So they retreated to lick their wounds.

The elven woman stood stock still as her savior came in front of her. Her tears did not stop as she gazed up at the man; "Come with me." She complied with no word with a brief glance back to the Templars

Oryrn glanced at his surroundings, trying to find a good place to hide the elven mage. He had no idea how Crestwood would react, and he would rather no spoil any good will he garnered there. And the woman being an escaped mage would likely cause a few to panic or outright become violent. So going back to the village was out, which left one place.

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The dunmer gripped the handle of one the large wooden doors of Caer Bronach and opened it. "We can rest here for the night. What's your name?"

The escaped mage only gazed in awe at the massive fort she was brought too before she heard her savior's voice, "I'm sorry?"

"Your name?"

"Adalora...A-and you?"

"Oryrn Redoran."

She followed the armored man through the threshold before a gasp came from her at the sight of the behead Wyvern. "Hmm, forgot that was there"

How can anyone just 'forget' about a dead wyvern?!

"My apologies, I didn't think I'd be coming back here, much less with company" He closed the door and placed his armored palm upon it. "Excuse me for a second"

The blonde mage stared curiously at him, wondering why he was just leaning against the door like that. The answer made her eyes widen and her jaw drop. From around his hand formed a magical circle filled with arcane lettering she did not recognize, she could feel the energy coming from it... from him.

"There" He said satisfied. "The alarm rune will alert me if anyone enters, that way if the Templars return they won't caught us unaware" He acted so nonchalantly too...

"Y-You" Adalora muttered in disbelief, "You're a mage too..."

"Not exactly" He replied with a shrug.

"Not exac-" She sputtered, "You just did magic! What are you if you're not a mage?"

"I'm actually a Templar"

The elven woman looked like her head had been struck by lightning, she stared owlishly at him. "...What?"

"Oh right" He seemed to ponder for a moment; it was hard to tell with his face hiding behind his helmet. "Perhaps... it'd be best if I show you" He placed his hands at both sides of his helmet, and slowly pulled it out.

Her breath hitched as Adalora saw her savior's face. His features were unmistakably elven with long raven colored hair in a ponytail. But he also had a beard, which not much elves have. And his skin was... grey. His eyes looked like rubies as he gazed at her. "I feel it's best to show you what I really look like."

The Thedosian mage only looked in shock; "W-What are you..."

"A dunmer or Dark-Elf." Adalora ears perked up at that. "And regarding where I'm from, well, I'll set a fire going for the night because this will be a long story."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Night settled as Oryrn had inspected the fort and found a good size room with a fireplace. After breaking several wooden chairs he got a fire going with magic. Adalora had been staring for a while at the fire as she ate some jerky Oryrn gave her along with some water.

Beside her Oryrn quietly ate while letting the young woman process what she had just learned. Understandably it was a lot to take in upon learning of his distant homeland Tamriel, but more so of its diverse people, religions, and magics.

"...Never in my wildest dreams I would have imagined there was a place like that out there" She finally spoke after a while, her voice distant as several emotions shifted through her eyes. Disbelief, fascination, elation, awe, longing. "The way you say it, it just... makes sense. That is how everything is supposed to be" She breathed out heavily, "Magic, everywhere, it just... is"

Oryrn said nothing as she spoke, contemplating her words silently as he ate.

"That's how it's meant to be isn't it? It's Thedas that's wrong" She said, her voice gaining an edge. Anger briefly flashing before her eyes, "What other explanation could there be for this place to be so broken?" To be ripped away from the arms of your family, to be imprisoned for all your life and be told you're proof of the Maker's hatred. If she lived in Tamriel she could actually dictate her own life, be someone and...

"I believe you're idealizing my homeland too much" Oryrn finally spoke after swallowing down his food, feeling that was a dangerous line of thought she was having. "Not an era goes by without something happening that threatens many people. And that is not even going into the daily dangers. Tamriel is a wild untamed place; the empire may bring stability at a larger scale but doesn't erase every other problem"

"I know..." Adalora's voice was quiet; "But, since being taken away from my Alienage in Gwaren all I ever heard was the Chantry condemning us just for being mages..." Her voice slowly rose in anger; "The Templars always watching us. I could feel their judgement and hate through their helmets. True not all of them were bad, but the rest were no saints..."

Oryrn said nothing as he let her vent her anger. "I know a girl who is so broken by what the Chantry preached she might as well be Tranquil!" Tears rimed her eyes. "Children who were my age brought to that hellhole crying and screaming for their parents." She lowered her head rubbing her eyes as her body shook.

The dunmer's red gaze shifted momentarily before looking at the elven woman once more, "Do you have anywhere to go to?"

"No" Her voice broke, "I don't have any family or anyone that would take me. I'm an Apostate now, my life will be on the run" She buried her head in her hands with a wary sigh, "What was I thinking, listening to Anders? He ditched me first chance he had to save himself..."

"You wanted to be free. Nobody can blame you for that"

"Well, the Templars certainly can" She replied humorlessly. "I... I have no idea what to do now. I did not think any of this through" She sounded on the verge of panic, like she was cornered by the Templars once again.

"I think you don't give yourself enough credit" Oryrn refuted, "Not many would be brave enough to do what you did. You think you ran away without a thought, I think you had the courage to finally say enough and take the reins of your own life"

Adalora looked at him as he kept talking; "Yes it's scary. But every first step always is. And you chose to fight instead of cower when those Templars came for you. Even if the situation was hopeless, you took a stand and said no more. That makes you brave."

The fire's light masked the flush of her cheeks as she stared at her fellow elf. "Thank you." she lowered her head taking another bite of her jerky.

"You're welcome. We'll figure out what to do tomorrow." The elven mage's head shot up as he looked through the window; "It's getting late. Let's rest for night."

"O-Okay..." Was he really going to stay with her? He would risk that? He had already done more than enough by saving her from those Templars, but he would stick with her even now... For a moment her heart raced.

"Luckily this room has some beds. Probably was a barracks for some of the men." Oryrn got to his feet walking over to one mattress. Despite the dust they looked alright, and were better than sleeping on the hard floor.

Adalora watched him as he eyes grew in size as he began to take off his armor.

The blonde elf despite having what could be called a sheltered life was not prudish or naive in any way, she had had serious conversations about intimacy and relationships with her mentor (both of which were forbidden by the Chantry of course...). And while it was true that some mages simply didn't understand how the outside world worked, it was also truth that the majority of mages weren't some group of maladjusted misfits who didn't know how social interactions worked. Indeed, many of them did understand how economics, politics, and various social costumes worked. Even if some of them did not partake in such activities.

Adalora had also made a point of studying and observing anatomy, it was necessary for her studies. Not to mention so many people living together in the same space did not leave much room for privacy. Plus the not too uncommon prank on apprentices where their robes would suddenly go 'missing'. She even heard of a Templar who once showed up in nothing but his small clothes, sadly she had not been present to witness it.

In short, Adalora did not feel she had anything to be embarrassed of when it came to a person's body... until she saw the body Oryrn Redoran had.

Elves in general were short and lithe, there were exceptions as in all races and much variation between their builds, but that was how their race looked like for the most part.

Not Oryrn though.

As he removed the chest armor around his arms and chest plate, Adalora was treated more and more to the sight of a powerfully built body that most definitely did not belong to an elf. His back was broad and strong; his arms rippled and bulged with muscle as he moved them. Adalora felt her breath caught in her throat as he took off his shirt and revealed the eight different muscles that adorned his stomach, along with chest so thick and defined that looked carved from solid marble. Her fingers twitched, as though itching to run her hands over him and test if they were as hard as she imagined.

Oryrn was unaware of what the current embarrassment and turmoil Adalora was going through, he merely stripped off the boots and leg armor, leaving only his pants on. "There's one mattress there for you" he said as he accommodated the other mattress and cleaned if off dust. He rolled his neck, popping his joints and stretching as he knelt down to lie on his own makeshift bed. "We'll figure out what to do in the morning. Sleep well" With that, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

Slowly standing back to her feet, her blue eyes gaze at Oryrn's resting form. She took in every detail on his upper body as his chest moved up and down. She shook her head and made her way to the bed he had dusted off for her. She sighed as she took a seat on it.

Her mind raced as the events after escaping Kinloch Hold whirled in her head. Staring back at the fireplace she scowled at the memory of Anders. Half of her just could not believe she was convinced by that lying bastard who swore he stay with her after escaping. Not even a yard away from that damn Spoiled Princess Inn and he ran off!

Adalora shook her head; she needed to stop thinking about that horse's ass. Her mind wandered back to the time the Templars had found her and begun to chase her near Crestwood. Slowly her eyes shifted back to the sleeping dunmer. Again she felt her heartbeat quicken. Never had she ever met someone so selfless and willingly defended a total stranger who he had no reason to anything but to walk away.

But he didn't... He drew his sword and defender her against seven Templars like the old tales of the hero from those stories she read. Well he didn't ride on a stallion in shining armor, but what he wore was beautiful.

If not for his generosity and chivalrous valor, Adalora would have thought those tales to be just that, stories. But here was a fascinating man from a wonderful far away land. She still could not get over how he had went out of his way to protect her... nobody had ever done something like that for her.

If this were a fairy tail she would now be rewarding the shining knight with a kiss, lying with him in a night of fiery passion. She shook her head; those were ridiculous thoughts... or were they?

She could not deny she was fascinated by him, Oryrn's kindness towards her and selfless actions had endeared him to her greatly. It would not be wrong to show her gratitude.

Her cheeks flushed hotly at the thought of what she was about to do, but she steeled herself, taking in a deep breath. First, stood up and loosened her robes...

"Oryrn"

His eyes opened as his companion called out for him, she was standing in front of him with an odd expression on her face. He prompted himself up, resting on his elbows. "What's wrong?" He asked, somewhat drowsy as sleep had nearly claimed.

Adalora was looking at him with a hazy gaze, her cheeks were flushed and her breathing heavy. He was about to ask if she felt okay... when her robes suddenly hit the floor, and she was naked in front of him.

His eyes widened and his lips parted momentarily, the sudden action having taken him completely off guard. Adalora was a beautiful woman, her lithe body was possessed a curvy frame, her bosom was perfectly shape and proportioned, she way her blonde locks cascaded down her bare shoulders and her skin glistened with the flickers of the fire, everything about her was alluring. He barely had time to react as she knelt down on top of him, straddling his waist; her soft hands ran over his bare chest, sending shivers down his spine.

Adalora let out a shuddering breath, marveling at the hardness of his muscles, it was all she imagined and more. Her hands finally settled on his strong shoulders, she inched her face closer to his until their lips finally touched.

The kiss was slow, tender. Oryrn's mind could only slowly catch up with what was happening; the sensations of her naked body against him flooded his body with heat as her breasts pressed against his chest. His arms slowly began to hold her, feeling her, pressing her tighter against his. The tempo of their kiss increased, lips clashing with greater intensity as waves of pleasure began washing over their bodies. Adalora let out moan in between kisses; the sound was musical to his ear. He could feel the heat and wetness coming from her core as his own hardening arousal tightening against his pants came into contact with her.

Her arms encircled his back and held on to him tightly; she gasped when his lips left hers and began descending down her neck. "Oh Oryrn..."

He was no stranger to the affections of women, it had happened in the past when after a long quest a fair maiden had laid with him, he had never taken advantage of them, and had reciprocated only if he felt they were acting out of their own desires, and not because they felt they owned him something.

...Like Adalora must be feeling right now.

He let out shallow gasp as he suddenly stopped, much to her confusion and dismay. "Wait..."

"What's wrong?" She asked, a look of fear drawing on her face. "D-Did I do something wrong? I-I'll admit, this is all rather... new to me"

The Dunmer shook his head with a warm understanding smile, resting his hands on her shoulders; "You haven't done anything wrong. But given what you've gone through, escaping the Circle and fleeing the Templars, right now you haven't fully come to terms with everything."

"Am I... not to your liking?" Her voice a whisper. She froze for a moment as one of his large hands touched her cheek. It felt so warm as she leaned into his palm.

"Far from it, you're one of the most beautiful woman I've ever met." A blush rose on her cheeks by his words that were sincere and honest. "But it would be wrong to bed you while your mind had not come to terms with it all."

He... even now was concerned about her that much?

"You're running high on too many emotions after a very impactful ordeal, you're not in a good place at the moment" He said in concern, "You're letting your impulses guide you, and I feel like I'm taking advantage of that"

She pursed her lip as she avoided his gaze, "What if I truly want you lay with you?"

"Then I'd tell you to wait until your mind is clear" He gently took hold of her chin so she could look at him, she looked so ashamed and embarrassed. "A night with you would be something memorable"

"...You're not making it easy on me" She groaned on a throaty voice. Seriously, he was chivalrous, kind, gentle, brave, and strong. Just so much worried for her wellbeing like no one ever had been before. It was making her want him all the more.

But... maybe he had a point. Maybe she wasn't thinking straight.

Maker she had never done this and she was ready to throw herself at him. She had sworn to live to the fullest when leaving the Circle, but this was still something that would be a touch out of character for her...

"Thank you..."

Oryrn smiled as he leaned in, taking her lips in a soft kiss. Adalora allowed herself to feel comforted by the tender gesture. Part of her wanted to continue, to wrap her arms around him again and-

She quickly pulled way, "I... I should probably stop before I get more ideas"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Dawn's light came which stirred Adalora as the sun warmth has shone through a window. The young elven woman groaned as she sat up from her bed. Her nose twitched as she smelled the cooking of food. Opening her eyes she saw Oryrn, back in his armor sans the helmet using the fireplace preparing a small breakfast for them.

"Good morning." She mumbled sleepily rubbing her eyes.

"Morning, hope you like fish." Oryrn glanced at her with a grin. Hopefully she could put the events of the night before behind her.

Oryrn chuckled at how hungry she looked. Fully dressed, the Thedosian mage sat beside him as they started eating. "Not sure where to go from here," She spoke quietly after swallowing down part of her meal.

"You can come with me if you want."

Adalora's head shot up with shock; "Y-you wouldn't mind? They will send more Templars after me; I'd be putting you in danger."

A chuckle came from the Dunmer; "I put myself in danger a lot facing all kinds of things back home. Plus it will be safer for you with me."

A blush dusted her cheeks gazing downward to her food to avoid his gaze. "But for now we figure out where to go from her-" He stopped as his ring on his right hand began to glow.

Adalora stared with wide eyes as Oryrn actually began to engage in a communication with his family (a rather odd family. But what did she know?) "You can communicate through rings?!" The ring in his finger actually enchanted to transmit his voice to other bearers linked to it.

She had heard about similar artifacts in the Tevinter Imperium, Sending Crystals they called it, but to see an item like this fascinating. Tamriel's advancements in magic were something she felt plenty of fascination for.

It was then that Adalora realized Oryrn was looking at her, the other members of his family were likely aware of his presence right now.

Oryrn's mother spoke, "And you are sweetie?"

"Uh...Sorry" She quickly apologized for having interjected into the conversation like that. "Adalora ma'am. Your son saved my life." The events of yesterday came flooding back to her mind, along with the worry and fear. "What the hell was I thinking, listening to Anders of all people? 'The Templars won't even realize until it's too late' my ass! First chance he had he got rid of me, the jerk! They nearly caught me and were gonna put me back in the tower but I couldn't take it anymore, but now I have to spend my life on the run and-!"

"Breath Adalora, breath" Oryrn calmly assured her. "You'll be fine"

"Yeah... Yeah, okay. I'm okay" She said as she slowly took calming breaths.

"Hmm" Sarya made a curious sound. "How did the Templars find you?"

"O-Oh" The Thedosian elf stammered. "They have a magical artifact called a phylactery. It's a-"

"Reliquary containing the blood of a mage, am I right?" Sarya quickly deduced much to the other elf's surprise. "Yes, we are familiar with the concept of phylacteries back in Tamriel, but we don't really use them for tracking"

"I-I see. Anyway, yes they still have my phylactery. So long as they have it they can track me. It glows when in proximity of the mage whose blood is in the reliquary"

"A-ha" The youngest daughter made a sound of understanding. "Would you like to travel beyond their reach, to a land far away?"

That made Adalora pause. Wait... what?

"Sarya..." Miara said in a warning tone. "I feel sympathy for these mages too, but DON'T do anything rash"

"Mother, the College of Winterhold, a number of mage guilds, and the academy in Cyrodiil. She will be safer there than anywhere here that's for damn sure!"Sarya said with absolute conviction.

College of Winterhold? Did she mean an actual magical institution from Tamriel? Adalora could feel her heart racing at the thought. Was the Oryrn's sister honest in her claims?

"Very well" Their mother said resigned.

"Y-you'd let me go to your lands?" the Thedosian elf sounded near desperately hopeful, Adalora could feel the tears gathering in her eyes. The hope swelling her chest so much it hurt.. "But what about Templars?"

"Adalora I told you, Templars in Tamriel are holy knights of the Nine Divines. Myself included as I explained." Oryrn said in a calm understanding tone.

"S-sorry... It's just being in the circle for so long, and being around the Templars I know of... It's a bit scary." Oryrn was NOTHING like them, Adalora refused to believe they hunted mages like her in his continent.

"Adalora I promise Tamriel will be safe for you" Oryrn's mother promised her. "Send her to the college of Winterhold. We have quite a few friends there and they will help you, understood?"

Serana, the woman Adalora was not quite sure how she was related to the family, sighed; "It will be weird at first given all the vast races of our lands. But the college will help you."

"So, what do you say girl?" Miara asked.

"I..." She paused for a moment before sighing. "I don't have any family here, nothing that really ties me down to Thedas... Yes, I want to start over, I want to go somewhere else"

"Okie dokie!" Sarya excitedly said. "Hey Merrill! I'm heading off for a bit, can you tell the others I'll be back soon?" She called to someone.

They heard a somewhat distant and muffled accented voice, yet could still make out the words and pick up the disappointment in them. "Awww, but you were going to teach me how to play Legends"

"I'll do it when I get back, don't you worry" She then once more spoke directly to the rink. "Hang on, I'll be right over" They heard the familiar hum of magic on her end.

That made Adalora blink in confusion, "Wait, what did she mean by-HOLY CRAP!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Adalora had giving him parting hug along with the most heartfelt gratitude she could muster, saying she'd hope to see him again one day, to which Oryrn said he would too.

Once Sarya had returned after taking Adalora to the College she had not stopped snickering once they had stopped speaking with their mother, Serana, and older sister and not gone back to the Dalish yet. Her twin brother rose a brow at her; "Something funny?"

"Nope, just didn't miss seeing the longing in your lady friend's eyes before taking her away from here. You left an impression. Should mom be expecting a grandchild anytime soon~?" She giggled at the sight of his dry glare.

Oryrn rolled his eyes; "Nothing happened, she had not fully processed what she went through."

"Ahhhh brother, ever the knight in shining armor"

"I just have a sense of responsibility, something you ought to learn by now"

"Hey, I'm plenty responsible" Sarya puts her arms akimbo as she stared defiantly at her brother, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the dalish again to teach this adorably naive elf tons of magic and how to play Legends. Ta-ta!" With that, she disappeared in a blaze of arcane light.

Oryrn just stared at where his sister used to be, gods above she was the only person in the world who managed to test his patience. Well, he supposed she wouldn't be his sister if she couldn't. "I swear, there were aftershocks to Aunt Rathuni giving her moonsugar as a kid"

XxX ~ several days later ~ XxX

As Oryrn traveled through south, leaving Crestwood and venturing towards the Hinterlands and Redcliffe, his thoughts drifted to Adalora. He hoped her new life on the College would be kinder to her than what the Circle had been. There were still old friends of his mother there, so at least he knew she was in good hands. His lips twitched upwards when he imagined her reacting toward the myriad of races Tamriel had to offer.

Now, on to the present. He had not really thought too far ahead on his next course of action. Exploring Ferelden was a very long process, but little by little he gained more insight and knowledge regarding how these lands worked, what kind of people lived here and such. Perhaps he would go to Redcliffe next, the capital of the region and seat of the arl was bound to be a place where he could see for himself more of Ferelden and learn of its history.

But Fate often throws one's plans on a curve.

As he strolled through the dirt road his eyes took notice of two figures sitting on stumps. Dwarves... He found it odd the term was for these small humanoid beings instead of elves who lived underground. Still he shrugged it off before taking noticed that one dwarf was a man in rough leathers with a fairly common if squared face with a defined jawline, short sandy blond hair and stubby chin. On his cheek was a strange tattoo.

Beside him was a dwarven woman also in hard leathers whose features were far from common, possessing a strong air of nobility. Fair flawless skin with full red lips, light brunette hair up in a bun with bangs framing her oval face. What got his attention were her sapphire colored eyes, the feeling of loss etched in her gaze. As was her expression and body posture.

His steps slowed before stopping in front of the two as they looked up at him. The man's brown eye danced with humor; "Good day Ser knight!" His tone jovial and pleasant.

"Good day," Oryrn replied as he looked through his helmet at the woman; "Are you both alright?"

As he looked at them better he noticed their condition was not exactly the best. There were old bruises across the visible parts of their bodies, the bags under their eyes showed the exhaustion in them. Even their gear looked like it required some serious maintenance, he could see pieces of the armor being weathered and torn in some areas. He suspected they haven't had a good meal in a while.

"Of course" The woman said in a strong voice, "Just... passing through, we're on our way to Honnleath" He could she was trying to put on a strong face.

"I see" He replied, "Forgive me for saying so, but you two don't look so good"

"Ehh, just a couple of rough patches along the way" The tattooed dwarf tried to pass it off. "Nothing to worry"

"Hmm... Perhaps you'd like to partake in some food with me"

The male dwarf's eyes widened slight as his mouth watered, "Well... it'd be rude to say no to the kindness of strangers"

The woman did not look too please and nudged him in the side, "Faren!" She hissed, "We don't take charity"

"You. You don't take charity, I'd actually like to eat something that isn't some wild berry"

It was then, as if out of defiance the woman's stomach let out a loud bestial growl that could be mistaken for a bear. Faren chuckled; "Your belly agrees with me your highness." That earned him a dark glare from the dwarven woman which made him wince; "Sorry..."

Oryrn gazed at the woman who glared at her companion before a sigh escaped her lips; "We are fine Ser knight." Her apparent stubbornness was being rivaled by her obvious hunger as her stomach growled even louder.

Faren rolled his eyes; "Fine my sodding Stone." he grumbled now ignoring the renewed glare from the woman. "We're lost and we need help, Sereda, since neither one of us have ever been outside of Orzammar. Never mind even with that map that merchant gave us means little since have no idea which way is which."

Oryrn tilted his head; "Reason would dictate you both need help. And an act of kindness does not mean doing it out of pity, but doing the right thing."

A frown marred Sereda's face as she gazed at the ground. "You'll forgive me if I don't take a stranger's words at face value" She could not keep the bitterness from her voice, there was pain there. Very fresh and personal.

The Templar merely gave his offer once more, pulling a loaf of bread from his belongings. "It is no concern, please, take it"

No sooner than he said it, Faren, the stubble dwarf, grabbed the bread with blinding speed and began devouring it like a wild animal. Sereda eyed the food with longing, try as she might she couldn't hide the longing in her face, she liked her lips dryly as if she could taste it...

She shook her head, forcing herself to remain strong, as though her pride was more important. But then the black armored warrior offered her another loaf, she looked up to the concealed face of the knight, with shaky hands she reached out and grabbed the bread. The first bite was heavenly, the second one even more so.

Soon after, the three were sitting on the side of the road, Oryrn watched as the two ate and drank like ferocious animals. By the Aedra and Daedra were these two hungry...

"So..." Faren said with a mouth full before washing it down with a water skin Oryrn gave him. "Not gonna take off your helmet, you ugly or something?"

"Faren!" Sereda chided him.

A chuckle came from the Templar as he took off his helmet. Both dwarves blinked as they saw the face of a raven haired bearded elven man with blues eyes staring at them with mirth.

"Thought elves... were supposed to be short and thin," Faren spoke in a stupor. Sereda absently nodded as what she was told about elves.

"I'm not from around here." By the looks from his current company they wanted to hear more; "I'm from a foreign land called Tamriel."

"And you're talking to a pair of dwarves who are not exactly worldly informed." Sereda retorted taking a bite from her bread. "We spent our lives in Orzammar under the earth. Dwarves don't pay much attention to the dealings of what happens above ground."

"Though we do now since we're up here," Faren said cheerfully; "Still wondering if we'll fall into the sky."

Oryrn lifted a at the words; "You can't fall to the sky... unless some magic is involved"

"Oh, good" Sereda let out a big sigh of relief. "Luckily we dwarves are resistant to magic"

"Really?" Oryrn quirked an eyebrow, his tone rather dry. "You mean to tell me nothing would happen if a mage were to hurl a fireball at you, or lightning? Maybe even throw a chunk of earth at you even"

"Alright, alright. Not fully resistant to magic" She rolled her eyes. "It's just that weird mind tricks I hear some of them surface mages do. I wouldn't know what those magic slings can do, pretty much the only mages we ever meet are Wardens who come down to the Deep Roads"

"Hmph" Oryrn made a thinking noise before moving on, "So, what are you looking for in that Honnleath town?"

"Oh we got a very awesome thing from a merchant" Faren said excitedly, "A golem control rod!"

"A golem?" The elf repeated. In Tamriel there were different types of golems, such as those created by mages with elements and animated with arcane energies, or lesser daedra shaped into a certain form by the will of the user. That was not even going into the Dwemer Animunculi. He wondered how much the Thedosian golems differed from Tamriel's.

"Old dwarven constructs" Sereda clarified for him. "They were created when the First Blight began, the Darkspawn were decimating our empire, so we needed an edge. A great smith by the name of Caradin developed the way to create living status of stone or metal that would fight with the smart of a real warrior but with the sheer strength of a siege engine"

So same concept but different application than of that the Dwemer. Well it was worth investigating and luck was seemingly on his side. "As it just so happens I also have some business in Honnleath." He pulled out a paper envelope from one of his satchels; "Need to deliver this for some family from Crestwood."

Sereda lifted a brow while Faren smiled; "That's a lovely coincidence Mr. Elf."

"Oryrn. Oryrn Redoran..."

"Well, my food providing friend, I'm Faren Brosca" The male dwarf introduced himself properly, giving him an exaggerated bow of his head with a hand to his chest. "And my friend here is Sereda A-"

"Just Sereda now" The woman said dispassionately, "That's who I am, no longer am I allowed my last name"

Her companion winced before rubbing his neck as he awkwardly looked away. Her words all but confirmed his suspicions; something had happened to Sereda, something related to the circumstances on why she left her home.

"Are you alright?" He hoped a few kind words would help her.

"I'm fine" Her voice said otherwise.

"If you want to talk about it-"

Her hands clenched and unclenched, her brows twitching as anger, sadness and pain flashed through her eyes. "I do not"

Oryrn understood, and so let it be. Seeing the need to change the mood, he asked them, "If you're going to Honnleath, why were you traveling north? The maps I've seen point it in the other direction"

The dwarves looked at him incredulously; they blinked a few times before the woman replied in a droning voice, "We weren't traveling south?"

The Templar shook his head; "No... I thought you gotten a map from that merchant?"

"We did," Both Dwarves spoke defensively before Sereda bit back a long groan; "Sodding stone sense works like nug crap out here." The woman growled as she took the water-skin to her lips.

"Well we can camp for the night and head in the right direction tomorrow. You both look like you need some more food and actual rest."

Sereda gave the elf a dry stare; "You sure you won't be too well off helping two lost dwarves?"

"Just doing the right thing." He stated simply with a shrug.

XxX ~ next morning ~ XxX

The Hinterlands had to be the most pleasant scenery of natural beauty of this country that Oryrn had seen so far. The sun shining high above allowed the colors to stand out all the more in the valley filled with lush forests and crystal clear lakes. The fauna was plentiful, and the flora bloomed with an eye-catching variety of colors. The farming homesteads that dotted the region were evidence to the fertility found in the valley.

Even with the occasional town or hamlet they ran across, or the old ruin long since abandoned, what stood out more to Oryrn was the magic, the sheer energy that came from the nature in the region. Truly, Kyne's hand had touched this land with a loving and gentle caress.

He could spend days here, just meditating, taking in the peace and serenity.

"So, you gotta tell me, what are you really getting out of this?"

If not for a small detail...

"Is it money you want? Cause we ain't have a lot"

As they made their journey towards Honnleath, the roguish dwarf had just not stopped talking.

"I told you I have business of my own there" Well, not exactly of his own. But a quest was a quest, even if it was those 'fetching quests' his mother despised so much.

"Oh no, no, no" Faren shook his head with a knowing smirk, "You don't fool me duster. You want something, if it's not money then it can only be one thing, and I'm sorry but you're not my type"

"...Excuse me?" Oryrn deadpanned.

"Oh I've seen the way you've looked at me"

Sereda had to snort at that. At least it was nice to hear her laugh instead of her usual downed mood.

The elf heaved a sigh as he rolled his eyes, "Perish the thought, my mother raised me to have better taste"

Faren dramatically placed his hand on his heart; "You wound me good Ser. Am I not handsome enough?"

"I prefer women thank you."

That sparked a gleam in Faren's eyes; "Oh, so you wish to bed dear Sereda here."

"He's probably a better lay than you would be," The female Dwarf offered her opinion which earn a chortled from Oryrn while Faren slumped his head. "And he's actually handsome."

A loud pitiful sigh came from the roguish dwarf; "Woo be for this simple honest dwarf."

Oryrn only rolled his eyes as the trio kept their pace even through the Hinterlands. Besides that one retort of sarcasm from Sereda she had kept quiet while Faren reminded the elf of his twin being an utter chatterbox. But conversation did make traveling go smoother as his mother always said.

Faren was very forthcoming about his past, without shame or hesitation, "So as you would expect, they found me out. But after a being locked away for a time me and my friend managed to break out, ended up in the Deed Roads where I would have died had I not met Sereda"

A scoundrel with nothing to his name. Just a thief and a thug, that's what Faren called himself. The dwarf didn't seem to think much of himself, but he spoke in a manner so easy-going and earnest that Oryrn simply couldn't find any type of sadness or buried pain in him. He seemed to be a man who lived in the now.

Oryrn did not judge him for his past, his circumstances were far from ideal but were he in Faren's shoes he'd probably would have done the same. Besides, having been raised by his mother, someone who knew very much about the moral ambiguity of one's actions from personal experience, Oryrn was open minded to accept those of questionable background.

Sereda on the other hand would give him a disapproving look once in a while, but it was clear she at least tolerated his criminal past so long as he kept his twitchy fingers in check. Personally, Oryrn believed the two had formed a sense of camaraderie, having come to rely on the other to survive in a world they knew very little about ever since they found each other on the Deep Roads.

As to her own circumstances to why she ended up in that dreadful place, she still kept quiet on the subject.

What he could tell least from her eyes was that she was in pain. Not in the physical sense but in the heart, and the wound was fresh. This was something she was not ready to share, especially not with a strange foreign elf she met yesterday. Oryrn understood at the present moment Sereda needed space.

"So," Faren looked up to the ebony armor clad Dunmer; "What brought you here?"

"My family."

Sereda shifted her eyes towards him; "Your family?"

"We heard about this place and decided to explore." Was better not to fully say why they were here.

A squinted gaze came from Faren; "Don't normal families tend to typically stay together when traveling?"

"We're not normal."

Sereda sighed in return, "Who really is nowadays?"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

It was a couple of hours later that they finally arrived at Honnleath. A quaint little village that at first look one would think nothing truly interesting ever happened there. But Oryrn knew for a fact all places had their own stories, their own secrets even. It was part of the adventurer's allure, to see new places and discover their stories, one quest leading to another.

Even if it was something as basic as delivering a letter.

As the trio entered the village gate, passing underneath the watchful gaze of the lookout on his scaffolding, Oryrn approached an older looking man who sat by the entrance of his house, carving a wooden figuring with a knife. "Excuse me" The black armored warrior prompted the man to turn away from his task and look at him, "I'm looking for a Rutherford family, I have a letter to deliver to them"

"They live at the second house next to the blacksmith in the center of town" The older main pointed with his knife. "It's where the old statue is, won't miss it"

"Thank you. Oh by the way" He waved at the dwarves at his side, "My friends are looking for a golem they were told resides here"

"Do you know where it could be?" Sereda asked.

The man frowned, "Well course I do, it's that statue I mentioned. Don't know what you want with it, damn thing has a bloody history, I say it's a good thing it hasn't moved in decades..."

Oryrn did not miss the disdain in the man's voice as the dwarves glanced at one another. Still, the three made their way through village undaunted. Walking up the hill-path the Dunmer and Dwarves took notice of the towering stone 'statue' in the village's center.

"I saw a few inactive golems in the Deep Roads," Sereda commented as she and Faren made their way towards their reason for coming here. "This one looks...Different."

Idly listening the Dunmer separated from the two and glanced at the blacksmith and seeing a man out at the house he needed to go to.

Sereda watched the elf for a second then back to the inactive Golem beside Faren who gazed at it with wonder as they stopped and stood in front of it; "I've heard so many stories about these, but to actually see one!"

"A lost legacy of our people..." The female dwarf spoke absently before she took notice of Oryrn rejoining them; "What do you think?"

These were very different compared to the metal automatons that aimless wandered the empty ruins of the underground Dwemer cities. He had to admit he was curious just how they created these here in Thedas. Oryrn turned his gaze to Sereda; "Unique. So how do you wake this thing?"

At the question Faren reached into one of his large pockets and pulled out a small rod made of stone encrusted with jewels. "With this!"

"Okay... And then what?"

Sereda answered staring at the Golem; "With a verse in Dwarven." She took the rod from a giddy Faren as she pointed at the inert stone being. And speaks two words Felix had instructed them to say to wake the Golem. "Dulef gar!"

And... Nothing...

Sereda frowned as she stared at the control rod, shaking it and hitting it against her palm a few times. "This isn't right, the rod should be working correctly" She pointed it at the golem and tried again, "Dulef gar!" Once again, it bore no results.

"Are you saying it right?" Oryrn absently asked.

"I know my own language, thank you" She replied rather acidly.

The elf threw up his hands placating. "Just saying. How much did the rod cost you anyway?"

"Nothing" Faren answered for her, "The guy who gave it to us didn't want anything for it"

"Suddenly it makes sense it doesn't work"

"He only said the thing brought him bad luck" The rogue said before looking at the control rod, "I guess I can see that now"

"Oh you dusted thing" Sereda growled, if looks could kill the rod would be bursting into flames right now. "I swear I'll get it to work if it's the last thing I do" The prospect of owning a golem was too enticing to ignore.

"Excuse me" It was then that they noticed a man in short plain clothes with short blonde haired approaching them, "May I ask what you're trying to do?" He asked suspiciously. It seems their presence in front of the golem had drawn the eye of a few villages around them.

"Apologizes if we're causing a scene," Oryrn spoke first.

"It's fine, but what are you doing exactly?" The man asked again as a little girl in a dress with pigtails ran up beside the man, likely his daughter.

Sereda grunted before giving the man a sideways glance; "Trying to wake this sodding Golem." She lifted up the control rod for the man to see.

His reaction got all threes attention as he sneered at the object; "You ran into Felix de Grosbois?" Sereda and Faren nodded; "Ugh I'd thought I'd never have seen that blighted thing ever again. Hell I didn't think someone would actually come and try to wake Shale up, figured they keep the rod as a souvenir."

The Golem actually has a name? Well, Oryrn supposed it's not uncommon since the Dwemer Automatons have them. Though this sounds more of a personal name than a designation.

"Well we did," Sereda commented as she gazed back at the inert Golem; "This is an artifact of my people."

The human man shook his head; "Regardless we're all safer if that monstrosity stays where it is."

"They wanna wake up Shale papa?" The girl asked looking up to her father.

"I'd rather they not" The man said as he faced the trio, "Listen, Shale's previous owner was my father, Wilhelm. It used to be something of an attraction around the village, parading it around, my father always used it to help with his experiments, and help around the village from time to time" He rested his hands on his waist and shook his head sadly, "Then one day, we found my father dead on ground and Shale right next to him, now inactive"

"You think the golem killed your father?" The black armored elf asked.

"That's what everyone here concluded" He explains with a shrug, "We don't really had any evidence about it, but Shale made it easy on us to think it was the culprit. It certainly voiced its complaints a lot for a hulk of rock. So my mother sold the control rod, hoping it would never be activated it again"

"Wait" Sereda frowned, "You mean the golem spoke? That's very rare; most golem constructs were completely silent as our records go"

"Must have been my father's experiments, I'm not too sure"

"Are those experiments why it looks like this?" The dwarven woman asked, noting the uneven shape of the Shale's body, the chipped pieces of rock, and the crystals sprouting from on its back on arms.

"Ehhh, more or less" Matthias awkwardly scratched his neck, "Shale was actually much bigger. But it had troubles fitting through the door so my father had it chiseled"

Well that explained quite a bit to Sereda who had read up on Paragon Caradin and the Golems during her studies. And she was fairly certain you didn't experiment on a Golem like this man's father did. Sereda felt a headache coming as she rubbed her eyes with a sigh escaping her lips.

Faren scratched his head; "Well... You sure the golem isn't damaged then?"

"There is no way to know." Sereda groaned with frustration.

"At any rate," Oryrn spoke glancing at the dwarves and then the man and his daughter; "I'm Oryrn Redoran, This is Sereda, and Faren."

"Matthias, this is my daughter Amalia." He turned his gazed to the visibly disgruntled female Dwarf; "I'm sorry my lady. But for everyone-" He stopped as the sound of a large bell rang throughout the village.

"DARKSPAWN!" The voice of a man roared as he ran into the village in a panicked speed.

Yells and various cries of panic and fear rang throughout the village, little Amalia clung to her father's leg as the man's eyes widened in shock, "Maker, so far up north already?!" He raised his voice as loud as he could, waved at his fellow villagers so they would notice him, "Go to my house people, we'll be safe there!"

Thankfully, the town's folk seemed to listen to him and hurried over to his house, almost shoving each other as they forced their way through the door.

"You need to hurry!" Matthias pleaded at the trio. "We'll be safe there, my father left a few magical devices, and I know how to operate a barrier that'll keep the Darkspawn from reaching us!"

"And then what?" Sereda asked, "Wait until we all die of starvation?" If they holed themselves up like nugs with no hope of escaping, then that would be the fate that awaited them.

"She's right" Oryrn agreed his voice strong and determined. "The only choice is to fight the Darkspawn; otherwise they'll wreck the town and eventually kill everyone here"

"But..." The man looked at them incredulously, "there are just three of you"

"Heh" Faren rolled his neck, popping the joints. "Yeah it's an unfair fight, for the blighters that is"

Oryrn drew his sword with his shield ready, "Take your daughter and go, put up that barrier. The three of us will handle the darkspawn." So he would finally get to see what these creatures.

Matthias looked at the trio with concern before picking up his daughter and gave them a nod; "I pray you all survive!"

Without looking back he ran with the villagers into his house.

"Have you ever faced Darkspawn Oryrn?" Sereda asked getting ready for the battle.

"No."

"Their blood is highly corrupting," Faren said in a very serious voice; "Whatever you do don't get it in your mouth or you're as good as dead."

"Understood" He spun his sword.

Sereda rolled her shoulders as she brought her sword and shield to bear, the sword was rudimentary at first glance, but to Oryrn he could see that when it came to weapons, dwarven craftsmanship placed greater important to its function than it looks. It was very well made and rather long for someone of Sereda's size. It just a tad shorter than a sword like his own, and while obviously adjusted for her height it wasn't as altered as he would have expected.

The shield was another story, its shape was circular, very wide and large, but what caught his attention the most was very detailed its engraving was, a beautiful craftsmanship indeed. A very evenly designed actogram with various geometrical lines running through the edges and making their way inwards into more intrinsically patterns.

Faren's daggers were oval in shape, designed for stabbing as much as slashing. He spun them in his hands with great dexterity, before looking into his pouches. He grimaced, "Don't have a lot of potions and bombs left"

"You still have the concoctions that make you invisible?" Sereda asked.

"Hmm, just two"

"Save them unless you see a target that warrants"

"I'm sure the people here will let you make more after we're done" Oryrn proposed.

Faren chuckled at that, "So sure of our chances?"

"I believe you were the one saying it's the Darkspawn who are at a disadvantage"

The rogue lifted an eyebrow, "Was that a touch of mirth I heard in your voice?"

"From me?" Oryrn said as he walked forward, intent on meeting the Darkspawn head on before they could get further into the village. "Don't be absurd"

Sereda let out a soft laugh as she followed him; the male dwarf rolled his eyes and followed along as well. "Why can't our talks always be this nice?"

By now all the villagers had to be in Matthias' house where they would be safe. Oryrn steeled himself as he prepared to meet the Darkspawn in battle for the first time.

What he found disgusted him to the core.

They crossed the village's gate, howling and shrieking in search of blood. Their skin was sickly and twisted a few almost like they were rotting. Their sharp edged gear was rusty but he did not doubt they were still very effective. A few donned heavier sets of jagged plate while others covered themselves in chainmail and leather or plate. He noticed how there seemed to be at least three types, of the creatures. One as tall as humans, the other short and stout like dwarves, yet another type was short as well yet possessed a much more developed and larger bulk, mainly in its arms, walking over their knuckles like apes.

Everything about them just felt... wrong. Completely, and absolutely wrong to Oryrn. He could feel a darkness coming from them, a corruption that twisted life itself, warping flesh into these unholy creatures.

Abominations, that's the most befitting word Oryrn could give them. They were affronts against life, just monsters that sought to kill and exterminate. The type of creatures that would earn the wrath of Meridia just by existing.

"Taller ones are hurlocks" Sereda said, her voice dripping with this disgust. "Shorter ones are genlocks; they come in different sizes and shapes. The base type are more versatile, they can fight in melee or use bows in range. The bulkier ones are stronger, they'll try to tear your limbs apart and gnaw off your face"

"Lovely..." The elf droned.

"No emissaries, darkspawn mages, with them" She continued, her eyes narrowing upon a much larger hurlock of bulking mass that hefted a giant warhammer over its shoulder. "But they have an Alpha, way smarter than a regular darkspawn, they direct the groups"

"Do we take it out first?"

"Concentrate on the stragglers, then take out the big one"

It was then the darkspawn noticed them, the shrieks they made were unnatural sounds that would shake the hearts of lesser men. The Alpha roared, pointing its warhammer at their direction, ordering the rest of its party to take them out. The archers among them spread out to more advantageous positions, while the genlocks, both the common and its bulkier brethren, charged at them, the hurlocks following suit.

Against creatures that emanated such an aura of corruption, Oryrn had no doubt in his mind that his particular brand of magic would be effective against them; he just had to test his theory. He let go of his shield and reared back his arm, gathering pure light in the palm of his hand, willing it to take shape.

The power of the Tamriel Templar, the holy magics which draw power from the gods. These schools of spells were often practiced by healers and priests, monks and sects of warriors would employ them to exterminate evil. It was a magic powered by faith.

While many drew power from faith in the gods, there were others such as Oryrn who based their faith not on a deity, but a belief, a set of morals, ideals held in the highest of regards. Oryrn, who was too closely related to the gods, placed his faith in the values his mother taught him as he was growing up, so in her words he could grow up to become better than she ever was. Justice, honor, righteousness, those were the things he dearly believed it. Doing good for the sake of good, to defend the defenseless.

And right now, there was an entire village of innocents counting on him.

The light in his hand shined like the sun, its spear shape shimmered with godlike power as he called it forth. With a heave and a mighty cry, he threw the spear which pierced the air with a sound that was almost musical in nature.

The spear impacted upon one of the bulky genlocks, exploding with holy power, spreading against more of its kin that were too close to the area of the impact. They let out horrified shrieks of agony as the light burned them, searing skin and flesh, its twisted pale colors blackening.

Sereda and Faren watched in morbid fascination as the corrupted beasts hit by whatever the elf threw at them were burning them to ashes. "That's an advantage," Oryrn spoke with utter conviction.

The alpha hurlock growled before releasing a bestial roar. The remaining Darkspawn growled and hissed in anger.

"Well you definitely pissed them off!" Faren stated as the Darkspawn charged again. "Here they come!"

Sereda let out a valiant cry as she shield bashed a genlock, knocking it back and giving her ample opportunity to bury her blade in its throat. The charging sound if it's much bulkier kin drew her attention, managing to lift her shield just in time to hold back the creature, its massive arms banging upon the metal with ferocity. Her feet dragged across the ground as she was pushed back, her teeth gritting in effort as she tried to hold the beast back.

Faren dashed at her side in a display of speed, with a short leap he stabbed one of his daggers over the creature's neck, it let out a gurgling cry, trashing before slowly succumbing to the ground.

Sereda quickly recovered and pushed Faren away, blocking an arrow with her large shield. Oryrn spotted a trio of hurlock archers wielding bows who had chosen to stand atop some elevated ground. He gathered his magic once again and threw his aedric spear sky high; it splintered upon a multitude of lesser projectiles that fell upon the archers like a hailstorm of death.

As before the darkspawn howled in pure agony and pain with their bodies burned by the magical light. "What the hell are you?!" Sereda bellowed as she sliced through a hurlock's knees. It hissed before collapsing forward till her blade connected through its head killing it.

"Explain once over!" Oryrn yelled back as he rolled out of the way of the large Alpha who charged for him.

The elf threw another of his spears, but the Alpha proved its superior intelligence by knowing the projectile would be severely harmful. It grabbed one of its lesser kin, throwing it on the middle of the spear's path. The hurlock cried in pain as the Alpha carelessly stepped over it, continuing its path.

It brought its giant warhammer down upon him, Oryrn barely managed to dodge in time as Faren swiftly stepped in, slashing at the back of the Alpha's knees, the dwarf ducked as it swung its harmer wildly. Sereda charged in with a battle cry, seeking to stab the creature with a thrust of her blade. It pierced through its jagged armor, making the creature growl in pain, yet it kept moving. It looked down at Sereda in fury that paled at the sight of the hammer being raised. She held her shield up just in time as the hammer fell down, making her groan as her knees buckled under the weight.

The Alpha raised its hammer once more, seeking to pummel the dwarven woman as many times as it was necessary. The hammer fell down a second time, drawing a cry of pain from the dwarf as one of her knees gave out; the ringing metal of the shield vibrated through her bones, her arms ached in agony, struggled to keep her shield up. Sereda wasn't sure how much she could resist the Alpha's mighty blows that felt more akin to a bronco stepping over her.

The monstrous darkspawn hefted his warhammer once more, and Sereda braced her. Suddenly Oryrn arrived swiftly at her side, holding up his free hand and casting a golden barrier around them. The impact of the hammer against the barrier was akin to ripples in the water. Making Oryrn grit his teeth as how much strength this creature possessed.

It was then that Faren jumped unto the creature with a battle cry, burying its daggers over its back as he held on it. The Alpha roared and thrashed around, yet the rogue held on, repeatedly stabbing its back.

Its roar of pain echoed the village but Faren kept digging his daggers into the monster's flesh. Its blackened blood spewed all over the ground killing grass and darkening the earth. Still the Alpha endured till a blade black as night pierced from it jaw, through its skull and came through the top of its head. The enormous warhammer fell from its hands.

Oryrn growled as he gripped his blade, "Burn in the fires of the gods!" He roared as his sword took the glow of his Aedric spear and the Alpha was enveloped in holy flames. Faren leapt off as the darkspawn ignited.

They watched as the creature fell limp to the ground, its body slowly crumbling into charred corpse as holy fire ate away at its corrupted flesh, making for a very macabre looking campfire. The Templar scowled at the remains of the other Darkspawn, a part of him wanted to study them closely, but a bigger part of him demanded he destroys them. Better to get rid of them than letting the villages have to.

Summoning golden embers of flames in his hands, he quickly proceeded to immolate every corpse he found on sight.

Faren sat on the ground, letting out a long dragged out sigh while Sereda sheathed her weapon. "Didn't tell us you were a mage" He said to Oryrn.

"You didn't ask"

"I get it, I get it" Sereda put up her hands, "Chantry here is all crazy about magic and demons, don't worry, we won't tell. Wouldn't be proper of me to rat out someone who fought at our side"

"About that, we really kick ass together" Faren said with smirk, "Real good team playing there"

Oryrn couldn't help but agree, despite still being recent acquaintances, the three had demonstrated a high level of coordination, taking down the darkspawn together and protecting each other at various instances. The Templar believed it to be a testament on both their own individual skill and the mentality to work on each other's strengths at the right time.

The elf paused before recounting the battle; "That group was too small, they must have been a scouting party."

"Darkspawn don't scout." Sereda stated turning to Oryrn; "They corrupt and destroy. Leaving no survivors save for women."

His brow rose as he took off his helmet; "They take women? Why?" The idea worried him immensely.

Her gaze darkened considerably, disgust and horror etched unto her face, "Broodmothers… you don't want to know"

Well that was informative, the elf grunted; "Let's go tell the village everything is alright now."

Both Dwarves gave a nod as they went back up the hill; Sereda glanced at Shale before refocusing to Matthias house. "You two should probably get some new gear at the smith's before you go anywhere. Those leathers look ready to fall off."

At that Sereda could help but agree gazing down at cringing at her armor. She was lucky finding that sword and shield of dwarven in workable condition when trying to survive the deep roads.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

They entered the house, and were surprised to find no one inside, realizing the townsfolk must be deeper inside the house, as it looked surprisingly large, more so than what its' appearance on the outside suggested.

"Looks like this place was built into the earth" Oryrn pointed out.

"Ahhh now this feels like a proper home" Sereda said in approval.

Navigating deeper into the center of the house, the Templar couldn't help but notice the various kinds of artifacts laid in various tables and shelves, not to mention the massive collection of tomes and books. They were all giving an arcane vibe, especially those crystals they kept finding on the desks.

"This house belonged to a mage" The elf said, running his hand over one of the tomes that lay on a table.

"Makes sense I guess" Faren shrugged, "Matthias said his dad experimented on Shale, he was either a mage or an alchemist or something" He had little idea on what the former could do, but he knew for a fact that alchemists did pretty amazing things when working with lyrium.

As the ventured further in, their suspicions were proven correct when they reached an ample room and found Matthias and the villagers standing behind a shining barrier that split the room in half, no doubt meant to keep invaders from getting further in.

"You're back!" He cried out in joyous disbelief, along with many other villages who expressed their surprise and relief in various ways, some even dropping to the floor and thanking their god. "Are the Darkspawn gone?"

"We sent them back to the bowels of the earth" Sereda said with satisfaction. "It was a good thing we were here when they arrived"

"Bless you," An elf woman said tearfully as Matthias dispelled the barrier. Before the people could thank their saviors Matthias came up to trio first. Worry and panic shone in his eyes.

"My daughter Amalia, she let go of my hand and went into my father's old research room." He pointed to a door at the side of the wall well hidden by shelves beside it.

Oryrn's brow rose; "You can't get her?"

"I've never gone into that place; father placed all kinds of magical traps down there." Matthias said fearfully.

"What kind of a father are you?" Sereda accused him, surprising Oryrn by how much anger there was in them. "'Oh it's dangerous'! If you were a real father you'd go after her!"

Matthias' gaze became downcast in shame, "I-"

"Enough Sereda" Oryrn firmly spoke, "You're not helping"

She crossed her arms, turning her back to the man with disgust. "Neither is he"

After a few awkward seconds, Faren coughed, getting their attention. "Look, we'll get the runt. Don't worry" He smiled at him, hoping to ease his fears, "Anything you could tell us about the place?"

"Only that it's got some traps, beyond that I don't know. I never dared to venture further"

"Will watch out for traps and get Amalia," Oryrn stated with a glance to Sereda who grunted.

Matthias gave a grateful nod to the elf and male dwarf as Sereda had already started for the research door.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

They entered into a large narrow cave pathway. Oryrn stayed ahead of them having a keen eye for magical traps thanks to his training from his mother, Serana, and the Paladins. Luckily he found none as they came to a large carved out room with an old table, desk, and shelves fill with tomes and scrolls, and lastly a fireplace. Dust and cobwebs was thick in this area as they noticed another path beside the room. Going through they saw those weird crystals on either side of cave rock.

It felt like they were going downward they finally neared a door.

It took them through a hallway that connected to a great chamber. In the center of it all there was some sort of square puzzle-like construct in which some of the tiles had streams of fire jumping from segment to segment. Around the device five support beams held up the cave's stone ceiling, at the side of the beams there were various statues of mabari as well as carvings of soldiers.

But what drove their attention the most was Amalia, kneeling in front of the device to pet a cat.

The trio let out a collective sigh of relief at seeing the young girl safe and sound. "There you are" Oryrn said gently as he approached her, the pig-tailed girl turned to look at them in surprise, but waved at them all the same. "Amalia, your father is worried sick; you shouldn't have run here when the village was about under attack"

"I know" She said, her face frowning in lamentation, "I was so scared, so I wanted to come here to see Kitty. She always cheers me up when I'm sad or worried"

"The cat lives here?" Faren muttered in confusion, real odd for the feline to just stay all the time here.

"Yes!" The young girl nodded. "Grandpa Wilhelm trapped Kitty here long ago. Can you imagine it? That's so mean! I have no idea why grandpa would do that..."

That set off various warning bells on Oryrn's mind, "Why would a mage need to trap a cat here?" The strange device in front of them, it must have something to do with it. "Amalia, where did you learn that?" He asked her, though he kept his tone controlled, there was still urgency in his voice.

She cheerfully said, "Kitty told me!"

"...That cat can talk," Faren spoke with honest skepticism.

"Yes, I can." three pairs of eyes shot towards the direction of the feline who stared back up at them. Its eyes glowed a pinkish color; "Amalia has always been such a dear. I had been all alone down here for so long till she came." The feline's voice was feminine, melodic and sultry.

This was no ordinary feline. Oryrn knew this was some sort of entity, of what he was not sure. But he felt behind that playful voice was an edge of maliciousness. "So what are you?" he asked with a minor curiosity but held his priority for the girl first.

"I'm a cat, can't you tell..."

"And I'm a nug" Faren muttered to himself.

Oryrn was certain that was no cat at all, it exuded a supernatural aura. And while it was doing a great job at keeping it suppressed, someone of Oryrn's expertise and own nature could feel it at this distance. Not to mention the cat was passively using its magic to make other people more susceptible to its influence. No doubt it was trying to possess Amalia's mind.

The elf had to think carefully, planning on how to approach the situation without risking Amalia. If the cat wanted to possess the girl then it would have done so already. But the girl did say her grandfather had trapped the creature in this place, its power was most likely limited, weakened in some form. So it took the form of a simple household animal to trick the girl. A combination of childish wonder and subtle influence on the cat's part made the girl act quite comfortable before it.

Oryrn feared what this creature actually is; a demon the Chantry preached against needed was permission from the girl to possess her body and escape. He would not allow it.

"All I want is to spend time with Amalia, oh I adore the dear so much" The cat purred. "If you'd give us some privacy-"

"I know what you want" Oryrn warned her, "And you will not have her"

"Have me?" The girl tilted her head in confusion.

"And here I thought we were having such a nice conversation" The demon sighed in disappointment, "Now, now, let's not do anything rash or else there'll be... consequences" She stalked closer to the girl, oblivious to the danger she was in.

A thought occurred to Oryrn; he looked at the puzzle device before them, "That construct keeps you sealed here, right?"

The cat-looking creature frowned, "Correct..." She said with suspicion.

"If we release, do you promise to let the girl go?"

The slanted eyes widened in surprise, "Ohhh I swear it upon my honor" She purred in delight.

This was no magical oath; Oryrn knew the demon would go back at her word first time she got. But that was fine; it wasn't Oryrn's intention to let her go anyway.

"Faren, Sereda" He called to his companions, "Can you try solving the puzzle?"

"What?" The dwarven woman's eyes widened in surprise, "Look Oryrn I admit I have no idea about any of this stuff, but are you sure it's safe to-"

"Please" He insisted, his voice soft and controlled, "Trust me"

The dwarves exchanged an uneasy look, Faren shrugged before nodding to the elf, Sereda sighed before agreeing, "Alright" With that, the two began inspecting the device, trying to figure out how to operate it.

The cat's attention was directed to the dwarves, the thought of her freedom being so close at hand made her turn away from the girl and the knight. "Yeeees..." Her voice was full of ecstasy, almost salivating. Release of this damnable prison after so long.

That brief moment of distraction was all Oryrn needed. He charged holy magic on his hand, carefully approaching Amalia and placing his cast hand on her shoulder. A sacred ward was formed around the girl, protecting her against malicious influences and shielding her mind.

The pig-tailed girl blinked in confusion at the glow surrounding her. "What's this?"

The cat's attention snapped back to them, feeling her control of the girl slipping away. "What have you done?!" She cried out in outrage.

"I've protected her from you" Oryrn glared at the creature defiantly.

"No! She is mine! MINE!"

"No longer, demon" The Templar spat as he thrusted his arm, the golden glow of magic burst from his hand, "Now, reveal to us your true self!"

While the dunmer could admit his conjuration skills were nowhere near Sarya's, his mothers'; he was adept enough to use what he needed. And at the moment he was binding this demon to his will.

It roared in defiance as it mentally fought against him in-vain as his will was as unyielding as steel. Soon a light enveloped the cat and a figure took its place which caused Amalia to scream in fright and hide behind Oryrn.

"Oh you sneaky duster!" Faren chuckled as he returned to the elf's side with Sereda. "You needed a distraction."

"Pretty much."

The roguish dwarf whistled at the sight of a scantily clad female humanoid creature with purple and grey skin, horns just above the brow with glowing velvet eyes, and flames coming off its head. Faren had to admit it had a beautiful curvaceous figure with an ample bust.

"Wouldn't mind having a night with her," Sereda only rolled her eyes before rubbing her forehead at Faren's comment.

The demon glared unable able to move as Oryrn stared back. What was this thing? It felt like a spirit of some kind but not of a particularly aligned concept of Stasis or Change, it certainly was no nature spirit. "What are you called?"

"...Desire" Its voice now pained as it still fought against his control. "I am... The manifestation of a person's inner most lust, wealth, and power."

The creature was not a daedra, not truly, more like a thought-form given life by the emotions and actions of the living. Chaotic in nature, moldable, but a true denizen of Oblivion it was not.

"Kitty!" Amalia cried out in fear and disbelief, "You're a demon! I... No, you won't have me!" She ran back through the door with the intent of returning to her father, the demon could only watch as her hopes of escape were obliterated.

"The child is safe, you'll never have her" Oryrn declared, He drew his sword which glowed in holy fire, "And I banish you back into the Void!" His thrust was true, Desire gasped in pain as it pierced her chest. Her body shuddered as the holy energy disrupted her very essence, tearing it apart as the mere concept of her nature was eradicated by the powers of order.

Her form glowed and crumbled away, Desire's essence would return to the Fade in time, but the entity that she was, her thoughts and emotions, were gone for good.

"Now Honnleath is safe," Oryrn declared with a sigh. "Had she gotten out who knows what she would have done?"

"We heroes now?" Faren asked as they left Wilhelm's research basement.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Exiting the door they found a tearful Matthias holding his daughter in his arms. Faren noticed the villagers had all left which left them, Matthias and Amalia. "Thank you." the man muttered as he looked towards the trio.

"Glad to help." Oryrn nodded as he took off his helmet.

"Oh my" His eyes widened in surprise, noting the more angular structure of his face, and more importantly the shape of his ears. "Y-You're quite tall for an elf"

Oryrn chuckled good-naturally, "So I've been told" He knelt down before Amalia, smiling comfortingly at her, "I'm glad to see you're okay"

She shyly replied, "Thank you for saving me"

"No more talking to strangers okay? Specially talking animals"

The girl eagerly nodded, "Deal!"

"After all you've done" Matthias said, "You three deserve a reward"

Sereda was about to wave him off, if not for Faren to suddenly intervene, "If we could take your golem you'd be doing us a real solid there chief" Earning a frown from the dwarven woman.

At the request the man gave them an incredulous look, "You still want Shale even after what I told you?"

Much as she hated to admitted... "We really could use the golem" Not even Sereda could deny the advantages of having one following them.

"I see" Matthias rubbed his neck, "Well, I guess you've earnt it. If you can keep Shale under control that is"

"Oh we won't give it any reason to squish us" Faren smirked.

"There is still a problem though" Oryrn pointed out, "The control rod doesn't work"

The dwarves' spirits quickly deflated at remembering that little detail.

Matthias frowned, "It doesn't? Let me see" Sereda handed the rod to him, and began to inspect it. "That's odd, looks just like I remember it. Have you spoken the password?"

"Yes" The dwarven woman groaned, "Said Dulef Gar over and over, but it doesn't work. It's proper dwarven tongue so I don't know what could be-"

"Ohhhh of course!" Matthias' eyes lit up in realization, "That's the problem, the password isn't dulef gar, it's 'dulen harn'"

Sereda and Faren gave the man a look as he chuckled; "Mother must have switched the phrase just in case someone actually came." Matthias sighed; "At any rate the village elder wanted to see you three up top. Be careful with Shale."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Leaving Matthias's home they saw the entire village waiting for them and cheered. In front of them was an elderly bald man with a thick mustache dress in modest clothes. He smiled as the three came out with Matthias and his daughter.

Quite a few were taken by surprise of Oryrn's face and elven appearance but shook it off. "Thank you for saving our village," the old man spoke warmly.

"Glad to help," Oryrn smiled while Faren took in the praise from the people. Sereda remained reserved save only a smirk on her lip.

"On behalf of us all you three are always welcome to Honnleath Ser..."

"Oryrn Redoran, that is Faren Brosca, and she is Sereda."

"I am Elder Isaac; please rest yourselves here for the night."

A man yelled out in the crowd; "My inn is free you all! Same with the food!"

At that Faren drooled before wiping his mouth; "Well can't say no free bed and food now can we?!" He gazed to Sereda and Oryrn.

"Anything I'd say would be wasted on you wouldn't it?" The elven warrior drawled.

"Don't get between a dwarven man and his stomach" The rogue warned before going straight for the inn, doubt about to order a large piece of venison with a whole barrel of mead.

Sereda crossed her arm, looking half-reproaching half-amused at the male dwarf as he walked away. "He might be a touch crude, but deep down he's got a good heart"

"You had to keep him from stealing things haven't you?"

"Ever since we got out of the Deep Roads..." She grumbled.

The elf let out a soft laugh before patting her on the shoulder, "So, do you want to wake the golem?"

"Hmm" Her eyes turned to the construct still standing in the middle of the village. "Eh, maybe tomorrow. Think I've had enough for one day"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The mood was lively as both the inn and village were celebrating and honoring their heroes. The inn was partially filled with people who cheered in merriment. The trio sat at the largest table in the inn as one of the two waitresses, a female elf with short brunette hair and green eyes handed them mugs filled with mead. While eating a large plate of well-cooked Venison Faren noticed the girl eyeing Oryrn.

Being thanked and leaving to perform more orders the roguish dwarf smirked; "Our dear elven waitress has been looking at you since we got in here."

The warrior waved if off, "She's just thankful to us"

"One among us in particular it seems" Sereda smirked teasingly.

"You're just seeing things"

As if cue, the elven waitress returned, giving them all a wide smile but reserved a rather seductive look for Oryrn in particular. "Is there anything else I can for our heroes?"

"We need three kegs of beer!" The dwarven rogue said with his mouth full, making the elf momentarily recoil at his poor manners.

"Ignore him" Oryrn said with a roll of his eyes before giving a grateful smile at the waitress, "Thanks, we're fine"

"Just say the word" She gently placed her hand on Oryrn's armored shoulder, leaning a bit forward as to look at him closer. "And I'll come right over" With a wink and a skip to her step she went back to attend the other tables.

Oryrn couldn't help but watch as she elven woman walked away, absently thinking to himself that she was indeed a very pretty. When he faced back his companions, he found two dry looks directed at him. "What?"

"'Seeing things', my ass" Sereda snorted before giving him a teasing smile, "Oh she really likes you"

"She'd be disappointed, I'm not staying here long." Oryrn shrugged eating his food with much more care.

Faren snorted; "Don't think she wants something long-term my foreign elven friend. She just wants to jump your bones." He stated bluntly as he took a swig of beer.

At that the elf paused in thought. Sereda grinned; "Think you earned it my friend."

"I wouldn't feel right knowing-"

"Oh please, let me" Faren signaled the waitress, despite Oryrn's silent protests.

The brunette elf soon walked up to their table, "Anything I can help you with?"

"Yeah, my friend here thinks you're pretty cute" The dwarf casually said, causing Oryrn to look at him in disbelief before face palming.

The blush on the elven woman's cheeks was adorable, "O-Oh!" She fiddled with her hands over her apron, not quite willing to meet the other elf's gaze. All that boldness she displayed before when flirting with Oryrn seemed to have gone out the window, perhaps she didn't believe her advances would actually be returned.

Or perhaps it was the dwarf making things uncomfortable for them.

Sereda just rubbed her eyes for her fellow Dwarf's lack of tact... Then again tact really wasn't a thing among most of her people. "What my fellow dwarf states we know you have been eyeing our friend here since arriving. Maybe you'd like to show him around the village tonight?"

At that the elven waitress blushed turned redder. Oryrn only gave a glare at Sereda who smiled at him. "I-I... would like that...I-If Ser Oryrn doesn't object."

The Dunmer looked wide eyed at the waitress. Glancing back to his companions as they smirked.

Well things weren't boring here in Thedas that was certain.

XxX ~ next morning ~ XxX

Faren stretched beside Sereda as they exited the inn. Hot food, a bath, and bed did them both some much needed good. "Probably go to that smith as Oryrn suggested," Sereda mentioned looking down at her leather gear. She hoped that smith had something in armor and for Dwarves. "Oryrn still asleep?"

A chuckle came from the roguish dwarf; "I do believe the young lady waitress tended to him all of the evening. Would love details though."

"A gentleman does not discuss such things." Both turn seeing Oryrn behind them. "Going to wake Shale?"

"New armor first, then the Golem." Sereda stated.

The dwarven woman tugged at the leather bracers in her arm, they had their fair share of wear and tear by now. "I'd feel much comfortable with some proper plate. Only have these leathers cause I didn't have much of a choice"

"The blacksmith might have something in store to reinforce those" The elf spoke before suddenly remembering something. "If not, perhaps you could perhaps commission him this" And pulled out from his bag a rolled up paper, he handed it to the dwarven woman who eyed it curiously.

Her eyes soon widened in surprise, her mouth opening and closing a few times. "This is a Bownammar plate schematic. Where did you get this?"

"From a smith on Crestwood, said he got it from dwarven mercenaries"

"Oh this armor is just beautiful" Her smile was almost child-like, "What I'd give to have plate like this"

"Can see if the smith can make that." Faren said as he leaned in beside his fellow Dwarf looking at the paper. He himself would just be happy with a new set of leathers.

Without another word Sereda ran up the hill with the other two following. Outside a modest house a large hearth was ablaze as a bald man wearing a thick apron over his clothes like all smiths, working hot metal in his hand and hammer on the anvil. Close by were tables of all manner of armors, leathers, and weapons.

Sereda took a quick breath as she stopped by the tables. "Excuse me."

The smith glanced up and stopped; "Ah hello!" He smiled putting down his metal and hammer. He walked over; "What could I do for one of the heroes on Honnleath?"

The female dwarf handed him the schematic; "Would you be able to make that?"

"Hmm..." Faren and Oryrn soon stood behind her as the smith went over every detail on the paper. Lowering the paper he gave an apologetic look; "Afraid I can't. I don't have enough raw materials nor am I skilled in Dwarven crafting."

Faren lifted a brow as he thumbed over to the tables; "That stuff is dwarven." He pointed to several armors and leathers.

"I got those in Denerim when getting supplies." He gave Sereda another apologetic look; "I'm sorry my lady."

A sigh came from the female dwarf; "It's fine." She took back the schematic and gave it back to Oryrn. "May we look at what you have?"

"Certainly, free of charge for today."

After an hour of work, the smith had properly repaired and even upgraded their gear. Sereda opted to add a few plates of quality steel around her greaves, bracers, along with a chest plate. She felt much more secure with the extra protecting they provided. While Faren just wanted to repair and reinforce his own armor with some hardened leather, his fighting style benefiting more from wearing lighter gear with greater mobility. He also had his own daggers sharpened and cleaned, along with Sereda's blade, plus her shield being tampered and reinforced.

"Ahhh" Sereda smiled in satisfaction, twisting her body to test the mobility she found it more than suitable. "Now that's what I'm talking about" She said as she rasped her knuckles against the chest plate.

Faren twirled one of the daggers in his hand with great dexterity, "Heh, just a few days ago we were barely scrapping by. Funny how life goes on huh?"

"All that's left is to wake up the golem" Oryrn spoke, "What will you do then?"

The two dwarves shared a look, "I've just been following your lead" Faren said to Sereda.

The dwarven woman looked conflicted lost even. "I... I don't know" She admitted with a wary voice. "All this time I've just focused on keeping us alive. I honestly have no idea what to do now" There was pain in her eyes, the kind one felt when they didn't belong or weren't accepted anywhere. "I'm an outcast now, stripped of name and everything... I might as well be dead to the Stone already"

She was lost, Oryrn could see that. A part of him wanted to know what made her a said outcast but it wasn't his place nor did he think he had earned her trust yet for such a thing. But there was one thing he could offer them. "How about you two joining me on my exploring?"

Both dwarves shot their heads up with shock in their eyes. "You sure?" Faren asked with a cock of his head. "We don't really know much outside of Orzammar."

"And I know absolutely nothing of Orzammar or the rest of these lands. But figured we could learn together." His tone was honest as he grinned at the two.

Sereda bit the inside of her lip as thought to herself. Oryrn has proven himself a good man, trusted warrior to watch their backs, and good company. Perhaps she could tell him... Hmm, maybe later. But at present she smiled; "Be honored to travel with you Oryrn." She turned her gaze to the Golem; "Now just waking him and we can go...Wherever we're going after here."

"Back to the Hinterlands, see Redcliffe?"

Both dwarfs gave an accepting nod to the Dunmer's suggestion as they made their way to Shale.

They stood before the golem as Sereda help up the rod, "Alright, this better work now" She activated the lyrium in the rod, and spoke the words, "Dulen harn!"

For a moment, they thought nothing had happened, until they heard the noise of cracking stone. The golem's head slowly began shaking, dust and bits of pebbles falling off as it did so. The hands stiffly moved, clenching its giant stone fingers. The golem looked at them with an intense gaze, before suddenly moving its arms in a sudden motion as if breaking apart invisible chains.

The golem stood straight, almost looking down on them due to its height. It posed an intimidating presence, and they understood this thing was a walking weapon of war.

Then it yawned.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" The golem's rocky face shifted as it actually mimicked humanoid expressions, "After so long the rod has a new owner and by extension me, terrific..." its tone was so dry it might as well be sandpaper.

The trio could only stare.

"Oh wonderful, two dwarves and a mage. Well isn't this a splendid way of waking up"

At the word mage Oryrn lifted a brow; "How do you know I wield magic?"

"Oh it thinks these crystals are just decoration" Why was the golem calling him an 'it'? "All mages have an energy about them, like a cloud surrounding their bodies. Though I admit never seen one in armor." Shale grunted; "At least you're not that petulant mage..." The golem's voice became distant before staring back at the control rod; "That is the control yes?"

"Yes..." Confusion came from Sereda as she looked at both her comrade and back to the Golem. "Is something wrong?"

"Hmm..." The Golem tapped it's stony chin; "Give me a command, anything."

"Dance!" Faren yelled out with a smile with Oryrn and Sereda dryly staring at him.

"Not you, her!" Shale said with stern authority.

Still confused the female dwarf shrugged; "Move ten paces left." and nothing happened...

"Curious... I felt no compulsion to move or obey." Shale blinked its eyes; "Does that mean I have freewill?"

Sereda looked at the rod and back to the Golem before sighing; "So something did break when that Wilhelm was experimenting on you..."

Mentioning the name Shale scoffed; "Don't mind of that insufferable man. Bad enough I look like this because of him, but he was an utter lout I would have gladly flung off a cliff."

Ignoring the murderous words of a man no longer alive Faren asked the stone being; "So now you can do whatever you want?"

At that Shale blinked, Oryrn could swear the golem appeared lost for words... "It appears I do... but what purpose do I have now? Without the control rod I know not what to do."

"You could come with us?" Oryrn spoke up garnering Shale's attention. "Maybe you can find a purpose along the way."

"I suppose..." Shale pondered before nodding; "Very well, it will be better than standing as a statue with birds defecating and urinating all over me."

Sereda smiled at the golem in a friendly fashion, things weren't what she expected but at least she could say the company would be interesting. "Good to have you with us Shale"

"Yes, yes indeed." The golem said uncaringly, "Let's leave this place already. Can't stand these mouth-breathers gawking at me" True enough, a fair number of villagers who were going through their morning routine were looking and pointing at the once again moving golem.

The group of four left without fuss, only for the trio to stop at the village's entrance when they heard a heavy 'THUD' along with the short lived cry of a bird and the crunching of bones.

They saw Shale standing next to a puddle of blood and feathers, its foot equally dirty.

The golem gave a shrug.

Sereda groaned while Oryrn let out a long sigh. "You think it won't mind if I do eat chicken right?" Faren asked

The two ignored him as they continued on their way. "So, if we're traveling together" Sereda suddenly began nervously, "There are a couple of things you should know about me…"

"Hmph, was just about to say the same"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Next chapter be coming!