A/N:
Someone has been posting anonymous threats, claiming I've been manipulating the voting system on Literotica. I promise I haven't -- I'm not that tech savvy! -- but I will say this -- any threats will be deleted, and any further incidences will have me locking down my posts so anonymous comments aren't allowed. I don't want to do that, but I won't tolerate threats. This is the one and only warning!
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Eight: * Fires that Burn
The trip back to Amaranthine was uneventful; the group of us, including the covered cart with our precious cargo, caught up to the army on the second day, and then proceeded to leave them to head slowly back to Amaranthine as we continued at a faster pace back to the Vigil. Nathaniel was going to meet with his sister in the city, and then join us back at the Vigil a day or so later.
The plan was for the army to stay around Amaranthine for a couple of months in case the escaped sentient darkspawn caused problems in the area, before they headed back to Denerim. The Wardens, too, would stay until we could confirm that the 'Thaw' was progressing normally -- and until we caught both the Architect and the sentient darkspawn, if possible. That also allowed enough time for Soldier's Peak to finish the renovations.
On the last day of our trip, I was reflecting on just how much things had changed in Thedas because of my knowledge. And while I was generally happy with the outcomes -- the Mother, dead before she could build an army to destroy Amaranthine or the Vigil; the Architect, if not dead, at least limited in how many darkspawn he could turn, thanks to a lack of Grey Warden blood; the Archdemon dead without destroying Denerim; Cailan alive and on his throne, finally being the King Ferelden needed -- I was also anxious. The Architect was in the wind. Justice would never merge with Anders -- but what did that mean for Kirkwall? Leliana would not become the Divine's Left Hand -- and the future Divine was currently the Grand Cleric in Ferelden. What would all of the changes mean?
Will I come to regret some of them, if the future doesn't work out as well as I hope?
When we approached the Vigil late in the afternoon after four long days of travel, we discovered there were more changes than even I had predicted. The first clues that something had happened while we were gone were the plumes of smoke visible from the road. We had been sauntering along, knowing we'd make it well in time for supper, but when it became clear that something was burning, as a group we turned and sprinted the last mile until we came within sight of the walls.
I'll never forget the image of Anders standing on the walkway above the walls, a veritable torrent of fire roaring from his fingertips as he roasted a handful of darkspawn that had been clawing at the gates. There were no more live 'spawn visible, but piles of still-smoking ashes scattered around the perimeter made it clear this hadn't been the first group they'd repelled. I counted six recent fires, each with enough ash to account for probably a dozen corpses, if they'd been piled properly before being burned.
It's sad that I've seen enough piles of burning darkspawn to know that.
The mage greeted us with a cheerful enough shout that my anxiety was immediately abated; if the 'spawn had breached the walls, if people had died or Faren worsened in our absence, it would have been obvious from his tone. "Aren't you glad I had Jowan teach me that fire spell?" I chuckled, remembering more than a few burns and missing eyebrows travelling between Orzammar and Redcliffe. The gates swung open when we got close, to see the combined forces we'd left at the Vigil assembled and waiting in the courtyard, though there were fewer soldiers present than I would have expected.
Anders jogged down the stairs to join us as a group of soldiers with shovels headed out the gates. They had the practiced look of people who'd done this before, and indeed they began shoveling ash away from the gates with little fuss. The mage didn't stop or even say hi before grabbing Solona, lifting the petite blonde off her feet and planting a fervent kiss directly on her lips. I snickered and leaned into Alistair's side, watching with amusement as Aedan fidgeted, clearly impatient for a report but unwilling to step into the middle of the reunion.
Finally, laughing, I broke up the increasingly passionate demonstration. "Alright, alright, get a room already! After you tell us what in the Void is going on around here!"
Slinging an arm around Solona's shoulders and gesturing for us to follow him, Anders led us through the gates. "Three days ago the attacks started. At first I thought it was just random -- small groups of darkspawn, maybe this Thaw we'd been warned about? But it was too persistent, and with each attack, the numbers have increased."
Sigrun, weaving between groups of soldiers in the courtyard, popped up in front of us with a weary half-smile. She nodded her head in greeting, then joined in Anders' report. "They got smarter, too. They'd coordinate attacks on opposite sides of the Keep to see if we could handle two groups at once, and they'd try a different area each time -- like they were looking for weaknesses." The usually perky dwarf looked troubled. "I didn't know darkspawn did that. The attacks weren't hard to repel, but Anders and I have been taking turns staying awake so we'd have warning when the attacks were coming."
Those of us who'd just returned from the Dragonbone Wastes exchanged anxious glances. Finally Aedan asked something that had been on my mind since the gates had swung open: "Where are the rest of the soldiers we left behind? And the Legion?"
Anders' drawn-out sigh was the next sign that something else unexpected had happened. "We got messages from Amaranthine that they'd been attacked as well. The gates were holding, but some of the local farm people had been trapped outside, and the guards were hard-pressed to keep the city safe. We made the decision -- with Varel -- to send most of the soldiers back to reinforce the city. The last messengers this morning reported a few uncoordinated attacks, but the city is fine so far."
"And Trevian decided to take the Legion and see if they could find where the darkspawn were coming from." Sigrun frowned. "They left here two days ago. I was sort of hoping you'd have run across them on your way back."
I shook my head; we'd certainly seen no sign of dwarves on our travels.
"We'll find them, Sigrun." Alistair patted her shoulder reassuringly, and I smiled gratefully at him.
"How's Faren?" I was almost afraid to ask. I'd confronted my feelings about what had happened before we'd left, but knowing that my guilt was irrational didn't stop the sick feeling in my stomach when I thought of my friend lying unconscious in his room upstairs.
"No change," Anders rushed to interrupt Sigrun, who'd opened her mouth to reply. The interaction was odd, and for the first time I felt a strange tension there I hadn't expected. "I haven't exactly had a lot of time to research a cure, and Gerrin left with the rest of the Legion."
"At least he isn't worse." I shook my head sadly, and felt my brother pat my shoulder softly.
"There's something else you should know." Anders' tone made my shoulders slump.
What now? What else could possibly happen?
We all waited for a moment, looking at him expectantly, while he turned to glance to the side. "I couldn't wait; if I'd waited until you got back to make the decision, it would have been too late."
He gestured, and an unfamiliar elf approached wearing somewhat tattered clothing. I wondered if he was one of the servants, but Nate's staff were all well-dressed, and I was quite sure I'd never seen him before. I wasn't about to make the same mistake I'd made with the Weisshaupt Warden by assuming anything, so I just looked at him blankly. He didn't stand out in any way, with unkempt, shoulder-length brown hair, ruddy skin that had seen more than a few sunny days, a nose too large to be traditionally attractive, and a mouth slightly too wide. His expression seemed to denote irritation, at best, and the lines around his face made me think the expression was rather permanent.
