Another tremor shook the damaged tower, large chunks of stone falling from the ceiling as the roof began to collapse. The Grey Wardens residing within stumbled as the ground underneath of them trembled violently. Just outside, the monstrous growls and cries steadily grew louder, amplified by the sheer number of wordless roars.
“We need to leave, now!” Commander Cousland shouted, his gaze directed at Anders and Seren. The ponytail wearing mage was already moving about, attempting to dodge the falling rocks. His companion within the lonely tower was fast moving as well.
With frantic eyes, Seren scoured the tables and shelves around him. Arms swinging about almost wildly, he grabbed handfuls of journals and filled vials, stuffing them into his bag. “We must preserve our research!” the pale mage shouted, stopping the commander from shouting at him to hurry. “I will not have our work be for naught! Not wasted by those blasted creatures!” Nearly filling his bag to bursting, there was a contented nod from the satisfied mage before he ran toward the stairs leading down.
The three Grey Wardens rushed down the stairs as quickly as they could. Filling the air was the sound of cracking stone, more portions of the tower being blown away by the darkspawn catapults, shaking the structure more and more and nearly tossing them from the wall. Tearser and Aseril were eagerly waiting for them at the bottom, their swords already drawn as they cast uncertain eyes outside into the chaotic scene that was heading straight for them.
Once they were all outside, leaving the once impregnable looking tower behind, the commander could fully see what they were up against. His eyes widened at what was out there. Old memories resurface, visions of a monstrous army tearing away at everything in their path. The commander could vividly remember the terrible power the beasts wrought during Ostagar and when the horde descended upon Denerim.
A massive raid of darkspawn were approaching them. Their numbers easily made for a small army. From genlocks to ogres, they all brandished what weapons they had and charged for the group of Grey Wardens. Cries for blood filled the air, nearly drowned by the quaking sounds of so many feet pounding against the earth.
“How are there so many...? How did we not sense them...?” Seren murmured, eyes wide as his entire body quivered in a mix of shock and fear.
A shriek, faster than the rest of its kin, was already raising its blades to bring down on them. With quick reflexes, the commander's leg swung up and connected into the creature's gut. As it staggered, not missing a step, he withdrew his sword and struck the creature down, nearly slicing it in two. It was but a single opponent in the near endless numbers now barreling toward them however, and the Warden could see that.
Quickly looking about the area, he looked off into the far off system of tunnels that connected to the chamber they were in. “We need to get out of here!” the commander shouted, turning to those with him. “Anders, Tearser, both of you go right and try to outrun them! Try and make your way to Orzammar if you can, if not, find your way back around to the keep! We'll take the way we came, try and split their focus the best we can!”
“What?!” Anders snapped, bewildered by the idea. “Are you serious?! We can't split up, that'd be suicide!”
Directing a fierce and serious glare at the mage, the commander said, “Smaller groups will be harder to follow, Anders! We don't have time to argue about this!”
Tearser looked ready to go, sword clutched in his hand while his eyes continued to shift toward the direction he was to go. But Anders still hesitated, eying his commander as he could just barely see the grip on his own sword lessening. “Are you sure you can handle this?” he asked, concerned that his friend might not be ready for any kind of fight.
The commander didn't have a chance to answer as another ball of fire and rock came flying toward them. They all jumped out of the way, being sprayed with rock chips as it smashed into cave floor. Seeing that the darkspawn were about to overtake them, he pointed off toward the right and shouted, “Just go, now!”
Unable to voice any word against him, Anders took only a single glance backward as he ran alongside Tearser. Not having the chance to look back themselves, the encompassing cries and howls of the darkspawn grew even louder as Aseril, Seren and the commander ran off as well. Even as they ran to make distance between them and the ravaging tide behind them, it only gave their darkspawn pursuers a chance at a predatory chase.
Before, the Deep Roads seemed empty, abandoned. Now, the ancient tunnels were alive with the malicious roars of darkspawn and the ominous, fiery glow that accompanied them.
Their twisted shadows danced across the stone walls as they came from all sides. The three Grey Wardens kept running, forced to change direction over and over again. Only a few times were the groups of darkspawn small enough for them to battle. They were dealt with in a timely fashion, but the commander could feel his heart pounding harder in his chest with every bout.
With their continuous running and constant attacks, his vision began to blur and his mind drifted away from him every so often. It didn't take long for him to notice that his own breathing was much more haggard than it was for Seren or Aseril. Neither seemed to notice it for themselves however, making him thankful that he wasn't worrying them during their escape. It allowed for him to try focusing his thoughts on getting away, as well as to silently hope that Anders and Tearser were faring well.
They stopped for just a moment, their halt in movement allowing them to hear the faint dripping of darkspawn blood from their swords. The cries of the horrific beasts sounded distant, but still nearing. Around them, the area was far more open, large ledges jutting out of the stone wall to perils drops that were hundreds of feet off of the ground.
Lava poured out like waterfalls into small lakes, lighting the expansive terrain. Trails made into the stone, no doubt where ancient explorers of the nightmarish landscape once trudged, gave them paths to follow. They hugged the walls, barely large enough for a person to walk forward across. With little else go, they had no choice but to trek across the precarious trail, wondering if it really would be darkspawn that would do them in.
Practically hugging the wall to their side, they tried to stay as far from the ledge as possible. Seren's audible gulping could be heard throughout the nerve-wracking journey. Vertigo nearly claimed them as well, forcing them to make sure they didn't look over the engulfing vastness just below them. But with steady breaths, and even steadier movements, they managed find sure footing and cross the treacherous stretch of stone.
It led them to an old ruin, obviously dwarven made, given where they were. Nestled on a simple alcove, it seemed to be a doorway that was to lead out to where they were, looking out to the massive trench that spanned endlessly in both directions. For a dwarf, it might have been a wondrous view long ago.
Cautiously, the Grey Wardens moved through the opening of the structure. The inside was a simple hallway, leading onward for a good distance. Every few feet, the hall was sectioned with small alcoves that held honored memorials. Stone caskets sat proudly on large pedestals. Surrounding them were ornaments made from stone and adorned with jewels. The walls and the caskets themselves were covered in old markings, writings from dwarves long since gone to those who were left there.
Seren looked at the setting with fascination, overpowering his worry now that they didn't have darkspawn nipping at their heels for the time being. “An old dwarven graveyard,” the mage murmured, running a hand across the smooth surface of the casket before him. “So well crafted... must be someone of notable standing... Most likely a noble or great hero, hard to say.”
“Reminds me of ones I've seen for the Legion's fallen,” the Warden said. The ones he had seen were far less decorative, nearly destroyed by the presence of the darkspawn, but it was easy enough to see their similarities.
“Maker,” the mage breathed, “if only we weren't being hunted at the moment. I'd love to return here someday and examine this place more closely.”
“We need to get going, now,” Aseril said urgently, still looking about the area with caution.
The other two Wardens nodded their heads in agreement. “Right,” Seren said. “With this grave site, we should be close to a dwarven civilization of some kind. We can try to catch our bearings there.”
Without another word, they followed the lengthy hallway, passing by more and more carved caskets. The constant reminder of death did little for their optimism, and it became a welcome sight to see the hall end and the area around them to open up into a more open setting. They stood on a massive platform of stone, jutting out of the wall of the latest expansive cavern they were in. The trench they had seen before continued onward as well, making their footing but a small ledge compared to the open ground hundreds of feet below them.
More signs of dwarven work on the landscape was soon seen. A gigantic gate made of stone and metal stood at the far side against the wall. They couldn't even see the top of the imposing structure, already realizing there would be no way for them to see what was beyond it. Several doorways were also nearby, much like the one they had just came through. They offered little incentive to explore, not compared to what else they saw.
Just as marvelous as the gate, an even larger bridge stretched outward from the ledge they stood on. A truly amazing sight, showing the back-breaking labor that the tireless dwarves who made it went through. It was impossible to tell what was on the other side, the other side of the gaping trench blurred by a haze of pure heat. Embers surrounded it like snowflakes, making the Grey Wardens sweat just from standing there.
“We should go that way,” Aseril suggested, pointing down the length of the bridge. Looking better than trying to open a door that dwarfed even the largest of ogres, Seren and the commander both agreed and they began walking across the impressive piece of architecture.
Adding to its size, the bridge was extremely wide, dozens of feet expanding to the left and right of them. What was most certainly a well-traveled road for dwarfs going from one thaig to another, one could imagine how busy it might have been. Carts filled with supplies going to and fro, armored dwarf warriors with their weapons held proudly, and if it was anything like roads on the surface, shifty-eyed bandits looking for an easy target.
The heat only seemed to get more intense as they continued to cross the bridge. Sweat coated their faces, their breathing becoming more forced than what it was while running from the darkspawn. Commander Cousland could hardly stand it himself, his armor suddenly feeling much heavier on him, each step taking a little more effort than the last. Aseril and Seren didn't seem to suffer the same way he was, only looking sweaty and a little winded.
After a while of walking, the sweltering heat of the haze seemed to surrounded them. It blocked their view of the way they came, just as it continued to do to what was beyond them. Their portion of bridge seemed suspended in the air, beckoning them to continue to escape the sightless trek. And continue they did, feeling a pressing need to proceed.
Going further across the bridge, it did not take them much longer for their eyes to catch a shape emerging from the thick haze. The more they approached it, the more it began to form. Further and further they marched, each step being propelled with a growing curiosity. Just as they could finally make out what they were seeing, they all stopped in their tracks.
It was a barricade, made of blackened, twisted metal, that was shaped in horrific ways. The commander's eyes grew wide for a moment, immediately recognizing them and who made them, but it was obvious to the others just as much as it was to him. Upon the realization, the once silent air became a chorus of familiar cries and beastly yells.
Breaking through the blinding haze, darkspawn charged at them in full force. They were just as numerous as they were before, a primal blood lust filling their near-empty eyes as they were focused on their human targets. The three Grey Wardens nearly tripped over their scrambling feet as grabbed their weapons and turned back to run. But they didn't make it far.
With tails of billowing smoke, massive balls of stone and flame came hurtling through the air. Instead of hitting the fleeing targets, the catapulted rocks sailed beyond them and smashed into the bridge ahead. Ear-wrenching sounds of cracking rock completely overtook that of the rampaging darkspawn for brief moments.
The Grey Wardens were once again stopped as they looked on with horror as the section of the bridge began to crumble. Cracks were splitting across the surface withing moments of each other, covering a massive portion in no time. As they worsened, the chunks and chips broken apart began to fall, nothing supporting them as they dropped down below to the furthest surface. When the dust cleared, the bridge was separated in two, with a gap that was far too large for them to make it to the other side. They were trapped.
With nothing else left, they turned to face the incoming attack. The Warden-Commander brandished his sword, eyes focused on the beasts as they neared. “If they truly want a fight,” he said, “then they will face the strength of the Grey Wardens! We will fight on until none are left or we've taken as many as we can! To the both of you... I'm sorry...”
An uneasy chuckle escaped Seren as he held up his hands, a crackling flame encircling around his fingers. “Let's try and focus on that first bit, eh Commander?” he said with little real certainty.
With a nod, the Warden's grip on his sword tightened and he readied himself. By then, the faster darkspawn were already upon them. Gnashing jaws were wide open as the beasts cried out in furious strength, their jagged blades swinging out at the Grey Wardens.
Aseril and the commander sliced into the oncoming attack, stopping the darkspawn short as their dark blood sprayed out of their wounds. The ones at the rear were met with powerful blasts of fire, burning their exposed flesh and throwing them to the ground. From the sheer force of the attack, several of the darkspawn were tossed off the side of the bridge, falling into the depths below.
The two warriors already had a thin coating of darkspawn blood on their armor, feeling it drip down their faces and mixing with their sweat as they prepared for the rest of the horde to come at them. Despite how easily the Grey Wardens had taken on the first wave, the rampaging creatures didn't hesitate in attacking again. More of them made up the next attempt, eager to draw blood as they stepped over the corpses of their fallen. Seren tried his best to keep as many back as he could, impressive feats of magic showing well as balls of fire and ice, even bolts of lightning flew by his companions and struck at the threat.
Again and again the sounds of battle accompanied the anger yells of the corrupted monsters. The clashing of metal against metal, of final beastly gasps and mighty cries of exertion continued unabated. There was nothing else they could do but fight, the thought of winning looking like a daunting goal, even as the bodies began to pile up.
One swing of the commander's sword fell short, his arms suddenly feeling weak as the edge of his blade merely scratched the surface of a hurlock's armor. The Warden tripped as he tried to move back to dodge its retaliating swing. Expecting the blade to cut into him, he was surprised as another moved between them. Aseril then pushed the darkspawn away, giving the commander ample time to swing his own sword from his low angle, cutting into their legs and toppling several darkspawn at once. Standing back on his two feet, he took a deep breath while clutching his sword experimentally, feeling the muscles in his arms fighting against him.
Looking out across the bridge, the Warden could see the still numerous darkspawn coming toward them. Large ogres, at least twice their size, came running toward them. The horned titans were nearly fully covered in thick plates of metal, a crude depiction of armor for the hulking creatures. They were a half-dozen in number, taking up much of the bridge as they came at them, several smaller darkspawn at their feet as they too came running.
They needed room to fight such walls of muscle and strength, something they did not have while cornered on the bridge's end. As their opponents lumbered forward, teeth dripping with saliva, the Grey Warden's stood their ground. One wrong step and they'd be crushed, or struck off the side of the bridge like a child's toy.
The ogres were soon upon them, arms raised up as their meaty fists were balled up and ready to smash their way through them. The three fighters bent their legs, ready to move out of the way as well as they could. Readying themselves for a difficult fight, they steeled their nerves while the ogres were just a few feet away. With their heart-pounding tension in preparation, it came as a jarring surprise when the darkspawn immediately stopped.
The Warden-Commander could barely believe his eyes. Never before had he ever seen the nightmarish beasts act in such a way. They looked almost dumbstruck, halted in their tracks as their eyes looked away from them aimlessly. An even bigger shock came to them as the ogres began to retreat, the bulky darkspawn walking away from the Grey Wardens without so much as a growl of anger, moving back into the ranks far off where they were first seen.
An earth-shattering roar split through the air itself, like the crackling sound of lightning amplified by the roaring fires far below them, it felt as though the world was collapsing in on itself. The source of it was seen soon enough, a massive form heading straight for them. They didn't even have a chance to get a clear look at the blackened hide of the monster as it hurtled toward them. The mighty wings on its back created a powerful gust as they flapped, nearly knocking them off their feet and blowing the lifeless bodies of the fallen darkspawn off the edge of the bridge. Grunts of pain escaped the commander and Seren, both nearly toppling over as they clutched at their heads, feeling as though arrows of fire were piercing through their skulls.
Eyes stinging from the lashes that the air itself struck them with, the commander tried to look at what was coming toward them. All he saw was a gaping maw, jaws stretched wide to reveal thick fangs as sharp as any blade. “Get down!” he shouted as he threw himself to the stone floor. He looked at his fellows and saw Aseril do the same, but Seren still stood there.
The mage was frozen in place, a look of utter terror written on his face. Even as Commander Cousland shouted at him, Seren did not move. All the warrior could do was look on in horror as he saw the mage plucked from the bridge, trapped in the flying beast's jaws. For a split moment, he could hear Seren's pained cries before they were overpowered by the creature who had him.
With a swift jerk of its neck, the monster released the mage caught in its jaws. From the bridge, only a mass of flailing limbs could be seen as Seren disappeared into the cavernous depths under them. The two Grey Wardens who remained slowly returned to their feet, already hearing the beating wings of the monster as it came flying back toward them. But instead of trying to knock them away like it did their mage friend, it landed on the bridge in front of them, separating them from the darkspawn.
Looking at the monster fully, the Warden-Commander mirrored the expression that Seren had moments ago. Eyes wide, mouth hanging open, he could only stare at the powerful dragon in bewilderment. Its twisted, gnarled hide was an unholy black. Spikes jutted from its body at all angles, from its neck down to its thrashing tail. At its mouth, many of the dragon's sharp fangs were so large that they protruded from its mouth as the jaws were unable to contain them.
“No...” the Warden breathed. “It can't be... this isn't possible...” No matter how much he wanted to say otherwise, there was no denying what he saw. One of the fearsome leaders of the darkspawn, an Archdemon. The very monster he had slain before, stopping the Blight as it nearly wiped out his entire homeland.
The commander's knuckles began to ache from his tightening grip on his sword, his teeth nearly cracked as his jaw locked in place. As his sights narrowed on the corrupted god, his entire body began to tremble with building rage. “Aseril,” he said quickly, not looking away from the black dragon, “we have to stop this thing, here and now! We can't let it take the horde to the surface, we can't let another Blight ravage Ferelden! If both of us have to die to make that happen, we need to cut it down!”
As if sensing his defiant ways, the Archdemon reared its head back and released another ear-splitting roar. But the commander didn't falter, readying himself to charge at the beast. Behind him, he could hear a footstep, knowing that Aseril was doing the same.
“I'm right behind you,” the young Grey Warden then replied, his tone low, barely above a whisper.
Something was wrong, it was a sudden sensation within the Warden's disconnected thoughts. But he wasn't able to react, unknown of what it was until his nerves flared up in painful agony, feeling the sharp edge of a blade slice through his flesh. A cry of a gasp escaped him, his body feeling as though it was set on fire from the inside. The blade cut into his side, its edge scraping against the bone of his ribcage.
The Warden fell to his knees, sword clattering to the ground, his hand pressed against the wound as his blood seeped out of it. From afar, he could hear a low roar coming from the Archdemon. His heart stopped as he realized what it sounded like. Laughter. Looking up at the dragon, the commander was in full view as something began to happen to it.
Mouth open wide, a fire could be seen forming in its throat. But it was not the blazing red torrent as it should be, but a dark emerald crackling behind its fangs. The flame roared from its maw, flowing out and wrapping around its entire body. As the green flames encircled it, the Archdemon began to change.
The dragon began to shrink, growing smaller and smaller as the rest of its body altered in its entirety. The large talons on its feet began to recede into itself, its feet completely disappearing until all that was left of the legs were flat stumps. What were once massive wings became fragile things, looking tattered and papery that fidgeted on their own while creating a soft buzz. The thick, black hide covering its body became smooth, just as the spikes protruding from it disappeared, leaving behind only a single curved horn at its forehead.