It was a good thing that they had Levi with them as navigating through the tunnels was extremely difficult. Eventually, they exited the tunnels and found themselves on a peak.
Levi looked at them triumphantly. 'And… here we are, Soldier's Peak.'
Soldier's Peak looked like an impenetrable fortress. There were battlements all around, and it had a perfect vantage point from where it stood.
Jul 31, 2020 Its time to make the assault on the ancient Grey Warden stronghold. Mostly so I have my own castle and stuff. The crew is ready and its time to unravel this mystery. But, there are devious. I just did it today. The vial is worth it, you get a spell that takes 40 hp and gives a TON of mana back, and one that uses 20 hp to damage an enemy instead of mana (it does 50-100 damage from my lvl 9 mage) 2. From what I have read all over, leaving the blood mage researcher alive does nothing.
Soldier's Peak. Here is your initial entry, and also your access to the World Map.; Once you step into this courtyard, you'll witness a ghostly vision of several soldiers loyal to long dead King Arland deciding to starve out some rebellious Grey Wardens who have holed themselves up in the nearby Keep.
Levi just stared at it in awe. 'Make's breathe, look at the size of her. What a fortress.' He then turned and looked at them. 'I told you the map would get us through the tunnels.'
Hiccup just stared at him in disbelief. 'Andraste's blood, how did you find that path on your own?'
'You wouldn't believe if I told you.'
Hiccup folded his arms. 'After all the stuff I've seen as a Warden nothing would surprise me at this point.'
'It came to me in my dreams. When I was a lad, I tried going through the tunnel myself. Got horribly lost. But every now and again since, I've dreamt of it.'
Ragnar frowned. 'Why didn't you mention this before?'
'I didn't want you to think I was some moon-addled simpleton. I've my wits about me.' He then turned his eyes upon the fortress. 'But enough of that. I'll follow you. From a distance. This place has the stench of death. I expect there's trouble ahead.'
They made their way into the fortress, and the moment they entered, they saw armed men surrounding the fortress being led by a noble in armour.
'Fall back. Fall back, already,' said the noble commanding them.
'Taking the Peak will not be easy, Lord Grimborn,' said a soldier.
'I gave the Wardens one chance to die with honour. Instead, they hole up like cowards. We follow the king's advice, then. Starve them out.'
'But the Peak has months of supplies.'
'Then, we wait. When they are too weak to lift their weapons, we will send them to their final judgement.'
Then suddenly, these men vanished as quickly as they appeared.
'Wh-what was that? I feel bit woozy there,' said Levi. He then looked at Theron. 'I'm not mad, and my? You saw it, too?'
'I've heard an Asgarian ballad about something like this. A beauty trapped in a dream. In the song, Bellisa never woke up,' said Heather.
'Your pretty friend here is making me nervous, Warden,' said Levi.
'The Veil is thin here,' said Speedfist. 'The Circle tower was that way, too.'
Levi blinked. 'The Veil?'
'That's what separates us from the Fade and demons.'
Levi's eyes widened. 'D-demons? Thank Andraste you came, Warden.' He then looked nervously at the fortress. 'After you.'
'And people say chivalry is dead,' said Astrid.
The moment they entered into the courtyard skeletons of Wardens and Arland's men came to life. They had to fight their way through the courtyard just to reach the steps fortunately after the incident in Berk they became quite proficient in battling the undead.
Once they fought through the skeletons, they entered into the fortress and came across more visions this time of a squad of Warden. Leading them was a woman, who looked just as capable as Astrid and Hiccup knew at once this was Sophia Dryden, Levi's ancestor.
She was at the moment talking to an elderly mage. 'The men's morale is low. My spells are no use in this matter, Commander,' said the mage.
'There is more to leading than men than sorcery, Avernus. I will remind them that they're Wardens,' said Sophia. They what she turned to face the other wardens with pride in her eyes. 'Men, I won't lie to you. The situation is grim. Our forces outnumbered. Our bellies empty. And our hearts are sagging. But we are Wardens. Darkspawn flee when they hear our horns. Archdemons die when they taste our blades. So are we to bent knee to a mere human despot? No!'
Her speech seemed to rouse the Wardens spirits, and Hiccup himself felt moved by this speech. 'I, for one, will never give up. I, for one, will never give up. Will never surrender just to dance on Arland's gallows. So I propose here and now, in these hallowed halls where generations of our brethren stood vigil against darkspawn and evil… That we send a message to that fat bastard. In this sacred place, proud men, strong men, stood defiant. And would rather die than submit to a tyranny!'
The Wardens then cheered, and then they vanished without a trace.
Levi made his way over to Hiccup, looking at where Sophia had once stood in awe. 'So brave, even when starving. And my great-great-grandmother stood with them.'
Ragnar looked at him curiously. 'King Arland was a tyrant?'
Levi shrugged. 'Not much is known of King Arland. The war of succession that followed his death, now that was a piece of work. Lasted nearly a decade, and almost burned Aresgan and the Palace to the ground. Loads of history was lost. But maybe there's answers to that inside. But I've dabbed enough. Lead on, my friends.'
More skeletons soon appeared, and they had a fight their way just to reach the second floor, but now they have to contend with demons. They had to cut their way through them, things would have been a lot difficult if it hadn't been for Valka and Speedfist providing backup with some spells.
They soon reached the second floor and once again visions appeared. This time it showed Sophia and her wardens facing against the king's army. They were outnumbered and losing ground fast, and the king's army seemed unending.
'Make them pay for every inch, men!' Sophia cried. They watched her as she deflected the blow of a soldier and then slit his throat. 'Hold the flank!' She then turned to the mage Avernus from earlier. 'Avernus, we need you.'
Avernus then stood tall and faced the army and began muttering some sort of incantation that was totally unknown to Daylen. 'Nelatep obresooth sythan net bekon!'
Then all of a sudden they saw a rage demon appearing out of the ground. It then advanced on a soldier, who just stared at it in fear.
'Andraste's blood! Wh-what?' He was in silence by the demon.
Sophia saw the king's army backing away in fear at the demon. 'More, Avernus—whatever it takes!'
They watched as Avernus conjured up more demons. 'Kaelee ai benfotus victus!'
This time a Shade appeared in the king's army were practically running over each other, trying to get away from them.
'Press them, press them now,' Sophia commanded.
However, the demons then began attacking the Wardens. 'No! I command you, fight the king's men!' Avernus commanded.
The Shade turned and faced him. 'Fool! So much death, suffering, and, oh yes… blood,' said the Shade in a malevolent voice. 'The Veil is torn now. Your soul is mine, Avernus.'
Avernus then turned with apprentices. 'Acolytes… Retreat now. The battle is lost.'
They saw Avernus heading over to the stairs.
'Avernus!' Sophia yelled.
The fight before them vanished as quickly as they appeared.
'What just happened—' Then they saw more skeletons and demons heading towards them. 'Oh no, more fighting!'
Levi went as far as he could away from the skeletons and demons, and they charged them. Hiccup sliced the arm of warden skeleton and then sliced its head off. Ragnar and Heather fired an arrow each which went through to skeletons belonging to the king's men. Wartihog was getting into the swing of things with his battleaxe slicing through anything that came into its path. Valka and Speedfist fired ice spells upon the rage demon freezing them in place before blasting them with an energy blast.
Once the battle was done, Levi made his way over to them. 'The Wardens summoned demons. I can't believe it. And my grandmother… She knew.'
'She was fighting for her life,' said Hiccup.
Levi closed his eyes. 'I believe that my family was better than that. But answers may delay up ahead.'
They soon entered into a library which was fooled of burned books. Fishlegs bent over towards a badly burnt one that laid open, he could make out a few words here and there, but the great majority of it was burnt.
Then suddenly they saw more images this time of two mages, the archivist was writing in the book while his apprentice was barricading the door.
'The door won't hold, archivist,' said the apprentice.
'Almost done… The truth must be told,' said the archivist as he wrote as fast as he could.
'What does it matter? We're dead.'
'Our grand Rebellion… so close… And to die here a stillbirth.'
'We never should've done it,' said the apprentice moving away from the door. 'Wardens aren't supposed to oppose kings and princes.'
'Should we stand idle by while—'
They never heard him finish because the door flung open and then they saw a bright light. They could only hear their screams as the vision faded.
'Another one… Rebellion? What is this about a rebellion?' Levi asked puzzled. 'If only the book wasn't burned.'
'But this goes against everything the Grey Wardens stand for?' said Ragnar.
'But Sophia must've had reasons,' said Levi. 'The Wardens are heroes. Some injustices just cannot be ignored.'
'Taking arms against a king jeopardises our neutrality.'
'But what about you, aren't you fighting against Drago the same way Sophia is?'
'He does have a point,' said Astrid.
'Difference being is that we're in the middle of a Blight and Drago is jeopardising the safety of this country and others. We have no choice, even if we managed to gather an army we cannot attack the darkspawn fearing an attack from the rear.'
Hiccup was starting to wonder if this Rebellion was the cause of the Wardens exile. Arland did appear to be a tyrant, but for the Wardens to break the neutrality seemed a bit unusual clearly there's much more to this than meet the eye.
'Let's just keep moving, maybe we can find answers elsewhere,' said Hiccup.
They soon found themselves in the Commander's Quarters, and what they found was shocking. Sophia was standing in front of them with their back towards them.
'Step no further, Warden. This one would speak with you,' said Sophia as she turned towards them. Their eyes widened because her face was covered in scabs and looked like it was rotting.
Hiccup moved his hand towards his blade. 'Why should I speak with you?'
'Because this Peak is mine,' said Sophia. 'This one is the Dryden. Commander. Sophia. All these things.'
Levi was stunned. 'G-grandmother?'
Sophia ignored him and focused her attentions upon Hiccup. 'You have slain many of the demon ilk to get here. This one would propose a deal.'
Speedfist looked up at Levi. 'Levi, I'm afraid your great-great-grandmother is possessed.'
'That, or she's really let herself go,' he said and turned to look at what remained of Sophia. 'My great-great-grandmother is dead. I don't know what that is.'
Hiccup crossed his arms and looked at Sophia. 'And why should I trust a demon?'
'What is a one-woman child compared to your might? Strike me down if my terms offend. A fool this one would be to betray the Warden.'
Speedfist lean to whisper in Theron's ear. 'She's a pride demon, and it would be inadvisable to trust her.'
Hiccup nodded. 'I've heard enough. Die, demon.'
In rage Sophia through her sword and charge that Hiccup. He blocked her attack but was knocked aside by her shield he looked up just in time to see her raising her sword above him, but then Astrid came out of nowhere and swung her battleaxe slicing her head clean off.
Ragnar then opened the desk and found what appeared to be a journal. 'I think I found Sophia's journal.'
Levi's eyes lit up. 'What does it say?'
'I'm afraid some of the passages are unreadable, but what I can make out it turns out that Sophia was, in fact, Arland's cousin.'
'What?' Levi stared.
'The last king died with no heirs so fell upon either Sophia or her young cousin Arland. Sadly a good majority of the nobles believe that we could control Arland, so they backed him instead of her.'
'I'm guessing things didn't go well,' Astrid assumed.
'Arland proved himself to be a tyrant, he locked Sophia and plan to execute her, but she still had noble supporters who suggested handing her over to the Grey Wardens. Only she climbed up the ranks until she became Commander, at which point Arland's brutality to be too much and so the nobles asked her to replace him as Queen.'
'Guess we now know what caused the rebellion,' said Hiccup.
Dragon Age Origins Soldier's Peak
'So do you think she did all this to take down a tyrant or just to take power?' Astrid asked.
'I get the feeling it was both, but I guess we'll never know the answer,' said Hiccup.
'Regardless we need to find a way to stop these demons from spreading,' said Speedfist.
'Do you have any ideas?' Hiccup asked.
'I advise that we continue on looking around and maybe will be able to find a way to reverse this catastrophe,' said Speedfist.
They made their way over a bridge and Ragnar was able to disarm the traps that laid upon it and had to deal with a few undead Wardens. In no time at all, they soon reach the tower and Speedfist went straight to a pile of books that laid on the ground.
'These were written by that mage Avernus,' he said picking up a book. 'Listen to this: Day 32. The subject is not responding to the stimuli. Testing the pain threshold has uncovered nothing. Only three subjects are left. Day 82. If only I could reproduce last night's extraordinary success. Electricity is only a catalyst. The blood is the key. Day 97. Energy and blood. Repeated applications have duplicated the results. I conjecture the success can be induced out alchemically. But there are no more subjects left. If only I had one more or a dozen. The things I could do.' He then closed the book. 'That's when the entry ends.'
'What did he mean by subjects? Or is as bad as I think it is?' Hiccup asked.
'Apparently he was doing some sort of experiments on the Blight, and they seem to be very unethical,' said Speedfist.
'I think this is the labour of his work,' said Ragnar handing over a vial with a potion that laid on a table.
Hiccup looked at Speedfist. 'You're the mage what do you make of this?'
'Understanding the Blight is a worthwhile idea, but I cannot condone his experiments. We maybe Grey Wardens, but there's always a line. This research will be valuable, but the cost was too high.'
'Well, take whatever you think may be useful. Let's make sure that deaths weren't inveighing,' said Hiccup.
Once they were done checking through Avernus is books they made their way to a door. They still found nothing on how to prepare a Joining, and they soon entered Avernus's lab.
'I hear you…' said a voice. 'Don't disrupt my concentration.'
They all stared, he might have aged greatly, but there was no mistaking his voice; it was an Avernus. It didn't seem possible, but yet there was no mistaking his posture as he approached them from his desk.
'Even now the demon seeks to replenish their numbers. Are you to thank for this welcome but timely imbalance?' he asked.
'The old Warden mage? You're still alive?' Hiccup gasped.
'Only just. I have only a short time left.' Avernus then looked them curiously. 'Why are you here? What is your intent?'
Hiccup his arms and gave him a displeasing look. 'I'm debating whether I should let you live.'
Avernus narrowed his eyes. 'And here I thought you would rescue me. There is a precise mystical balance here. My every breath is dedicated to keep the tear in the Veil from ripping wider. And you would kill me now? You're narrow-minded actions could ensure that this place teems with their kind.'
Daylen narrowed his eyes. 'We've seen your experiments.'
'They were necessary. Any tool, any iota of information that could defeat the failed demons, was justified. As a Warden, you should know that.'
Valka gave Avernus a displeasing look. 'Even Wardens know there are limits. However, you spin your web of rationalisation, consulting with demons is evil.'
Avernus rolled his eyes. 'The Chantry has done such a fine job of indoctrinating you, haven't they?'
'I happened to be an apostate.'
Avernus looked quite taken aback. 'Ah, then I stand corrected.'
Speedfist then stepped forwards. 'How about giving us some answers.'
'To what questions, I wonder?' Avernus asked, looking at the mage curiously. 'Ask.'
'Sophia's great-great-grandson brought us here.' Hiccup looked at Levi. 'Levi, go ahead.'
'Master mage, uh, sir. My family name has been worth less than dirt for over a century. Do you have any proof that Sophia was a hero?' Levi asked, hopefully.
Avernus looked quite surprised. 'The boy who braved the mists. So you heard my call.' He laughed. 'And you are a Dryden? The cosmos has a sense of humour.'
Hiccup stared at him. 'Your call?'
'He was but a boy when he entered the tunnels below the Peak. His heart pure. His character certain. In dreams, I gave him the keys he would need. He would be my deliverance.'
Ragnar rolled his eyes. 'Just ask Levi's question.'
Avernus's eyes were for sympathy as he turned towards Levi. 'Your great-great-grandmother was the best of us. Brave, charismatic, fiery. Utterly devoted to the fight. But still, we lost. We fought the tyrant, you know? So full of vigour, then. So blind to the consequence. But prove? There is none to be had.'
Hiccup looked at Levi with sympathy. 'I'm sorry, Levi.'
Levi looked at his feet. 'I…, I had hoped. But thank you, Warden.'
Speedfist looked Avernus for curiosity. 'How have you survived these many years?'
'The Chantry forbid the use of blood magic—but there are so many secrets to uncover. As my body decayed, I found a way to extend it. But that can only go so far.'
Hiccup was utterly disgusted, but nevertheless, he was amazed that Avernus was able to extend his life away over a century. 'Tell me what happened here.'
'What use would storytelling serve? The tyrant Arland is long dead. As is our noble co-conspirators and the grand Rebellion. Sophia's corpse may walk and talk. But she, too, is no more.'
'How was Arland a tyrant?' Ragnar asked.
'He ruled with fear and poison. His treachery pit noble against Noble in terrible battle. We thought him a monster. We gathered allies to rebel.' He sighed. 'But the toll of years has erased our failure, hasn't it? It seemed so pressing then, but the kingdom lives on.'
'What happened to rebellion?' Hiccup asked.
'Too many mouths to quiet. Even sorcery can only go so far. So we met with Teyrn Haddock. With him on our side, we had a chance of victory. Instead, the king's guards ambushed us. Commander Dryden and I barely escaped.'
'The Haddocks almost rebelled?' Hiccup stared disbelief. 'That's my family.'
Avernus looked generally surprised. 'Is it? You lost many family members that day. I saw the teyrn's head on the meeting table. With an apple in its mouth. Arland's butchers no doubt slaughtered enough Haddocks to make them… pliable.'
Astrid looked at Hiccup. 'Arland must've been a tyrant had it were planning to rebel against the king.'
Speedfist shook his head in disbelief. 'You had to know that something so many demons was foolhardy.'
Avernus nodded. 'Perhaps. But it was survival. Four months, I prepared the summing circles, researched the deepest depths of the Fade. That moment was a triumph of demonic lore. Dozens of demons called by my hand.' He sighed and rubbed his forehead. 'But with so many variables, I suppose calculation errors were inevitable. I was so close.'
Speedfist narrowed his eyes. 'You're to blame for all of this. Some things you just don't do.'
Avernus looked at his feet. 'From a Warden, that means something. So tired, so old. You let me undo my greatest of mistakes. Let me cleanse this place. Then… Then, I will accept whatever justice you feel, I merit.'
Hiccup figure that they got all they needed from Avernus. 'The time the questions is over.'
Avernus nodded. 'So be it. My only request: If justice or vengeance drive you, stay your hand until the demons are dealt with.'
Theron then gave a firm look. 'Until the demons are dead, we are allies.'
Avernus nodded in agreement. 'That'll do for now.' He then headed towards the door, and they followed him. 'We must go to the great hall. There I will repair the damage I course so long ago. There will be peril. The demons will fight us every step of the way. Come.'
They soon crossed the bridge and made their way over to the great hall. Hiccup didn't have to be a mage to realise that they were standing in the epicentre of the tear within the Veil.
Avernus came to a stop and turned to face them. 'We must act quickly. The demons are clawing on the gates. The Veil must be closed.'
'What do we do?' Hiccup asked.
'I will unravel the summoning circles I drew so long ago. Waves of spirits and demons may come through. Dispatch them. He then made his way over to the first circle. 'I will begin. First, I must summon the magical energies. I feel them. They're coming!'
Levi got to a safe distance, and everyone got ready as Avernus began to unravel the circles one by one. He was right they had to face tons of demons of all kinds and all they could do was keep them at bay while Avernus began muttering some sort of incantation.
Hiccup saw Speedfist and Valka casting spells at upcoming demons. Heather and Astrid were fighting back to back, slicing their way through the demons with their axes. The twins were more than happy to back them up and the villagers if they were having fun doing it.
Wartihog was slashing any demon that got close to his battleaxe. Ragnar and Eret removing in between the lines outflanking the demons. Sten, Shale and Snotlout were the vanguard bashing their way through with their weapons. Hiccup, Fishlegs and Toothless protected the perimeter around Avernus as he moved from circle to circle.
Finally, Avernus was able to remove the last of the circles he wrote, and after they slew the last remaining demons, he approached them. 'It's over. The Veil is strong now. Stronger, at least.' He then looked at Hiccup. 'I said I'd submit to judgement, and so I shall. Can I be left to experiment in peace?'
Hiccup knew that they couldn't allow the rumours of the experiments committed here to reach the people, it would damage the Warden's reputation even more. 'For your crimes, death is the only verdict.'
Avernus nodded and looked at his feet. 'So be it.'
'It makes you feel any better. I'll continue your research to benefit the Wardens,' said Speedfist. 'Though I will not use unethical experiments to achieve my ends.'
Avernus looked at him. 'At least there is peace in that and that my subject deaths were not in vain.'
He then bent down to his knees, and Hiccup raised his sword. He then struck it down, slicing his head off.
Levi then emerged from his hiding place. 'You've done it, Warden. Soldier's Peak is safe again. A good thing you took care of that Avernus. A blood mage! In the Wardens. Common folk should never hear of that. Some still distrust Wardens, even in a Blight. Crazy bloggers.' He sighed. 'But there was no proof to redeem my family.'
Hiccup placed a hand on her shoulder. 'Your grandmother, I'm not sure about. But you're a good man.'
Levi smiled. 'For so long, I was focused on the past. On answers. But I think I would have been better off had if I'd stayed at home. Enough of that, though. I find myself at a loss.'
Hiccup smiled at him. 'You know, I do need someone to be in charge of this place and get things spruced up a bit.'
Levi stared at him. 'But this is your fortress?'
'Our base of operation is in Berk, it is the perfect location to strike the darkspawn from the south. Was so I can't risk sending any of our forces here so close to the capital, Drago might see it as a hostile move.'
'My cousins have been looking for a safe place to store trade goods. And the Peak will do nicely,' said Levi.
'And it's not a complete loss either,' Ragnar added. 'We can leave out a few bits, but we can say that Arland was a tyrant and it was the nobility that asked the Wardens to intervene.'
'Plus the research that Avernus did on the Blight is quite intriguing,' said Speedfist. 'With it, we might be able to find more information about the Blight, though I'll make sure to use more ethical methods.'
Fishlegs then stepped forward. 'So, I'm still a little confused.'
'About what, everything here is confusing?' said Snotlout.
'What is it, Fishlegs?' Ragnar asked, ignoring Snotlout.
'Well, how could Avernus have lived so long?'
Ragnar nodded. 'It is confusing, we're not completely immune to the taint over a period of 30 years, or so it starts to affect us. Once that happens, we start making our way to the Deep Roads. It's why the dwarves of Orzammar still respect us to this day.'
'And on that happy note, let's make our way back to Berk and report to my father,' said Hiccup.
At Aresgan Tyrell and Viggo wandering through the streets and they can help but notice that everyone was looking grim. Clearly worded the darkspawn advance was spreading quite quickly despite their best efforts of keeping it down.
'Any news on our wayward Prince?' Tyrell asked.
'According to my spies see me making his way towards Soldier's Peak, the former headquarters of the Grey Wardens nearly a century ago?' said Viggo. 'They say that the place is haunted.'
Tyrell merely shrugged. 'I'm not too concerned about young Hiccup, I think he's proven himself to be quite resourceful.'
Viggo knowledge in agreement. 'I agree, not only did he survive the disaster of Ostagar, but he saved an entire city from undead, purged at tower filled with the abominations and has recently ventured into the Deep Roads. If that's not all he's not he's proving himself to be quite a leader, more so than our current Queen maybe frank.'
'I agree, you know she's still trying to pressure the Council to launch an attack on Berk,' said Tyrell. 'Fortunately, the true power lies within my father after some much convincing, he sees the wisdom that this Landsmeet might be the best way to unify Berk.'
'Though I fear the outcome may not be the one he suspects,' said Viggo. 'People are starting to see Hiccup as Midgard's one remaining hope compared to your father. So far your father has started a civil war and ignored the darkspawn threat, even I'm questioning whether to give my support.'
'I agree, the day is coming when we have to pick a side. I just hope that it's the right one.'
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor Dragon Age: Origins. They belong to Kishimoto-san and Bioware, respectively.
Thank you all for the reviews. I wish more people would review the story but I suppose they will if they want.
I tried very hard to correct any mistakes, but I'm dropping dead with sleep as I write this, so if you find any errors, point them put and I'll fix them... tomorrow.
[06/10/13]: Fixed all the small mistakes and edited a bit the chapter. You can expect the other in no more than two weeks, possibly less.
Chapter Five
Soldier's Peak I
'I don't care how you do it. I want them dead!' Loghain shouted, anger clear in his voice. 'It wasn't bad enough with all the Bannorn rising up in arms and the darkspawn breathing in our necks. Now we have a group led by Grey Wardens travelling around the country doing Maker knows what!'
'Ah, sire. Precisely, I bring word about the Bannorn. There are demands that you step down from the regency. It seems they are gathering their forces, just as your allies are doing. It seems we'll have truly a civil war in the end, despite the darkspawn. Pity.' Arl Howe drawled, not sounding the least saddened. However, the glare Loghain sent his way was enough warning to shut him up.
'However, about the Wardens' matter, I have arranged for a… solution. With your leave,' he said, bowing his head and signaling to the man behind him to step forward.
Loghain inspected him. He was an elf but he showed tanner skin than most elves he'd seen. He had blond hair, as well. Loghain noted the elf moved with more confidence than many men he'd ever seen. He wore light leather armor and carried a sword and a small dagger strapped to his back. 'A rogue, then', he couldn't help but think with a frown. He'd always had issues with trusting a rogue. He felt as if they would backstab him in the back at any moment. They unnerved him but he'd kill himself before admitting such a thing.
'The Antivan Crows send their regards.' The elf simply stated and Loghain's harsh frown deepened even more, if that was even possible.
'An assassin, Howe?' From the severity of his voice, the others in the room could see he was not exactly pleased with Howe's decision.
Howe felt it too and thus rushed to explain himself. 'Against the Grey Wardens we will need the very best, sire.' He reassured his liege but the elf's laugh was the only response to his statement. However, the assassin still wanted to say his part, too.
'And the most expensive.' He told them with an amused grin.
Loghain didn't say anything for a long time. Was it right to use assassins to do his dirty work? He was Loghain Mac Tir, hero of River Dane. He shouldn't be going to mere assassins for his problems. He was a man of law and yet here he was, paying for an assassin to sort his problems out.
'Maric… what would you think of me, now, old friend?'
He remembered that young woman from the Circle, the elf with the dirty blond hair. She had tricked his guard into presenting him to her and although greatly annoyed by the man's stupidity, he couldn't help but feel mildly impressed by the girl's craftiness. She didn't look like an especially bad person. Was she one of those surviving Wardens out there? Would he condemn someone who had led a reclusive live for most of her life, done nothing wrong to him or Ferelden as a whole?
Could he? Did he have it within himself to say it?
Finally, Loghian spoke as he closed his eyes. 'Just get it done.'
'Maker, have mercy on me.'
The elf left after bowing low, Howe following closely behind. Loghain stayed a little longer, immersed in his own thoughts but he too left after a while. No one noticed a person crouching down just behind the wall, trying to remain unnoticed. A few seconds after Loghain left, the person stood up, clearly shaken from the conversation.
There was a message to be sent.
xxxOOOxxx
'Finally, here we are. Soldier's Peak…' Levi sighed as the stepped out from the tunnel.
'Finally! Honestly Levi, in the end I really thought you were just kidding. A week just to travel to this fortress and then we had to get lost in those mines,' complained Neria while dusting herself off.
Levi only coughed awkwardly. 'Yes, well, my sense of orientation isn't as good as it used to be. Besides, the map got soggy. But we managed to find the way, didn't we?'
'Indeed, can't complain about that.' Neria nodded as she stared at the ancient fortress. 'It's even more impressive than I thought it would be.'
'Yes, it is, isn't it? So, let's go in there. I'll follow you about. From a distance.' Levi remarked and Neria couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Levi's great courage. 'This place has the stench of death. Surely, there will be trouble up ahead. And I'm a merchant, not a fighter.'
Neria turned back and looked at the others. Although they had tried to hide it, all of them were eager to explore an ancient building like Soldier's Peak. Even Sten looked mildly impressed by the Peak's magnificence.
'Some action will do them good,' she thought absently as she glanced at Naruto.
Since the day they had met Levi, he'd been pretty adamant at starting his own workout routine. He wanted to get back to top condition. However, seeing some of the exercises he did, Neria sometimes thought the group she led was full of crazy people. Most of his exercises were just plain out insane! Naruto had, however, waved away all their concerns and said it was perfectly fine.
However, as insane as his training was, Neria had to admit it gave him good results. In a week he'd been able to go toe to toe with Alistair and with only a sword, in an amazing display of speed and physical strength, though Neria knew those were definitely not normal things. No one could move that fast, not without help, anyway. The others thought as much but they refrained from asking. They still weren't sure how Naruto would react to prodding into his past.
'Well, obviously there shall be trouble. One doesn't waltz in a place like this without expecting resistance. Who knows, we may even find a ghost or two.' Morrigan said uncaringly but Naruto flinched noticeably when he heard the part about ghosts. Neria thought he was a little paler than usual, too.
'Wait, did you say ghosts? Fuck, I hate ghosts!' complained Naruto with a nervous twitch.
'What's the matter, Naruto? Scared of ghosts?' Leliana teased with a good natured grin while he looked around nervously.
'It's just that I don't feel comfortable with things I cannot touch. What if they attack us or something? As long as I can fight it, I'm okay, but give me a ghost and… well…' he muttered.
'If it helps, I doubt we'll find much trouble in there, anyway. I mean, no one has set a foot in this part of Ferelden in more than a century. What could go wrong?' Alistar assured his fellow blond.
'You'd be surprised that almost any time a disaster happens, someone said those words just before. You just jinxed us, Alistair.'
'Enough babbling. Let's form a more cohesioned group, just in case. You know the drill.' Neria ordered.
Immediately, the different members of the party repositioned themselves in order to gain more versatility in case of an attack. In the end though, the males were each near a female. Since they were clearly weaker in terms of physical endurance, they would be easier to plow through brute force with a lucky shot. However, thanks to having the others near them would make it harder for the enemy to pick them off. Not that they were helpless in any way, mind you. Neria just didn't want to let anything up in the air.
They moved forward to the stone stairs that led to the courtyard. They could see some corpses -skeletons more than anything else-, but, obviously, nothing that still moved. However, nothing prepared them for what they saw next.
The world adopted a glassy appearance and there were soldiers running around the courtyard, doing various tasks. Despite all, no one seemed to see them, even though they were in plain sight. A man with an unkempt beard, fit in heavy armor, stood out as he gave out orders to all the grunts. From his argument with a soldier, they were preparing the set up the siege of the fortress and starve the Wardens out.
However, the implications of the vision were most disturbing to Neria. The Grey Wardens were supposed to be an independent organization. What had they done to warrant such actions from the king, since those soldiers were acting with Arland's consent?
'Wh-what was that? Felt a little woozy there.' Levi asked with a worried look. 'I mean, I'm not mad, right? You saw it, too? This place must truly be haunted.'
'Don't worry, Levi. That was a vision. The small echo-like effect should tell you as much. Strange phenomena can be seen where the Veil is thin.' Neria explained, putting her instruction as a mage into use.
Levi's curious look was the telltale sign he didn't know what that was. 'The Veil?'
The mage leader nodded. 'The Veil. That's what separates us from the Fade… and demons,' she elaborated with a grim look. However, that was the wrong thing to say, for Levi immediately grew nervous.
'D-demons? Thank Andraste you agreed to came, then, Warden.'
'Relax, Levi. I've faced demons before and you've got the best protecting you.' Neria reassured him with a confident grin. 'Just follow me. Everything will be fine.'
However, it seemed that Naruto's words about Alistair jinxing them came true for the corpses of fallen soldiers suddenly stood up when Neria advanced to the second set of stairs.
'Enemies up ahead!'
'Neria, we've got archers behind us!'
'Alistair, Morrigan, deal with them!' Neria shouted as she drew her wooden staff. 'Sten, with me! Leliana, snipe them whenever you can! Naruto, protect Levi!'
The Uzumaki forcefully grabbed the Dryden and drew him closer before an undead corpse could maul him. Backing away from the fight, Naruto made sure to stand in front of Levi while the others dealt with the undead. That way he could see how well they fought in an actual battle as well. No need to go for an overkill and start using his chakra-based moves. Not yet, at least. The mabari, 'Fang,' Naruto corrected himself, stayed with Levi and him.
Unsurprisingly, Sten was plowing through the enemies like they were hot butter, though that was thanks, partially, to Neria's work, who acted as support while also dishing out some minor damage as well. Sten, just like Naruto, had used the week to get into shape again and the results were already showing as well.
Sten's appearance had unnerved Naruto at first. Not having ever seen a Qunari before, his gray skin and his towering figure did strike him as menacing as they could get. If anything, he would stay clear of him, for the time being, at least. From what Neria had told him, they had appeared three hundred years ago from some obscure land far away and had started a great war against all of Thedas. In Neria's own words, they had conquered easily more than half of Thedas, thanks to the technological superiority they hold over the other races. Only the Tevinter Imperium's resistance had allowed some chance of defeating them. Neria didn't know much else, although her burning thirst for more knowledge about the Qunari was quite plain to see. To think that most of them had horns…
On the other hand, for all of their dislike for each other, Morrigan and Alistair worked remarkably well together. Morrigan was much more on the offensive than Neria was. Thankfully, Alistair was able to keep up an impenetrable defense so no one could get past him to attack Morrigan.
Morrigan was kind of weird, with those intense stares of her. It was even creepier thanks to her yellowish eyes. She was okay, though. At least, he hoped she was.
Now, Alistair was the kind of guy he could get on with really well. He was easy-going and pretty funny. Naruto especially enjoyed their banter during traveling, despite the fact that he could clearly see his uneasiness around him. He didn't hold it against him, though. He would've probably done the same in his place. He was a little childish, though, but he'd been like him for most of his life.
'Not anymore.' He thought sadly.
The redhead woman, Lelianna, was also an interesting woman. Her skill with the bow was highly impressive, although he wasn't sure how good it'd be compared to other archers from this time. He had seen her once or twice with a dagger even if she tried to be sneaky about it. 'Smart move'. That way she'd have something to use in case she had the need to. However, last he knew, the religious type never involved themselves with weapons or grisly battles, so he was curious.
Naruto allowed a small smile to show itself as he concentrated on the task of protecting Levi. Anything else, he didn't know, but at least he was sure he wouldn't get bored with them.
The group quickly dispatched the group of undead without many troubles, save some shallow cuts.
'Before we enter inside the actual fortress, I want all of you to spread out and inspect the outside. Who knows what could we find?'
In the end, they found a small fountain in one of the walls. A decorative statue of a woman with a pitcher had been built over the water canalization and a stream of icy water, connected to the periodic thaws, burst from the pitcher. If nothing else, the water would help to refresh themselves.
'Okay, these corpses were raised by demons. Not so surprising since the Veil is thin here. However, from what we've seen outside, it's logical to assume there will be more of them inside. I want all of you weapon ready. Levi, stay in the back with Naruto and Fang. They will protect you if anything tries to get to you. Whatever happens in there, Levi, stay calm. If you start running around, you'll just attract their attention. Sten, you will take lead.' Neria ordered.
For a split second, Sten looked pained for some reason, though Naruto didn't see any wounds in his body that could have caused such reaction. However, the emotion on his stony face barely lasted more than a blink and Naruto wondered if he hadn't imagined it.
'Very well, Warden.'
Without more preamble, the ragtag group of persecuted individuals broke into the hall of the fortress. However, there they were assaulted with yet another vision. This time it was about Levi's own great-great-grandmother giving an encouraging speech to her Wardens when all seemed bleak and their lives destined to oblivion.
'Men, I won't lie to you. The situation is grim: our forces outnumbered, our bellies empty, and our hearts are sagging. But we are Wardens! Darkspawn flee when they hear our horns. Archdemons die when they taste our blades. So are we to bend knee to a mere human despot? No! I, for one, will never give up! I, for one will never surrender, just to dance on Arland's gallows...'
Naruto couldn't help but feel impressed by her words. Sophia Dryden certainly had a strong, burning will. That much was certain when she was able to reignite the fighting spirit of the other Wardens.
However, Morrigan sighed, clearly unamused by Sophia's speech. 'Tis woman may be charismatic but I find amusing the fact she sent them all their deaths. Pointless ones, at that. But it's even more pitiable that they decided to follow her.' As impressed as he was with the speech, Naruto couldn't help but agree on some aspect with Morrigan. But she was wrong on one thing, at least. The Wardens didn't follow Sophia just because of her charisma.
However, Neria's frown and Alistair's perplexed look told him that it wasn't as simple as that. Leliana thought the same, because she voiced his concerns just before he did.
'Neria, Alistair, is something wrong?'
'Wrong I don't know, but something is definitely off about this.' Neria answered. Alistair nodded.
'Yeah, Grey Wardens are supposed to stay out of political affairs. The fact that Arland himself gave permission to siege the fortress is enough sign that these Wardens did not comply with that rule,' explained the blond ex-templar.
'But it seems that Arland himself was a tyrant, ruling despotically.' Levi pointed out. 'Perhaps that's why the Wardens rebelled?'
It was a fair question, after all. Listening to Sophia's words, Arland was a despot. Would it be too hard to believe?
'But that's not how it works! We Grey Wardens are supposed to keep our neutrality,' Alistair protested, although he himself didn't sound as if he really believed his own words.
'You're not seeing the bigger picture, Alistair.' Naruto's soft voice echoed in the hall eerily while all the others turned to him. He then elaborated. 'Just because you take a vow doesn't mean it can't be broken. Those Grey Wardens surely had family: brothers, mothers… No matter how hard you try, some bonds cannot be broken. If Arland was really a tyrant, would it be too hard to believe they would ask them for help? And if they did, what would someone do? What would you hold dearer to your heart? Your vow or your family bonds? In the end, a vow is just a bunch of some fanciful words; your honor, an abstract thing no one can grasp. Tell me Alistair, if you were put in the same situation, wouldn't you want to help your family?'
'I… I guess you're right.'
'Tis foolish thinking. Family relationships don't have that kind of power. Only a fool would choose to lose their freedom and lives for something like this' Morrigan disagreed, clearly of the idea that things such as family bonds were only a weakness. Naruto shook his head in disagreement but didn't say anything else, too submersed in his own thoughts.
They were silent after that. Naruto's words had given them much to think about. However, they had a mission to do, so Neria decided they had been dilly dallying to much already.
'Well, uh, we should move on…' she started but Leliana interrupted her.
'Look, the Wardens signed a parchment with their declaration of resistance: On these grounds, virtuous men stood against a tyrant. They stood defiant and stood for freedom. And they died. Then there are their signatures. There are more than twenty.'
'Definitely not a place I'd like to spend a vacation on.'
'Come on, Leliana. Let's go.'
The group progressed onwards but several demons appeared as soon as they all stepped into the big, dark room, led by an Arcane Horror. However, they all were quickly disposed off thanks to high fighting prowess of the group. To Naruto, it was easy to see the simple, yet very effective tactic. Alistair and Sten would attract the demon's attention while Morrigan and Neria used their magic, all the while getting aided by Leliana's skill with a bow. It was the same tactic as before.
The Arcane Horror was relatively powerful in magical prowess but lacked in regards of physical defense, so it fell rather easily when Sten and Alistair teamed up against it.
He was definitely impressed… by their standards. Of course, since he could breathe fire and do some impossible stunts with chakra, he really couldn't apply the same measuring stick. It was no bragging, just plain truth. Although it did stroke his ego every time he thought about it.
'Phew, that was easy.' Leliana said as she slung her bow again.
'Speak for yourself, I'm the one covered in blood and parts I don't want to know about,' grumbled a moody Alistair as he tried to get the blood off his armor.
'There's something I just thought about, though.' Morrigan suddenly said. 'Dryden here said that the Wardens were exiled. However, that's clearly not the case. Some of those skeletons we fought outside displayed a Gryphon crest. It's obvious there's more to the story than we were told.'
'Perhaps we'll find the answers we're looking for as we progress. It's the reason we're here, after all.'
Levi coincidently found a note from Bann Mathuin Wulff, who, from Alistair's words, was more likely than not, an ancestor of the actual Arl Wulff.
Sophia,
Arl Ruahn and his entire family have been slaughtered, even the children. The Ruahn line is no more and the arling belongs to the crown, for now. Arland believed Ruahn was plotting against him. Ruahn criticized the king's spending on Wintersend-that is all. It was an idle word, spoken out of turn. The king goes too far. His brain is filled with madness and he clings to the crown like a drowning man clutches at a straw.
Sophia, I beg you, help us. If nothing is done, more will suffer.
Your humble servant,
Wulff
'Well, Levi, seems like Arland really was a tyrant. Hopefully, we'll find more notes like these along the way.' Neria noted after reading out loud the discouraging note. 'Anyway, we have one door blocked and two more on either side of the room. Levi, stay here with Fang. Alistair, Naruto and myself will explore what's beyond the left one and Morrigan, Leliana and Sten will go to the one on the right.
The group split efficiently though the formation was quick broken when Naruto, who had gone first, cursed loudly when an arrow buried itself into the wall, missing him by millimeters. More walking dead readied their old rusty weapons to attack them. The party made quick work of them although Neria noticed that one of them, carrying a massive war-axe, was noticeably stronger than the others.
After the short battle, they used some minutes to rest and drink some water from their canteens as they explored a bit the room.
'This is weird.' Alistair said yet again. Naruto, who was the one closer to him, raised an eyebrow.
'How so?'
'Well, look at the furniture of this room. The second floor is filled with bunkbeds and some trunks for the Wardens. Basically, a barracks. But then, on entry level, it's like this room was used as a training area. Look at the size of it, it's was clearly intended for training, with all those weapons stands.' Alistair explained while he gestured to everything.
'Don't worry so much about it, Alistair,' said Neria, who had approached them. 'After everything is said and done, we'll be able to modify everything we need to our convenience. We could turn this into a full training area, since it's not exactly summer outside.'
'Sure, why not? Although I don't see myself picking up the hammer to rebuild the castle, just so you know.'
'Trust me, if I let you do that, Soldier's Peak would fall down upon our heads in less than a week,' joked a grinning Neria, making Naruto let out a short laugh. The petite mage joined him in seconds.
'Ouch, now that was uncalled for.' However, Alistair's smile said otherwise.
However, their diversion was brought to a stop when Leliana walked up to Neria with another note, written in a rush in a wrinkled scrap of parchment.
'This is from someone named Athlar. He was a commander. It says: Soldier's Peak is more than we bargained for. There is sinister magic at work here. The men are seeing things and cannot tell nightmares from reality. The fallen return to life to attack again and again, and we are assaulted by dark creatures the likes of which I have never seen. Whoever is responsible is intent on destroying us all-the king's army and the Grey Wardens both.
Send help! We cannot last much longer.
-Commander Athlar.'
'Well, seems like someone dabbled too much into blood magic. Play with fire and you'll get burned.' Morrigan stated.
'Indeed. Seems like the more we find out, the more complex the situation is… was… Ugh, never mind.'
After the little break the group pressed on. The next room they found was thankfully empty of dead Wardens or men from Arland's army that had been resurrected; there were, however, several skeletons with their bones arranged in a tangled mess. The room looked like a dining room for the Wardens, though they didn't found a kitchen or anything close to one.
After scouring the room for more clues from the past, they returned to the corridor and headed towards the last door. Just as Sten swung it open, another walking corpse caught him by surprise and toppled him over. However, Neria was close and quickly kicked it in the head before it could harm the qunari and Alistair quickly beheaded the corpse. Morrigan, meanwhile had destroyed the corpse into bits after freezing him with an ice spell. Naruto used a quick combination of devastatingly powerful punches and kicks to demolish his enemy, shocking Neria with the strength behind those blows.
Another wave of walking dead was raised but they were defeated with the combined strength of the party. Naruto found extremely funny the fact that, after Fang had dismembered one of the corpses, it still tried to kill them, crawling all the way. After killing ('How can you kill something that's already dead, anyway?') all the corpses, Naruto's attention was directed on a dusty old tome on the ground. It was badly burned but perhaps there could be something of interest for Levi? However, as soon as he touched the pages, another vision of the past sprung on them.
An old man, already graying in the hair, was frantically scribbling on the same book while a young girl with pigtails, the man's helper, kept on glancing nervously at the closed door. Cries and sounds of battle easily reached their ears and she winced every now and then.
'The door won't hold, Archivist!'
'Almost done. The truth must be told.'
'What does it matter now?' the girl moaned. 'We're dead.'
The man kept on writing, his face strained and intent. 'Our grand rebellion! So close! And to die here a stillbirth...'
'We never should have done it!' the girl cried. 'Wardens aren't supposed to oppose kings and princes!'
'Should we stand idly by and—'
However, whatever the archivist was going to reveal was lost as a loud crash indicated they had entered into the library, the vision fading out as it did.
'So, they did rebel, after all,' commented Morrigan with a pensieve look. It seemed that even she had become interested in the topic.
'Seems so. Levi, I know you may not like to hear this, but it's possible that Sophia used her charm and charisma as a means to use the Grey Wardens against Arland.' Neria told the merchant. 'However it was, let's press on. I'm sure we'll find the answers we want.'
'Look at the number of bookshelves, the amount of books… who knows how many are filled with ancient stories or old myths?' Leliana wondered in quiet awe and Naruto idly wondered if the redheaded bard would start drooling at any moment.
'As much as I'd like go through them myself, we'll leave that for when the keep is not infested with demons.' Neria pointed out, although the blond shinobi could easily see she too was fighting hard the urge to claim the books as her personal loot. 'So, shall we continue?'
The second floor of Soldier's Peak awaited them.
xxxOOOxxx
Meanwhile, several miles away from them, a shady meeting was taking place in an obscure place of Denerim.
A lone figure, garbed in a black hooded cloak walked purposefully through alleys and murky backstreets with a clear destination in mind. The figure oozed confidence and something about it made all the petty robbers and thieves think twice about assaulting such intimidating figure.
For their part, the figure was all too aware of their presence. It wasn't the first time the figure had to put up with something like this and had been a victim of attempted theft more times than one would expect. Not even once had the potential robbers walked away unscathed and the figure's purse had never been touched.
Certain in their steps, the figure finally arrived to a highly unremarkable looking house. Carefully making sure no one had actually followed them, the figure looked at every corner of the small alley. Pleased with the results, the figure knocked a specific combination on the door and waited.
It took minutes for an answer to arrive but the figure knew it was standard procedure to make sure the specific knocking sequence hadn't been a fluke. Finally, a horizontal part of the door slid away and the hooded figure could barely make out a pair of black, beady eyes in the darkness.
'The wolf runs free across all countries.' The figure muttered.
'And rumor has it that he's the being of many faces. Good, follow me.'
The door opened only enough for the figure to pass through. As it was already well into the night, the figure could only discern the body of a man. He led the figure to a big room with two chairs and a table, with a single lit candle on it. There was no other source of light in the room but it helped the hooded individual to see a single person, another man, seated on one of the chairs. The hooded individual couldn't see the man's face but truthfully, the two dozens odd men and women staring at them from the shadows were more worrisome than one single man. They wanted for the newcomer to know they were there, that they simply allowed their potential client to see them. Basically, a showing off of strength.
The figure mentally scoffed at that thought.
'Seems like everyone needs an extra bit of juicy gossip to leech of off others, in these hard times. Can't complain, though. It's good for business.' The seated man commented while gesturing for the newcomer to sit down. 'So, what can I do for you? My boys tell me you've been very persistent about having this mkeeting.'
'I need you to deliver a message.' The curt, crisp answer was met with a brief chuckle.
'Every days surprise you with something new. I don't know who you are. Don't care in the slightest, either. But I fear you'll go home empty-handed. My services don't involve getting myself into mail business. We're not couriers.' The grunts snickered softly, as if they were in the know of some sort of an inside joke.
'Indeed, they don't. They revolve around information and that's what I'm giving you. Besides, sending mail shouldn't be that hard, considering the other things you do for a living, Dark Wolf,' the cloaked individual casually remarked.
The man, now identified as Dark Wolf, chuckled again. 'Too true. Well, what's your proposition, then?'
'You will send a message to the person or group of persons I tell you. The payment will be sixty sovereigns; twenty now and forty after I get foolproof confirmation the message has been received.'
'Sixty sovereigns? Not I'm complaining, but just for a message? Tell me everything or I won't bother finish listening to your offer.'
'As you suspect, the 'whom is the letter for' part is the dangerous thing. The message is for the Grey Wardens.'
The man shifted in his chair but his thoughts couldn't be picked up by the still hooded figure. 'Shit, I get it now. I don't want any part of this little war of schemes and plots of you nobles. Maker knows the common folk have it bad already because of Loghain, though the true son of a bitch is that weasel of Howe. He's not a man, he's just a butcherer. Of course, my birdies have all kinds of interesting stories about him. If you're interested... well, we could always reach a satisfactory deal.' He offered.
Soldier's Peak Walkthrough
The figure stilled for a moment, thinking on it but ultimately shook their head.'Perhaps another time. However, if you don't want to do it, then so be it. I will have to take my offer to somebody else. Though I'm surprised someone with such a reputation would care for the common folk.'
However, the Dark Wolf rose from his seat, suddenly furious. 'That snot-nosed upstart of Ersom is not getting more ego in that empty head of his just because I didn't want a contract! Fine, we'll take it. I will send my best. What will the message be? However, don't think I've forgotten that last comment, though I'll let it slide this time.'
The hooded figure handed him a rolled parchment but didn't say a word when he rudely unrolled it and started reading. Obviously impressed, he whistled.
'So, they're sending Crows, then? Someone must be really getting on Loghain's nerves. Ha, good for the Wardens!'
'Yes, well. Just make sure they send a reply. Contact me when your man has returned and I will tell give you the location of the remaining sovereigns.'
'Wait, aren't you afraid of what I could do with this kind of information?'
'Well, you could, of course, break your end of the bargain. But that would mean no more easy money through more messages. Besides, I'm sure the Wardens could deal with most. I'm only sending this message because the Crows are certainly not a sane person would like to go against. Now, if that's all, good day.' The figure said as they strode out of the house into the night again.
'Hook, line, and sinker.'
Hello to all, people! It's so good to give you all another chapter. Now this is the first part of Soldier's Peak. I had started writing, and writing, and writing…. and writing, and the chapter kept on growing with no visible stop. So when I reached the 15k+ barrier, I said 'Stop right there!' and decided to cut the chapter in half.
However, I didn't want to break the flow of the story too much and I finished with a little chapter of less than 5k+, so I added the last part. Hope you liked it! Now, I only have to finish the next chapter, edit it and post.
See you guys soon!