Honnleath Town Square

Perhaps no one was left alive.

But that did not stop Gilead Mahariel, Grey Warden and Seeker of Clan Sabre from trying.

His expert marksmanship was only equaled by that of the Orlesian Bard Leliana. Between the two of them, ten darkspawn were shot through the head before the darkspawn realized that they were under attack. The rest of the wardens were on hand to take the initiative and strike before the darkspawn could properly coordinate their counterattack. For instance, two hands of stone reached out and smashed a swath of darkspawn between them to further compound the darkspawns problems.

Seeing that the darkspawn were closing in, Gilead drew his long knives and prepared to meet them head-on. However, he was caught off guard by the slash of a hidden darkspawn rogue and narrowly saved when Huan the Mabari grabbed it's neck and pulled until it's head was loosened from it's body. Gilead recovered and slit open the throats of two hurlocks as the battle was truly joined.

Thorin Brosca, known simply as Gimli the Casteless, took aim with his crossbow Kalah and fired five veridium bolts into the chest of a hurlock. Then found another three darkspawn to shoot in their knees. Leaving them helpless when a pantless Oghren hewed through all three with a single swing of his great axe. Gimli fired another bolt into the throat of a genlock rogue, but his crossbow seized up and Brosca was left to figure out why. Fortunately, the two attacking genlocks and three hurlocks were distracted by the efforts of Lealion Surana whom wielded her enchanter's staff in one hand and a longsword in the other.

Clumsily.

She slashed and found her strike easily parried with her sword being knocked from her loose grip. Shrugging at the loss, Lealion held her hand out at the offending darkspawn and set him on fire. Then she struck her staff into the ground to create a glyph of repulsion that knocked the other four darkspawn to the ground. She added an additional glyph of paralysis to keep them there and went to pick up her sword. Then, she slew each and every darkspawn one by one.

Clumsily. But they would not live to tell anyone about it.

"The golem!" Ignoring the battle around him, Durin ran towards a stature in the middle of the town square. He was so distracted by the sight nearby that he cut down ten darkspawn with a quick swing of his axe, not caring that two were alphas. An emissary's spell fired at him and bounced off of his shield to the darkspawn's confusion. Quickly looking from the golem to the emissary, Durin grumbled and gave a swift chap to the darkspawn's neck before running back towards the hill where his prize awaited.

"That peddler was right!" Durin exclaimed in excitement, uncaring of how Wynne was being mobbed by a swarm of hurlocks led by a particularly skilled alpha. "Now...what were the passwords?"

"I believe that the golem can wait!" Wynne suggested while beating down and fending off the darkspawn with naught but her staff and a sword of stone and fire that she pulled from the ground.

"No it cannot!" Durin shouted back and brought out the control rod that was supposed to operate the golem. "Now...awaken. Dulef Gar!"

Nothing happened.

"Dulef Gar." Durin repeated while Wynne was tackled from behind and nearly stabbed if not for a timely breath of wintry magic. The Senior Enchanter used the frozen darkspawn as a shield, allowing the hurlock alpha to knock of it's head in an attempt to strike Wynne. "Dulef Gar."

"Looks like you've been scammed!" Oghren laughed and was kicked in the crotch by a surprise rogue strike. Oghren roared and snapped the offending darkspawn's neck and used it as a makeshift battering ram to pin a hurlock into the wall of a nearby shack. "DON'T TOUCH MY JUNK!" The enraged Warrior punched out and unknowingly pierced the chest of a hidden hurlock rogue. Surprised, he pulled out his fist to find it clutching a bloody and beating heart. Since he couldn't drink or kill it, Oghren put the heart back into the hurlock and properly bisected the creature.

"Perhaps another phrase is in order." Durin decided and pondered, not caring that Wynne was in the middle of a makeshift duel with a hurlock alpha amidst a ring of slain or dying darkspawn. "Valos atredum."

Again, nothing happened.

"Maybe the rods broken!" Gimli suggest as he mashed the butt of his still-jammed crossbow onto the skull of an unlucky darkspawn warrior.

"Try another password!" Gilead shouted out before shooting an arrow into the eye of a darkspawn sniper and using another arrow as a makeshift dagger against a darkspawn trying to backstab Leliana.

"I needed that! Thank you!" Leliana grabbed the arrow out of the dead darkspawn and used it to fell a darkspawn emissary before it could cast a paralysis spell on Lealion.

"Amgetoll." Durin stated, but again, nothing happened. "Amgarrak!"

"It doesn't appear to be working dear."

"No. It isn't." Durin pouted and gentle Wynne pried her staff from the eye socket of the hurlock alpha that she defeated. Nearby, the remains of the darkspawn attack group were felled and the wardens regrouped at the statue in the square. "Perhaps striking the golem will awaken it."

"I would not recommend that." Gimli figured and had a thought. "Maybe the password is Dulen harn?"

"Don't comfort me with ignorant nonsense casteless..." Durin muttered. "With everyone in this blasted village dead...there's no hope of ever being able to personally own and command a golem-"

"Why is this door locked?" Lealion asked with Huan sniffing at the door in question. "The mabari smells something."

"Perhaps there are survivors within." Durin figured, completely brought out of his depression as he walked up to the door and inspected it's sturdiness. "It is barred from the other side. The wood is acceptably dense, but won't hold against sufficient strength. Oghren! Break down the door!"

"No."

"As the cast-out prince of Orzammar, I command you to break down this door!"

"Right...why should I obey you?"

"Because my caste is higher than yours!"

"But weren't you kicked out just like me?" Oghren comfortably leaned against a hurlock's corpse. "Oh wait! I left! You're the exile, duster! So your word doesn't mean squat!"

"Of course it does! As we are both exiles from Orzammar, my original caste grants me a higher authority than your's as a warrior!"

"That sounds like a bunch of nug shit."

"Nonsense. Shit cannot make sound."

"You've never heard it splash when you take a dump-"

"Change of subject. I'm blowing the door." Without warning, Gimli fired an explosive bolt at the barred door and threw the rest of the party away. When the gust cleared, most were groaning as they sat up to see that the entire doorway of the shed had been blown open.

"I think you overdid it." Lealion commented with a smirk. "What do you put in those things-"

"The less you know the better." Gimli answered and whistled at his work. "I did this with crap I found in sewers and caves? Who knew?"

"Could your call-forwards be any less transparent?" Cassandra inquired of the Orator.

"You're only now noticing?" The Orator asked back with Varric shrugging in agreement. "As I was saying..."

Wilhelm's Cellar

Matthias never thought that he'd have a day worst than the day his father died.

Then the darkspawn came.

Honnleath's mayor had assured the people that the darkspawn would never come here. But that fat bastard ditched town two days before the darkspawn attacked and the militia was slaughtered down to the last man.

The only reason that Matthis and a few dozen survivors were alive at this point was because Matthis was a mage like his father before him. It was an open secret in the community though the people seemed to respect him well enough. They even kept him from being discovered by the occasional templar company.

As well as snitching villagers trying to collect a bounty on apostates.

But even Matthias' magic was insufficient by itself. Instead, Matthias fled to his father's old cellar and activated its enchantments to slow down the darkspawn and keep them from attacking him. He had hoped that the darkspawn would just give up and go elsewhere and some did.

Others clearly had nothing better to do.

At the moment two dozen darkspawn were crowded in his father's cellar. No ogres thankfully, just genlocks and hurlocks.

Some of the Genlocks were much wider and appeared to be more beast-like in appearance compared to their smaller goblin-like counterparts. These genlock brutes were using their heavy-set arms to support their weight. The manner of their stance appeared to be similar to a creature called a gorilla from the jungles of Por Vollen. Matthis believed that his father called the large brutish darkspawn Genlock Homins while the smaller genlocks were referred to as Genlock Goblins.

The Genlock emissary was evidently arguing with a large genlock "brute" that was the size of a bronto and carried a massive tower shield and greatsword on it's back. The goblin smacked the Brute on it's knee and caused it whine in pain despite its status as an alpha. The other genlocks and hurlocks nearby began to laugh at this display until the Genlock Alpha walked over to one of the goblins and smashed it's shield onto it's skull.

The laughter stopped afterwards.

The emissary turned towards Matthis and the survivors hiding behind his shield and licked it's tongue across it's glasgow smile. It then used it's bladed staff to decapitate one of the hurlock archers and began channeling it's blood into the mana that formed in it's hands. That mana then became lightning that danced upon the emissary's arms and staff and was unleashed in a burst of energy upon the shield.

"Maker protect us..." Matthis muttered as he saw the shield hold, but weaken. The emissary growled and motioned for one of the genlock goblins to approach it. The stupid creature had seen what had happened to the dead hurlock upon the floor, but still moved to it's superior. The creature was still shocked when the emissary stabbed it through the neck and twisted the staff to pull off the goblin's head.

Matthis would have laughed if he wasn't so terrified.

"Emissary Blood mage! Kill it first!" The darkspawn cried out when a bolt flew through the room and struck their emissary. The goblin mage screamed from the bolt embedded in its knee and further cried out when the bolt exploded. The blast took out its left leg along with half of it's hip as the darkspawn charged towards their attackers.

"Well done Brosca! Announce our target so that the darkspawn may stand by and let it die!" A red-haired Dwarf Warrior slammed his hammer into the skull of a charging Homin and smash it open. He flipped over the felled darkspawn and swung his hammer into the chest of a hurlock.

"But darkspawn aren't polite nor do they sacrifice their comrades so readily-" Durin was stopped when the Emissary threw its spear into the back of an archer and absorbed its life essence. Soon enough, the emissary was back on its feet with a regenerated body. "I stand corrected."

"Blood and damnation! More are coming!" Leliana warned and fired an arrow into the arm of another Genlock. Gilead leaped onto the genlock and used it as a makeshift slide while he fired arrow after arrow at the incoming darkspawn reinforcements. When the ride ended, Gilead put an arrow into the goblin's head and slashed out with long knives to ward off the hurlocks that attempted to overwhelm him.

"Save some for us dalish!" Brosca bashed Kalah into a hurlock's face and then stuck a handaxe into its neck. Gimli then used the dying Darkspawn to brace his crossbow while he took aim at the Emissary charging another spell. "Boy do I have a surprise for you."

The Emissary finished charging its attack and prepared a massive fireball. However, Wynne sent a Rocky Fist into its gut that stunned it and caused it to lose its focus. As a result, the fireball lost power as it fell on its caster and promptly exploded on the Genlock's head.

Gimli was stunned. "That...that was...my kill..."

"Look out for the big guy!" Lealion attempted to fire an arcane bolt at the Genlock Alpha, but it used its shield to ward off the spell. She twisted down to avoid its swing and then channeled her arcane might into her sword to strike for it's shield. To Lealion's surprise, the shield was cut in half by her attack.

Breaking her sword in the process.

Lealion whimpered. "Bodahn lied to me..." She ducked under another sword swing and created a glyph of Paralysis to stun the Alpha. Though it clearly wouldn't last long. "Stage left." She promptly ran and decided to focus on other darkspawn.

"Alright big guy!" Oghren confronted the newly recovered Homin Alpha with glee and anticipation. "Hit me with your best shot!"

The Homin bashed Oghren's head with it's greatsword and sent Oghren flying into the stairs. While the dwarf stood up in a daze, Leliana jumped onto the Alpha's back and aimed her bow for the top of it's head. The arrow pierced through the skull, but the creature did not die just yet. It dropped its sword and grabbed Leliana's leg to smash her onto Durin. It wildly flailed and punched at friend and foe until finally, it fell forward onto it's face.

"That's the last of them!" Gilead declared as he dropped the last of the darkspawn. "I do not sense anymore."

"Nor do I." Durin agreed, uncaring for Leliana who'd broken several bones in her body. "We are victorious with minimal losses."

"I...beg...to differ." Leliana managed as Wynne and Lealion began to attend to her wounds.

"Begging will grant you nothing, but scorn and shame." Durin admonished, still ignorant of Leliana's condition. "Has begging your absent god helped you at all?"

"More than your silent Stone has helped you." Gilead shot back, earning a glare from Durin. "We can argue about gods and faith later. For now, we must attend to the survivors."

"What survivors?"

"I think he means us." Matthis waved from behind his barrier. His fellow survivors were all joyful and reinvigorated with hope. "By the way, who are you?"

"We are Grey Wardens." Gilead answered to the man's relief. "We were passing through and sensed a darkspawn presence. We hoped to save anyone that we could find. I am glad that we found you and sorry that we could not save anyone else."

"I wasn't sure if anyone would come at all." Matthis managed in disbelief. "We'd sent messages to Lothering, South Reach, Gwaren, the West Hills or any lord and freeholder in the Hinterlands who could help us. We even thought that we were the last men alive in all of Ferelden. Thank you so much-"

"Save your gratitude, we did not come solely to save you." Durin cut-in. "I had purchased a control rod and I need the proper password to make it work."

"Password? What are you-" All of Matthis' relief and joy vanished in an instant. "Oh Maker's breath! You're here for Shale!"

Durin nodded. "Yes. Yes we are. And the password which I was provided did not work."

Matthis shook his head in utter contempt. "One moment." He placed a hand on the shield and caused it to slowly fade away. As the other townspeople cautiously left the blood-painted hall, Matthis approached the Wardens. "I shouldn't be ungrateful, you did just save my ass."

"Yeah, we did." Gimli agreed smugly. "But don't stick a stick up your ass, you're alive when a lot of folk are dead or worst. Anyway, the password for the Golem would be least you could do to repay us. That and any supplies that you can spare and sell, we've got a long road ahead of us."

"We'll have to see what's left after the attack." Matthis answered. "Also, we'll need food for ourselves. We're going north towards Amaranthine and sailing to the Free Marches. That's a long road as well."

"Our need is greater than yours. We face the Blight while you run from it." Durin stated. "Now...the password. Out with it."

"No." Matthis declared in bold anger. "I won't just...no..."

"Why not?" Wynne joined in. "This golem is clearly just standing out in open air and no one is using it. You also appear to have a great deal of disdain and anger for the golem. Removing it would be helpful for you and we will pay-"

"What do you mean we will pay?" Gimli objected. "We just saved this human's life! He owes us a reward and that password is a good start!"

Matthis yelled in exasperation. "It's not about the damned golem! That thing has brought us nothing but trouble! I can't believe that you brought back the rod! My mother sold it years ago after Shale killed my father."

"Your father?" Wynne leaned in closer to Matthias' face, focusing on the cheeks and brows particularly. "I see the resemblance. Was your father named Wilhelm?"

"Yes...that was his name." Matthias sadly answered. "He was a mage from the Circle, he served the Arl of Redcliffe and was a hero in the War against Orlais. And what did he get?"

"A Circle Mage outside of his prison?" Durin looked to Lealion in confusion. "You told me that mages are restricted to living in their dungeons!"

"I thought was the case too." Lealion agreed. "I've never heard of this Wilhelm before. Wynne? Who was Wilhelm?"

"A vain and pretentious Enchanter." Wynne answered. "If I understand correctly, Wilhelm served under Arl Rendorn during Maric's uprising. After Maric was victorious, Wilhelm was granted a boon of independence from the Circle and was hardly seen again. The First Enchanter said that he was exchanging letters with Wilhelm about countering demonic possession, but the letters abruptly stopped years ago."

"Shale would be the reason for that." Matthias offered. "My mother found him outside of the tower with so many broken bones that she could hardly recognize him. Shale was just...standing over him like it is now. So if you want that damned golem, then it's yours."

"As soon as we have the right password."

"I'll tell it to you, but I need your help first-" Matthias was pushed against the wall by an angry Oghren. "Please?"

"We just helped you surfacer!" Oghren angrily yelled. "You don't get to ask us to do more crap before we get what we came for! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't fist ya till ya talk?"

"Kill me and you'll never get the password!" Matthias was roughly pushed to the floor. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any other choice. I know that you've already saved my life...but, it's my daughter. Someone has to help her."

"If she's been captured then she's probably dead already." Leliana coldly calculated to the party's surprise. "Though there are worst fates that could befall a girl captured by the Horde-"

"It's not the darkspawn...she's in my father's laboratory." Matthias stated, pointing further into the cellar. "She was scared and she ran too far into the laboratory before I could stop her."

Gimli snorted in derision. "You suck as a father and want to make that our problem? Go get your little brat yourself."

"I couldn't leave the barrier!" An offended Matthias countered. "It will only work as long as a mage is channeling their mana into the enchantment. If I'd tried to go after my daughter, the shield would fail and the darkspawn would kill us all!"

"Understandable." Wynne confided. "But what lies in that laboratory to where we are needed?"

"My father placed other enchantments in the laboratory to defend his work." Matthias explained. "They won't hurt me or my daughter since we have my father's blood. But one of the militia volunteered to find her...he was killed."

"I'm getting less and less incentive to find this girl." Gimli admitted and brought out a hand-axe. "How about you tell us the password and we won't kill you and raid the place-"

"We'll find the girl." Leliana stated, raising Matthias' hopes. "A few simple traps and enchantments are child's play compared to what we have overcome."

"Thank you so much!" Matthias cheered and brought out a pack of notes and letters. "I found these in my father's study and kept them to learn more in case we had to stay in this place longer. But they'll be more useful to you."

"Is this going somewhere?"

"Patience seeker. All in good time."

"Was Kitty really a kitten?" Even Varric was skeptical of the Orator's smirk. "This is gonna be good."

Wilhelm's Laboratory

"Madam, I can assure you that the Circle of Magi is not a sacrilegious institution and that, indeed, we operate under the supervision of the Chantry. It would make our investigation of your husband's death much easier if you would simply co-operate with us. I am disappointed to hear that you sold the golem's activation rod. I understand both it and your husband were of invaluable aid to King Maric during the war against Orlais. Without the rod, we cannot discern whether Wilhelm's golem was responsible for his murder. The golem will simply have to remain where it is unless the villagers can find a means to destroy it. Our condolences to you and your son for your loss. I imagine it is of little consolation to you, but your husband is much admired here and will be missed."

"Maker keep you. Signed, First Enchanter Arlen." Wynne finished reading the Decades-Old Letter and set it in your pocket. "Lovely. "

"Wasn't Arlen First Enchanter Remille's predecessor?" Lealion inquired as the party explored Wilhelm's cavernous laboratory. "How come we don't talk about him a lot?"

"Arlen was a Libertarian and was possibly aiding Resolutionists in a planned coup. Hence, he often clashed with templar policy and supervision." Wynne explained in a wearied tone. "However, he and several Enchanters went on an expedition in the Frostback Mountains and Arlen went missing. Considering Remille's later actions and that he was the last mage to have been seen with Arlen, Irving theorizes that Remille killed Arlen so that he could become First Enchanter."

"Sounds interesting, but it doesn't matter right now." Gimli stated, Kalah ready to shoot the first thing that jumped at the Casteless rogue. "I don't like this place...too many places to ambush someone from."

"Speaking from experience? I would not worry, the wall is terrible for camoflage." Leliana pointed out. "I must say that Wilhelm seems to have a fascination for dwarven architecture."

"This cave is a passable imitation." Durin acknowledged and turned to Gilead. "Does the dead mage's journal have any further information?"

"No..." Gilead answered, his expression sad as he read an entry from Wilhelm's private journal. "20 Eluviesta: Young Matthias nearly wandered down here again today, and this time I forgot to leave the barrier up. I believe I will key the defenses to ignore anyone of my blood. I would rather have the boy stumble into the laboratory than have him killed by my forgetfulness. Poor lad, all he wants is to know why his father spends so much time beneath the tower. I will spend more time with him soon, I swear it."

"That's never gonna happen..." Gimli scoffed and was smacked by Wynne. "What? Fathers die and desert all the time. No need to be pussies about it."

"Have some respect. We are traveling through his halls."

"And he's not here. He's dead and in the Fade or wherever surface folk go when they die." Gimli brushed off Wynne's disapproval and kept stalking forward.

"Matthias' pain is not without merit. His father was focused on his research and just when Wilhelm vowed to spend more time with his son...he died." Gilead commented sadly. "More concerning is that Matthias managed to capture a demon for his research. A Desire Demon."

"That fool..." Wynne growled. "Of all demons to experiment with, why did he pick a Desire Demon? How did he capture it?"

"The Journal does not say...but the demon made multiple attempts to escape." Gilead read on. "2 Matrinalis: The demon almost managed to get away again. Tricky. I shall have to be more careful. Young Eamon sent a letter asking me to return to Redcliffe. I shall have to consider it. Soon. It goes to the next week, 11 Matrinalis: Could it be? What an intriguing discovery, especially considering that the demon was attempting to keep me from it at all costs. Or did it lead me to that information by seeming to deny it from me? I must discover the truth."

"Anything about the golem?"

"He was concerned that his experiments were exposing his golem to the demon's influence." Gilead explained as he read the last entry. "19 Umbralia: I think it is time to dismiss this demon. It is too dangerous for me to continue holding it, and I cannot discount the possibility that it is having some influence over the golem. Or is it my experiments? I will try to deactivate Shale for the time being and then deal with the demon once and for all. Let it end here."

"It ended alright..." Gimli chuckled and was smacked again by Wynne. "What? Even my mother knew that playing with fire only got ya burned."

"What do you mean you've never climbed a tree?" The group heard a little girl ask someone. "Don't cats like climbing trees."

A kitten meowed.

"I know Kitty! But soon you'll be big and strong and we can climb trees together!" The little girl cheered happily and then started to sing. "You and me together we'll be! Forever you'll see! We two can be good company, You and me! Yes, together we two."

"Ah! Good Company! I know this song!" Leliana said in adoration. "My mother sang it to me when I was little and I had a little orange kitten."

"What happened to the kitten?"

Leliana's joy vanished. "It was cut down by a graduating chevalier."

The group stopped in utter shock. The laboratory was silent for several moments while the girl kept singing.

"What kind of monster kills a harmless little kitten?" Oghren broke the silence in shock and rage. "At least I know that no one here is that cold."

"What is so great about these kittens?" Durin asked as the group passed through an opaque orange screen and found a pig-tailed girl playing on a strange box with keyboards connected to strings and singing that Good Company song.

It was unbearably cute to witness.

"Together, that's you; Forever with me." The girl sang while playfully seeking out a little orange and white kitten with glowing eyes. "We'll always be good company! You and me; Yes, together we'll be!"

Gimli was not affected. "We found the little girl...and she's playing with a demon kitten."

"What? Nonsense!" Wynne objected, adoring the scene as though the child were her granddaughter. "There is nothing abnormal about that cute little kitten."

"We'll always be together Amalia!" The kitten said without speaking. "Forever and ever!"

"So it is a demon." Durin concluded. "Oghren! Kill it-"

"You're so cute!" Oghren was now rubbing his hand over the adorable kitten with glowing eyes. "Hey kid! You feed the little thing right?"

"Of course!" Amalia remarked happily as she and Oghren started playing with the kitten.

"So it's taken Oghren..." Durin figured as Gimli slapped his face. "Very well...while Oghren keeps the kitten busy, I'll sneak up and grab it. Gimli and Gilead, you'll stay back and shoot it. Leliana, you grab the child when Wynne catches it with her Primal rock powers-"

"That plan won't work." Gimli noted, pointing to where everyone was singing along with Amalia and playing with the kitten with glowing eyes. "Guess I'll just shoot it then."

"I am a cat, really."

"We're not stupid." Gimli readied Kalah and aimed at the kitten's head. The kitten meowed and its eyes widened, giving the little creature an aura of pure innocence and cuteness.

Gimli couldn't pull the trigger.

"It's...so...cute..." Gimli dropped Kalah and walked over to pick up the cute kitten and pet it. "Ah...you're not a demon! You're just a cute little kitten whose scared and lonely and hungry and..."

"This is pathetic." Durin deadpanned as he stormed over to Gimli and took the kitten from the Casteless dwarf's hands. "Hello."

"Hi! Do you want to play with me too?" Kitty asked, her eyes gleaming innocently into Durin's very soul...

Cassandra exhaled. "I suppose that even Durin was not immune to the demon's charms."

"No one was..." The Orator stated. "Which makes the next part all the more surprising..."

Willhelm's Laboratory

Amalia cried in Wynne's arms. Wynne's mouth shook in sadness and tears poured down her face.

Durin continued to pummel the crying kitten against the laboratory walls. Its blood stained the wall and left a small puddle beneath Durin's feet.

Gimli was on his knees. Crying at the slaughter before him.

Oghren shook his head in shame and drained another keg of ale.

Lealion blinked multiple times in pure shock.

Leliana was surprisingly approving of Durin's brutality and smirked at the carnage.

Gilead, shook in place as he fumed with rage and anger.

"It's dead!" Gilead shouted and Durin dropped the mangled feline to the floor. "By the Dread Wolf! What is wrong with you?"

"The demon was clearly using this kitten as a disguise." Durin deduced. "As Desire Demons use seduction to manipulate their victims, they must take on pleasing forms to make their manipulations stronger. However, as Amalia is a little girl, she has no lust nor desire for wealth and power. Therefore, the demon would logically take on the form of a feline to sooth Amalia's fear and make the girl trust the demon. And it nearly worked."

"Worst yet, it actually worked on all of you." Durin finished as he turned to the party. "Now that we have Matthias' daughter, we can leave this laboratory and collect the password."

"YOU KILLED KITTY!"

"You will thank us for this one day." Durin was about to step forward and felt his foot get caught on something hot. He looked back to find that a Rage Demon was emerging from the ground and had grabbed him. "The Kitten has opened the doors of hell!"

"What is hell?" Leliana asked as more rage demons and a group of shades appeared in the room.

"A dwarven expression. Fight now, ask questions later!" Gimli shot a bolt at one of the shades and took out its right arm and shoulder. The shade recoiled and its form was distorted by the explosion set off within it. Two more shades were damaged and staggered for when Oghren charged them and systematically cut them apart.

Leliana jumped back from an attacking Rage Demon and fired a flurry of arrows into it's body. The arrows did little damage, however Lealion enchanted the arrows to directly inject cold mana into the punctured Rage Demon and freeze it. Gilead fired a powerful shot right through it's head to shatter the rage demon and caught a second rage demon in the neck. Durin bashed off its head and batted it at one of the shades near Wynne.

Wynne single-handed created a ray of frost which covered over and disseminated a Rage Demon with powerful ease. She then conjured a fist of rock and stone that crashed down from the ceiling and crushed the Demon into a practical pancake. A shade attacked her from behind and she narrowly created a barrier to protect herself. Gilead shot the shade in its hand and ran forward to slice through its chest with his long knives.

Amalia huddled behind Huan, who stood ready to pounce on either of the two shades that were encroaching on him. The Mabari Hound roared and stunned the two Shades in their tracks. The hound bounded on the closest and tore the creature down into the dirt and gravel that it had conjured into its body. The second recovered and raked the dog across its face. The war hound growled and savagely tackled the demon to rip it apart.

Durin boredly side-stepped the last Rage Demon and caught its burning claw in his hand. The dwarf then threw the demon onto the ground before delivering a stone-shattering strike right into the Demon's chest. The demon was broken apart like charcoal and faded into embers that soon lost their furious fire.

"We've slain the demons and found the girl." Durin declared at the clear end of his patience. "Let's get out of this dreadful place."

"What about kitty-"

"KITTY IS DEAD! KITTY WON'T BE COMING WITH US BECAUSE I KILLED IT!" Durin held up the mutilated kitten's body to Amalia's face just so that she'd never forget the sight...

Wilhelm's Cellar

"Amalia!" Matthias ran forward with open arms and scooped up his daughter. "Are you alright? Were you hurt?"

"No father..." The traumatized and frightened child answered. "I'm sorry for running away."

"It's okay, it's all over now." Matthias was about to carry is daughter away and then realized that he had been surrounded. "Dulen harn. The Password is Dulen harn! Now leave me alone!"

"We just fought a mob of demons, we need more of a reward than two words." Gimli stated with Wynne and Gilead washing their hands of the madness and staying out of it. "Did your dad have anything valuable that we can appropriate?"

"My father has a collection of deathroot and elfroot that you can take..." Matthias answered, desperate to have his saviors and plunderers leave him alone. "My father's staff is also around here somewhere...you can take that as well. An enchanted Helm that boosts your abilities and has increased armor...a ring from the harvest festival and...a belt that increases the wearer's willpower...just...leave me alone..."

"Willpower belt..." Durin wrote on a parchment. "Is that all?"

Matthias whimpered. "My father had his personal brewery-"

"MINE!" Oghren trucked out of the circle in search of the brew. "I'LL SHARE! I PROMISE!"

"He won't share will he?"

"If he remembers, he will." Gimli answered while Oghren crashed through wall and bookshelf, the sounds of his destructive clumsiness echoed through the cellar.

Honnleath Central

"I can't believe that you robbed that man!"

"Robbed him? He gave us this stuff!" Gimli laughed, the Harvest Festival Ring now gleaming on his hand. "And I already feel a bit stronger and quicker already..."

"You threatened the man!" Wynne barked in disgust. "You are Grey Wardens! You're supposed to save the people! Not steal whatever you desire from them!"

"Actually, we did exactly as you described." Durin remarked, finding no interesting in the Honnleath helm and thus he tossed it to Gilead. "Grey Wardens do whatever is necessary to protect the people from darkspawn. We found the darkspawn and killed them, thus saving the city's remnant from joining their deceased neighbors. We also saved the man's daughter from being possessed by a demonic kitten. We also appropriated what the man would not need so that we could further protect the people from the Blight with his dead father's enchanted items."

Gilead reluctantly placed the helm on his head. "I hate to say this...but Durin is...right. We have saved these people and we are doing what we must to save more-"

"A small comfort that will be for that man and child." Wynne countered. "They could have sold those belongings to pay for their way out of Ferelden and away from the Blight. Instead, you have terrorized them and they will remember this. Spreading word of your deeds to others who will then antagonize you when Loghain has already made you criminals!"

"Then perhaps we should kill him to cover our tracks?" Durin figured, though Wynne's death glare made him drop the suggestion. "Besides, the man is more focused on surviving than spreading rumors! The fact that he is alive is owed to our presence! He is a fool if he forgets that so easily."

"Keep in mind, most surface folk are stupid." Oghren joked as the group approach the Golem stuck in place. "Alright Durin! Activate the damned control and get this thing moving so that we can move on!"

"Dulen harn." Durin declared, his control gleaming with a flash of light before falling silent. Immediately, dust began to pour from the cracks between the stone that made up the golem's body. It's fingers slowly flexed and moved with each ouch of dexterity that returned to the being. Cracks were heard as the golem's head moved down and it wrenched and punched its right arm out of stasis. The left arm punched out and soon, it stepped forward with movement returned to its leg and hips and the right leg moved forward soon afterwards.

"The Golem is active." The Golem flexed out its arms and legs before standing upright before Durin. "Greetings sentinel of stone. I am Durin of House Aeducan-"

"Oh...my new master is a short man." The Golem quipped in disinterest. "I knew that my control rod would be found one day...but at least you are not a mage.

"Hey! I'm a mage!" Lealion shouted in protest.

"Lovely. My master is friends with a mage." The Golem said in exasperation and looked around the village. "I stood here in this spot for many years. Watching the meatbag villagers scurry around me like roaches. Guh! The things that they said and wrote...I'm glad that they're dead."

Leliana was shocked. "That's not a nice thing to say!"

"Nor is it nice to be pissed on. Or to have feces throw into your face. Or to have children play stupid games under your legs." The Golem responded in rising irritation. "And worst of all...they had the gall to put bread in front of me."

Gimli blinked in confusion. "To feed you?"

"To feed the BIRDS." The Golem answered in shaking rage. It turned and saw a raven perched on a tree. "BIRD!" The Golem punched its hand into the ground and lifted to pull forth a massive boulder. The Golem then threw the boulder at the raven, striking the black bird and smashing it against the building that collapsed in on itself after Shale's boulder struck it.

All mouths were agape.

"I take it all back. This golem is worth every headache." Gimli remarked with joy. "Nice shot! You're name's Shale right?"

"Yes...it is-"

"Of course it does not have a name! It it is a golem." Durin held the control rod at Shale. "Golem! I command you! From this day forth, you are my servant and I am your master!"

Shale stood in place. "Well go on then, out with it. What is its command?"

"First! I command you to take two steps forward!" Shale didn't move. "I said take two steps forward!"

"I...I have no compulsion to obey." Shale realized with subtle surprise and relief. "You have the control rod though? It appears as though it is broken."

Durin's mouth shook in loss and confusion. "Broken? How...how could it be...broken?"

"Serves you right for your greed and disregard." Wynne remarked as Durin cursed and threw the Control Rod at a hanging corpse. "But perhaps it is possible for...Shale to join us of its own free will? What say you Shale?"

"I'm...not...certain..." Shale admitted, honestly at a loss for words. "I suppose I have two options, do I not? Go with it or... go elsewhere? I... do not even know what lies beyond this village."

"It can stay here...it killed its previous master." Gilead stated. "Without the control rod, what's stopping Shale from turning on us?"

"Maybe if the tiny elf doesn't give me a reason to crush it's meatbag body, then it has nothing to fear from me." Shale stated to Gilead's abject fear. "Still...you fight the darkspawn? Is this true?"

"We are Grey Wardens." Gimli answered the golem. "Our job is to fight darkspawn to the death and protect the idiots who aren't smart or quick enough to get away from them. If you've got nowhere to go then you're welcome to come with us. We could always use some extra muscle or...stone for your case. Or you can go off and hunt down as many birds as you'd like."

Shale sat down and scratched its chin in thought. "The darkspawn are an evil that must be destroyed, it's true. Though not as evil as the birds... damnable feathered fiends!"

Durin cried out in exasperation. "The Golem is thinking now? Brilliant! How can it think without a brain?"

"Because unlike your inferior water-based forms, my intellect won't waste from stupidity and irrationality." Shale replied. "It also means that since a brain is a...muscle, right? Your brain will atrophy and weaken with time while my stone-based intellect will remain intact until I no longer exist."

"Just wait until it rains..." Durin grumbled and walked away from the scene. "My dream of having my own personal golem! Wasted!"

"Ignore him." Gimli assured Shale. "He's an idiot. His father raised him wrong on purpose as a joke."

The Golem gave a shaking chuckle. "It is a funny joke, I suppose. Still, I do owe it and all of you for freeing me from my paralysis.

"Then welcome to the crew, Shale!" Oghren offered with a full pint of Wilhelm's Brew in his hand. "It'll be rough and tough, but you won't get bored. Cause wherever we go! Someone or something wants us dead! FUN FOR ALL!"

"Crushing meatbags is always fun." Shale acknowledged and flexed its massive stone arm. "Almost as fun as crushing birds..."

Author's Notes:

Since Shale is the Dragon Age equivalent to HK-47 and HK-47 is my favorite star wars character...I'm going to have a lot of fun with Shale.

I mean...a lot...

The Kitty encounter was an anti-climax, I know. But it did make sense from a character perspective. The party just did clear out an entire tower filled with demons and beat a tough encounter in the Fade itself. You'd think that at least one of them would take that experience to heart and not fall for obvious games.

Especially if avoiding the obvious game means avoiding a very difficult and convoluted puzzle quest.

Where's the fun in those?

As for the set-up for Amalia's cruel awakening into reality...yeah, I was in an evil mood. Plus, taking the Red Pill is a very blunt and bad experience. Especially if the false reality that you were in consisted of being best friends with a cute kitten and singing adorable songs from obscure and barely remembered Disney movies.

Also, this is the first time that I've incorporated the new darkspawn variants from the later Dragon Age games. Consider it my attempt to add some consistency and continuity since Bioware clearly doesn't care about there's at this point.

Later and thanks for sticking with me.