Naruto: Knight of Highever

Chapter 7

Written by KitBeast

Beta'd by Vixen's Shadow

Disclaimer:- In no way do I own the franchise's of Naruto and Dragon Age. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Bioware. No profits are made by this story.

During the three, nearly four years that Naruto had been living at Highever, he had become used to the constant hustle that accompanied such a large settlement; however that didn't prepare him for the sheer number of people that were crammed into the tiny camp in the ruins of Ostagar. Truthfully though, he was thankful for this. The attack by Arl Howe, combined with the fact that he gained and lost a family within minutes, meant that what little control he had on his emotions was warring dangerously thin. So thin in fact, he was petrified that sooner or later, Kyuubi would find some way to take control. The sheer number of people present would give him plenty of distractions, which would hopefully take his mind off of this.

The approach of a group of people dragged Naruto out of his thoughts. The stunning golden armour that was worn by the man leading the group immediately drew Naruto's attention.

"Good Morrow Duncan." The blonde haired man said extending his hand to Duncan.

"Good Morning your highness. I wasn't expecting such a..." Duncan said shaking his hand.

"Such a what? Royal welcome?" He said with a chuckle. "And who's this?" He asked looking at Naruto.

"This, your highness, is Naruto Uzumaki. A knight from Highever. Naruto, this is King Cailan."

Upon hearing this Naruto did a hasty bow, drawing yet another chuckle from him.

"There's no need to be so formal young Knight. We're all brothers here. Although I'm confused as to why you didn't arrive with the others from Highever." Cailan asked confused.

"Then you haven't heard then, your Highness?" Duncan asked

"Heard what?"

"Highever was attacked. I fear that everyone has been lost." Duncan said with sadness resounding in his voice "Even the Teryn and Teryna."

"Attacked? By who?" Cailan asked in shock.

"It was Arl Howe your highness. He attacked when Highever's forces had marched here to Ostagar."

"Why would he do such a thing? Surely he must know that he won't get away with this treachery."

"I don't know your highness."

"As tragic as these events are we must turn our attention elsewhere." Cailan said

"What?" Naruto shouted in outrage "How can you allow Howe to get away with such a cowardly attack?"

"I know you must be devastated by the attack on your people Ser Naruto, but at the moment we have more important things to worry about." Cailan said with a sigh "I promise you this Ser Naruto that Arl Howe will not get away with this. However the defence of our people comes first. I cannot turn my army away from the Darkspawn threat and leave my people defenceless. However once the Darkspawn menace is defeated we will immediately deal with Howe's treachery."

"Yes, your highness." Naruto said with reluctance.

"Until then we must prepare for the oncoming battle. I will leave you to prepare your Wardens Duncan." Cailan said as he started walking back into the camp.

"You heard the King, Naruto, we must prepare. Please find a young warden named Alistair and bring him to my tent. You will know him because other than me he is the only one who bears the symbol of the Wardens."

"What then?"

"Then my friend, you and the others will be inducted into the Wardens."

"Others?" Naruto asked confused. However instead of answering him, Duncan simply let out a brief chuckle as he continued towards a tent that had a large fire outside.

Shaking his head at Duncan's dismissive behaviour, Naruto took another glance around the camp, trying to find a clue as to where to begin his search. Looking for a couple of moments, he simply couldn't find anything helpful, so simply heading down what appeared to be the more used path, and headed right. Constantly glancing around him, looking for the tell tale griffin emblem of the Wardens, Naruto wandered for what seemed like hours, yet was no where near finishing his task. Sighing as he prepared to start yet another circuit of the camp when he was interrupted by a comforting voice caught his attention.

"Do you need any help, young one?"

Turning towards the voice, Naruto saw a elderly women clad in red and green mage robe.

"Excuse me? Why would you think that I need any help?" Naruto asked frustrated at his lack of progress.

"Perhaps because I've watched you walk past me four times, and each time it appeared like you were searching for something. So please, tell me what your looking for and I will try to help as much as I possibly can."

"I've been tasked with finding a Grey Warden named Alistair."

"Alistair you say? Well then young one I do believe I will be able to help you."

"Really? You know where he is? That's fantastic." Naruto said relieved that his search was apparently over.

"Oh yes I know him. I will lead you to where he tends to spend his time, if you would follow me then."

The many times that Naruto had walked around the camp, he seemed to have completely missed the raised platform that was overlooking the camp. The gentle ramp that made it's way up to the platform was surrounded by crumbling marble pillars. The fire that was raging in the centre of the simple dirt floor was surrounded by several people. The majority of which were wearing the basic Mage robes, but one of them was wearing a well worn suit of scaled armour.

"There he is, young ser." Wynne said pointing at the man adorned in scale armour.

"Him? Are you sure?" Naruto asked.

"Oh yes. The Grey Warden that likes tormenting Mages. He's Alistair. And now if you'd excuse me, young ser, I have duties that I need to see to," Wynne said while making her way back down the ramp.

"Thank you." Naruto called to the retreating Wynne.

Turning back from the ramp, Naruto made his way towards the fire, as he made his way over he could hear the conversation, which was more like an argument than a conversation, between the now identifies Alistair and some random Mage.

"I do NOT answer to the Reverend Mother, Warden." The Mage said anger clearly ringing in his voice.

"Wooo there. There's no need to be so aggressive." Alistair said with a smirk "I'm just passing on a message, so don't blame me."

"Listen Warden. I know you think that since you're a Warden you can do what you want. But there will be a day where you will need to take responsibility and stop acting like a spoiled brat." The Mage said while stalking away from Alistair, with the rest of the Mages following in his wake.

"Somehow my friend, I seriously doubt it." Alistair said with a chuckle as he watched the Magi walk away. As he watched the Mages leave, Alistair finally saw that they weren't alone.

"Hello. I didn't see you there. I'm Alistair, and you are?" Alistair asked holding out his hand.

"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said shaking the extended hand. "I'm here because Duncan sent me to fetch you."

"Ah. You must be one of the new Wardens that Duncan found during his travels. Now come on, we might as well get this over with."

"Get what over with?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"You'll see." Alistair said with a chuckle.

The journey through the battle camp gave Naruto chance to actually attempt to create a mental map. The time he spent training in Highever taught Naruto that if he couldn't be where he was needed during a battle then he might as well not be on the battlefield.

The map would be able to help in the heat of battle. And in any battle it's better to be prepared than lacking something you would need later on. It would be a lot easier and quicker for Naruto to make his mental map, if he didn't have to follow Alistair, who was walking at a pace that was slightly below jogging. It seems Alistair really was in a hurry to get this over with.

When Alistair finally started to slow down, Naruto saw that he was approaching the tent that Duncan described to him earlier. It was unique because it was the only tent that had a fire blazing just feet away from it's entrance.

Gathered around the fire was three people. The first was Duncan. The second was a man who was slightly taller than Alistair and was built bigger than anyone else there. He had short, receding dark brown hair and a small patch of stubble that line his chin only. He was dressed in the standard scale armour that many around the camp where wearing. It was obvious that he wielded a two-handed great sword by the one that rested on his back.

Next to his stood another man, this one slightly smaller than the first, who wore a suit of hardened leather. He had duel short swords strapped to his back, and his body's frame showed that he used speed more than strength. An interesting contrast to the man that was standing next to him. Like the first man, he had dark brown hair and stubble but unlike the first man, his hair was pulled back in a sloppy ponytail, and his stubble covered his cheeks instead of his chin.

"There you are. I trust you weren't causing trouble, Alistair." Duncan said

"Me causing trouble? I'm hurt you would think so little of me." Alistair said with a chuckle.

"The reports I have been receiving for the past hour say that you are antagonizing the Magi. I know your past may have taught you otherwise but do try to get on with them. They are our allies after all, Alistair." Duncan said, turning away from Alistair before he could answer. "Naruto, I'd like to introduce you to your fellow recruits." Duncan said indicating the two other men.

"This is Ser Jory. Perhaps you have met, since he is a knight from Highever." Pointing to the man with the Great sword on his back.

"I doubt that, Duncan. I have been away for a great many days. So I haven't been able to meet any of the new Knights." Jory said, in a deep rumble.

"And this is Daveth." Duncan said, pointing to the man with twin swords.

"Pleasured." Daveth said cheekily.

"I'd like both of you to meet Naruto. A young knight fresh from his apprenticeship at Highever." Duncan said allowing them all to shake hands and introduce themselves. "Now we have important matters to discuss, before the battle begins tomorrow. In the Kocari Wilds just beyond the encampment, there is an old tower that contains all of the treaties between the Grey Wardens and the various peoples of Ferelden. Should the King and the army fail tomorrow, those treaties will be the only hope we have of stopping the Darkspawn. Therefore you all must head to the tower and collect them before anything should happen to them."

"How are we to find this tower?" Jory asked.

"Alistair knows its location. He will lead you. While you're out in the wild, as well reaching the tower, you will also need to gather several vials of blood from the Darkspawn."

"Darkspawn blood? What reason could we possibly have to gather that?" Daveth asked, with a hint of fear resounding in his voice.

"It is needed for your initiation into the Wardens ranks. Please don't ask for any more details. I give you my word that all will be explained later, but until then we need to focus on the task at hand."

"Right then, if you'd follow me." Alistair said heading towards the edge of the camp.

Once again the journey through the camp gave Naruto time to think. Something that Naruto needed since he still wasn't completely in control of his emotions. While they weren't the raging inferno they were after Arl Howe's betrayal, they had become smouldering embers that burned in the background eating away at his control, just waiting for an opportunity to destroy the control and reduce him to a mindless beast that thrives in pain and destruction.

Thankfully the training that he had received from the Templars allowed Naruto to control his chakra a lot better than he was able when he first arrived in Ferelden. However even with the new, higher level of control, it was still difficult to stop Kyuubi's chakra from polluting his own. And as soon as the Kyuubi's chakra succeeds in gaining a foothold in his own system, then Naruto doubts that he would ever be able to stop it.

The time where he used Kyuubi's chakra to fight Sasuke has caused too much damage already. So any more large scale usage would allow it to get around all the defence that he has been able to get in place. And unfortunately Howe's betrayal had pushed his control to the limit. However he couldn't afford for himself to lose control. Not now, not here. It would completely decimate the Ferelden army that had gathered to defend against the Darkspawn. And without the army, Ferelden would be defenceless for at least the 6 months that would be needed to rebuild any significant fighting force. And any army intended to fight a blight needs to be significant. The army gathered at Ostagar wasn't actually that large, but the defensive capabilities offered by the ruined fortress and the fact that the Arch Demon hadn't been sighted means that they have a fighting chance at actually keeping the Darkspawn at bay.

Feeling his control slipping, Naruto knew that actively thinking about Howe's betrayal was a very bad idea. In fact, he needed something to take his mind off of it and fast. Thankfully that distraction came in the form of a voice.

"You there. I need one of you to do me a favor." A man said that was standing in front of a group of cages. "I need one of you to put a muzzle on one of my Hounds."

"Why would you need to muzzle one of your hounds?" Naruto asked

"A couple of days ago one of the patrol parties were attacked by a group of Darkspawn. The patrol survived but unfortunately not all of them lived past that day. As you know Mabari are very loyal to their owners and the man who died was this one's owner. Without its owner to control it, it's simply too dangerous. I might even have to put it down, but that will have to wait until after the battle of course. Now are any of you willing to help me?"

Naruto glanced at the other members of his team, and straight away he could tell that none of them wanted to be the one to do it. So instead of allowing there to be a pointless debate, Naruto stepped forward.

"I'll do it." Naruto said already picking up the discarded muzzle that was on the floor.

"Right, I'm only going to open the cage slightly. I don't want to risk the possibility of it escaping." the Beast Master said.

Nodding Naruto stepped up so he was in the perfect position to enter the cage without there being to much of a gap created that the dog could get out of.

The door swung open with a metallic scraping noise, and Naruto immediately moved into the cage. The hound backed away from him, it's fangs bared and hackles raised. Moving further into the cage, Naruto was trying to make himself seem as nonthreatening as possible.

"Easy. No ones going to hurt you." Naruto said in a soft voice.

After a couple of tense minutes of inching forward Naruto was finally close enough to be able to put the muzzle on. However, Naruto also knew that this meant he was close enough for the hound to be able to attack him.

Slowly he moved his arm so he could rest it on the hound's head. The hound let out a almost silent whimper, but didn't do anything. Naruto took this as a good sign and and moved close enough that he didn't need to stretch to reach it. Slipping the muzzle over the hound's head, Naruto kept speaking softly so he didn't spook it.

"Thank you. I feel so much better now that its muzzle is on." the beast master said "I'm sorry of kept you. Where were you headed anyway?"

"Out into the wilds." Alistair said

"The Wilds? That's great."

"How so?" Alistair asked with suspicion.

"Like I said earlier this hound's owner was killed when his patrol was attacked, however the hound did its job and killed several Dakspawn. However during the battle the hound ingested some of the Darkspawns' blood. Unfortunately, Darkspawn blood acts like a poison to other living things. That's driving this hound to attack everyone. There is a cure for it. It's made from a plant found in Kocari wilds. But I can't leave the hounds unattended to retrieve it."

"This flower. What does it look like?" Naruto asked.

"It's a white flower, with a red core to it's petals. I only need one of them. Why do you ask?"

"Since were already heading out into the wilds, we might as well keep an eye out for one of these flowers."

"Really? That's great. I may not be able to offer you much but I can give you a reward if you do manage to find one." The beast master said.

"Right, as nice as this has been, we really must be going. We've got a lot to do and we don't have a great deal of time left to do it in." Alistair said.

Nodding, the others took step behind him as he made his way towards the outer edge of the camp.

After another couple of minutes of walking, they finally reached the gate that lead into the Wilds.

"Halt. State your business." The Guard asked in a formal tone.

"We're heading out into the Wild." Alistair said. "We have several things that need to be done before the upcoming battle."

"I see." The guard said "I've been instructed by the King to allow the Wardens to go about their business. So I'm not going to stop you."

A.n. Yes I know that it's been a long, long time since my last update, but in my defence, i told you that there's no definite release schedule.

And just to answer a couple of the reviews I've been getting that have been saying that the story is practically identical to the Dragon Age: Origin storyline, well all I have to say is yes it is. But that is just at the moment. I had to introduce Naruto to Ferelden. Naruto had to be at Highever. Naruto had to become a Grey Warden. And Ostagar has to happen.

After Ostagar is when I will be diverting from the known storyline. because that's when I can divert the plot without altering any of the major events (like the landsmeet for example).