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The Last of the Couslands	By : MistressofMagic Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 4401 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Bioware and EA own everything associated with the Dragon Age universe. I am making no money off of this fan fiction.

Chapter List
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Chapter 35
Orzammar
The following morning Bridget announced that Orzammar would be the next stop to recruit the aid of the dwarves. She had her doubts of course (can you blame her?) that they would be eager to provide assistance. After all, most dwarves didn't even want to have anything to do with the surface world. The party picked up camp and, after throwing on their heavy cloaks and pulling up their hoods, set forth north, ever deeper into the Frost Back Mountains. Seeing as how Darkspawn came from Orzammar or the Deep Roads for that matter, it was no surprise that the closer they got to the great dwarven city, the more they encountered. The unsettling thought that crossed Bridget's mind, however, was not the fact that they were running into more of the disgusting creatures, but of how potent their mages were and how strong their fighters had gotten. She tried to push her thoughts away, wanting to concentrate on the task at hand. The days continued to dwindle, and the nights were nearly unbearable. The further up they went the mountains, the colder it grew. Sooner or later, Bridget figured she'd just have to sleep on top of Alistair to stay warm, not that she didn't think he would really mind. After about half a week's journey through the mountain, killing Darkspawn and trying to keep warm, Bridget finally saw the outskirts of Orzammar in the distance, or rather, the large stone door leading down into the city. They paused for a moment once they stepped into the large clearing in the forest that led up to the great gates and stood around a fire where two gossips stood, whispering about something. Bridget rubbed her fingerless gloved hands together. She thought for sure each of her fingers could break off probably as easily as the twigs would on the nearby icicle covered trees.
"What I would give to be warm again!" Alistair mumbled as he stood next to Bridget and tried to gather warmth from the small fire.
Zeus, who had laid down for a moment of rest, perked an ear and turned his head towards the gates. Bridget noticed this and raised an eyebrow.
"What's wrong boy?" she asked.
She followed Zeus's gaze and noticed a man with a few lackeys trying to gain entry into Orzammar, and apparently the dwarven guard wouldn't let him in. Deciding that it was time to move on, Bridget called the others forward and led them up the snow swept steps toward the dwarven guard on duty. Bridget could tell he was highly irritated with the man he was speaking with, as he was mumbling under his breath in his native language. When the man persisted, the dwarf said loudly,
"Veta! This land is held in trust for the sovereign drwaven kings! I cannot allow any entry at this time!"
The man, who clearly did not get the point that the poor dwarf was trying to make, continued to persist and pester him.
"King Loghain demands the allegiance of your kings or lords or whatever it is you people call them! I am his appointed messenger!"
Before the guard could reply, Bridget crossed her arms and stepped in.
"King Loghain? I was not aware that Fereldon had a new king. Don't tell me I missed the celebrations! That would just break my heart." She said, sarcasm riddled throughout her voice.
The messenger looked over at her curiously.
"Have you been living under a rock this past month?"
Bridget raised an eyebrow, but decided to ignore him. She turned back to the dwarf.
"I have important business in Orzammar, good ser." She stated.
The messenger looked flabbergasted.
"Are you daft? Your business cannot be more important than mine!"
The dwarf sighed in irritation and shook his head.
"You're business will have to wait, we cannot allow outsiders in until our throne is settled." He replied.
Alistair looked up and said,
"We must speak to your king, it is very urgent."
Loghain's messenger scoffed and stated,
"Who doesn't? I've been here trying to get in for the past three hours!"
The dwarf sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Orzammar currently has no king. Endrin Adeucan returned to the stone only three weeks ago. The Assembly has gone through several votes, but no one will agree on a successor. We are on the brink of civil war."
"Seems like things in Orzammar aren't that different from things going on up here." Alistair whispered.
Bridget bowed her head.
"I am sorry for the loss of your king, but the Grey Wardens need their traditional dwarven allies." She said as she handed the guard the treaty.
Before the dwarf had a chance to reply, Loghain's messenger cut in and exclaimed,
"The Grey Wardens are the ones who killed King Cailan! They are sworn enemies of King Loghain!"
Bridget rolled her eyes.
"I'm getting really tired of hearing that." She grumbled.
The dwarf examined the documents closely and looked up.
"This is the royal seal. Only the Assembly can address this, Grey Warden, you may enter Orzammar."
Messenger boy looked flabbergasted.
"You're letting in a traitor! In the name of King Loghain I demand that you execute this…stain on the honor of Fereldon!"
Bridget cut her eyes towards the man and replied,
"I'm sorry, but I believe the only stain here will be what's left of you on the stone once I'm finished with you."
The dwarven guard (who at this point had had quite enough) shouted,
"Look, kill each other if you must but take your sodding fight off of my doorstep!"
Bridget withdrew her blade and just as she had predicted, Loghain's messenger laid bleeding out near the bottom of the steps. Once his lackeys had been taken care of, Bridget and the others climbed the steps once more. The dwarf smiled at her and said,
"Thank you for getting rid of that sodding nug humper! The blighted fool's been barking in my ear for the past three hours, 'Loghain this and Loghain that'. You may now enter Orzammar."
Bridget nodded at his thanks and stepped back as the great doors were opened. She and the others stepped through the opening and descended the stairs that led them to the Orzammar Hall of Heroes. Upon taking the last step, another guard addressed Bridget.
"Atrast Vala, Warden. You're arrival here is a mixed blessing. As I am sure you are already aware, Orzammar is currently in a great debate. We do not like others to see us at our weakest."
Bridget nodded.
"Thank you. Can you tell me where I may find the Assembly?"
The dwarf raised his eyebrows.
"You certainly don't waste any time now do you? The Assembly is located in the Diamond Quarter, though I cannot say if you will be seen today. We are currently deadlocked in our debate to find a new king. To get to the Diamond Quarter, follow these steps down and go out through the door on the other side of the room. You will then be in the Commons. From there, go right and you will find yourself in the Diamond Quarter."
Bridget smiled.
"Thank you for your directions. I've never been to Orzammar before, and I'd appreciate not getting lost."
The dwarf chuckled.
"You are most welcome."
Bridget led the others down the steps and looked around at the stone architecture that surrounded the room. Large statues of dwarves stood proudly with inscriptions beneath them, telling all about their victories.
"These statues are of the different Paragons, the best of the best in their House." Alistair explained.
Upon reaching the other side of the room, Bridget and the others stepped through the large double doors and entered the Commons. Bridget's eyes widened. She had heard tales of Orzammar when she was young, but she never expected it to be quite so…elaborate. Large stone structures were built within the rock and lava flowed profusely beneath the city. Bridget was thankful for the lava as it set the temperature about the room to be quite warm, a welcome from being out in the cold for the past week. Bridget's sight-seeing was cut short, however, as she approached the bottom of the staircase where a large group of dwarves had gathered and were arguing back and forth. A much older dwarf who had hair of the whitest shade shook his head disapprovingly at the younger dwarf that carried light brown hair and said,
"It is the Assembly that makes a king a king, Bhelen. Blood has nothing to do with it." He stated.
The dwarf who Bridget assumed was Bhelen, cut his eyes at the older dwarf and quipped,
"Or, as now, when someone tries to use the Assembly to pull a coup."
The older dwarf said nothing as Bhelen continued on his rant, his voice rising,
"Who's to say what my father said in his final hours when the usurper Harrowmont was the only one by his side? How are any of us to believe you, Harrowmont when you could be making this whole story up just so you can take the throne from the Adeucans!"
Harrowmont narrowed his eyes.
"I'll have you thrown in prison! You risk all of Orzammar!"
Behlen scoffed.
"You've bitten off more than you can chew, old man!"
A guard stepped in and shouted,
"Handlers! You will separate these deshyrs in the Diamond Quarter! I will not have Bhelen incite a riot here!"
The dwarf standing closest to Bhelen withdrew his axe.
"You will not speak that way towards your king!"
Before the guard had any hope of defending himself, Bhelen's man slammed his axe into the man's gut, spraying his blood everywhere. More guards appeared and Bridget already noticed that Harrowmont and his men had fled. Upon seeing the reinforcements, Bhelen too shoved off, dragging behind him the dwarf that had killed the innocent guard. The other guards sighed and began cleaning up the body of their fellow guardsman as another guard took his place. He stared at Bridget and the others and sighed.
"Veta surfacer! I must allow you to walk the Commons but I don't care whether you're Grey Wardens or not. I will have peace!"
Bridget nodded.
"You have nothing to fear, I hope to help you keep that peace, even." She replied.
The captain crossed his arms.
"Well, that's not something I've heard in quite some time." He said thoughtfully.
Bridget smiled. The dwarf rubbed his eyes tiredly and shook his head.
"I assume you want help with your surface problems, right?"
Alistair nodded.
"We need the assistance of the dwarves against the Blight." He stated.
The captain shrugged.
"Well as you can see we have no king, and you would need one of those to help you. You can try joining in the screaming match at the Assembly, but I doubt that'll get you anywhere."
Bridget furrowed her brow.
"Are those two men that were here earlier the ones in running to be king?" she asked.
He nodded.
"Yes. If you want to speak to Bhelen, you'll have to go through his second, Vartag Gavorn, he's in the Assembly. If you want to speak to Harrowmont though, you'll need to find his right hand, Dulin. He is currently at Harrowmont's estate. You will have to speak to him before gaining an audience with Harrowmont."
Bridget nodded.
"I see, thank you for all of your help."
The captain nodded.
"You are welcome, though I do not know how much luck you will have."
Bridget walked away from him and turned to look at the others.
"It seems like we have our work cut out for us…again." She said.
The others nodded slowly. After a moment of thinking over who to decide to speak to, Bridget finally came to the conclusion that she would go and see Dulin, for Harrowmont. Something about Bhelen didn't settle well with her.
"Okay, we're going to go and see Dulin, I think. Who wants to come along?"
Not to her surprise, Alistair and Zevran quickly said that they would accompany her. Morrigan complained of the stuffiness of the entire place and wanted to return to the surface, Leliana actually opted out of going as well. Zeus playfully pounced at Bridget's feet, making Wynne chuckle.
"I believe your hound wishes to accompany you. I'll return to the surface and keep an eye on these two. If you need us, you need only to send word."
Bridget thanked her and turned back to everyone else as they exited the Commons.
"Let's go see if we can settle this matter quickly." She stated.
But of course, the matter of who became king would not be an easy one to settle, and Bridget led the others into another long quest to gain the last of their allies.
A/N: I apologize for not updating in a whole week! My classes have really been grinding me as I'm nearing the end of the semester. Because of that, I'm not sure how frequently I'll be able to update. As I said before I will see this story through to the end, but I may not be able to update as frequently as I have been before. Thank you for your continued support, it is much appreciated! Anyway, I hope you all liked the chapter, and there will hopefully be more along the way soon!
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The Last of the Couslands