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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 39
The Carta
Bridget slowly opened her eyes and yawned. She rolled over on her side to find Alistair still asleep next to her, slightly snoring just a bit. She smiled at him and snuggled up next to her. After all, if he wasn't awake yet, why should she get up? Unfortunately for Bridget though, the moment she rested her head on Alistair's chest was the moment his eyes fluttered open. He looked down at her and smirked.
"I don't want to go either." He said, sleep still thick in his voice.
Bridget looked up at him and kissed him softly.
"After this whole Blight business is finished, we need a vacation." She mumbled.
Alistair chuckled.
"And where shall we go? We've pretty much been all over Fereldan as it is."
Bridget tipped her head to the side.
"Well, Leliana's always talking about how pretty Orlais is…"
Alistair made a face.
"Yes…it is beautiful if you can put up with all the stuck up nobles."
Bridget giggled.
"Oh yes, I had forgotten about them."
She placed another soft kiss to the wing of his nose and sat up.
"I guess we really should be going…"
Alistair sat as well, but instead of getting out of the bed, he placed a soft kiss to Bridget's shoulder while taking in a deep breath of her skin. It still smelled like coconut. Bridget looked over her shoulder at him with a raised eyebrow.
"You know, every time I say we need to get ready to do something, you always try and distract me."
Alistair looked up at her.
"Is it working?" he mumbled into her shoulder.
Bridget smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Yes!" she exclaimed.
Alistair grinned as he pulled Bridget back to the bed and rolled over her, nuzzling her neck and running his hand down her arm. Bridget smiled and leaned into Alistair's kisses, pressing her body closer to his and giggling softly.
"That tickles you know!" she whispered.
Alistair lifted his head and pressed a kiss to her lips.
"All part of my master plan to keep you in here all day and let the others deal with Harrowmont's problems."
Bridget rubbed her nose up against his.
"Well I must say, your plan is working quite well, so far because now I really don't want to leave."
Before Alistair could reply, the door to their room swung open to reveal no one other that Zevran. Alistair quickly pulled the sheet almost entirely over Bridget's head to keep Zevran from staring at her with that lurid gaze of his.
"Do you mind?" Alistair exclaimed, his face engulfed in a fearsome blush.
Zevran held up his hands.
"My apologies to you and our lovely warden both, but can you please control your urges for just a little while? I for one want to get out of this over sized rock as quickly as possible and Morrigan is in the foyer throwing a tantrum as we speak. Let's get a move on so we can get out of here, yes?"
"Why couldn't you have told us that through the door?"
Zevran grinned slyly and tipped his head to the side.
"Oh come now Alistair, did you really think I would pass up any chance I would have of glimpsing our fearless leader in her skivvies, or in this case nothing at all?"
All Bridget heard next was something metal hit the far wall and Zevran cackling in return. Alistair didn't let her out from underneath the blanket until after Bridget distinctively heard the click of the door closing before Alistair pulled the blanket from over her head.
"You know, I really hate him sometimes."
Bridget giggled and kissed him softly.
"You see, if you had listened to me in the first place we wouldn't have been intruded on, now would we?"
Alistair sighed in defeat and nodded.
"I suppose you're right. Very well, I shall listen to you from now on." He replied with a smile.
Soon enough they were both dressed in their armor and ready to face whatever the Carta had to throw at them. Bridget rallied the rest of her party together, bringing Zevran and Morrigan along (Morrigan only wanted to tag along so she could let her frustration out on anyone that crossed her path) and left for Dust Town. Upon entering the homely section of Orzammar, they were ambushed by a couple of bandits who obviously had not heard anything about the Proving matches that Bridget had won. Needless to say they made quick work of them and headed further into Dust Town. After trading a few silver pieces for some information, Bridget discovered that the only way to get into the Carta was by using a finger bone key. The dwarf that helped them discreetly pointed to a dilapidated house and informed them that that was where some of the members met on a regular basis. Bridget thanked the woman that helped them and led the others to the house that she mentioned. Upon entering, they were attacked by who Bridget guessed was the captain of the small squadron that was held up in the house.
"Wait, wait!" the captain cried after Bridget and her party had taken care of his lackeys.
"I can get you into the Carta! Here, take my key, it's yours it's all yours!"
Bridget took the key from him and placed it around her neck. The dwarf looked up at her.
"Will you let me go…?"
Zevran stepped forward brandishing his daggers.
"Allow me to make is simple for you, no." he said and before the captain had any chance of defending himself, he fell back with a dagger in his chest.
"Well, we've got the key…now what are we going to do about finding the door to get in?" she asked as she led them back outside.
Bridget had hoped that the woman that helped them before could give her assistance once again, but she was already gone. After walking around for a bit, Morrigan called everyone's attention to a suspicious door she had found that was carved into the rock. Bridget felt around and at last came across a small opening. She placed the key in the opening and gave the door a push. It opened slightly, just enough for her and the others to slip inside. Unfortunately for them though, they ended up walking right into a room filled with Carta thugs. When a password was demanded, Bridget just drew her blade and took them all on. Zevran took the liberty of looting nearby chests and the bodies before following Bridget out of the room where she had stopped to take in the surroundings. Bridget sighed and blew a few strands of hair out of her eyes. There were three different routes they could take, forward, left, and right. Bridget opted for the right and before Zevran could warn her, accidentally triggered a trap. More of Jarvia's thugs rushed towards them and fought fearsomely, swinging their battle axes and showing no mercy. They would do anything to keep Jarvia safe. Bridget continued to lead everyone forward…but after what felt like at least an hour and a half, she was quite sure that they were going around in circles.
"I think we've passed by that rock three times now." Alistair stated.
Zevran looked at him.
"You can differentiate rocks? Fascinating, they all look the same to me."
They went through the same motions again, this time though Morrigan left scorch marks on the rocks so that they would know if they had already passed through that area. Luckily with the next turn Bridget made, they were in an area they had not already ventured to and were finally back on track. They were ambushed a few more times but none of the dwarves posed any real threat. Zevran did get his side grazed just a bit which prompted him to ask Morrigan to kiss it better, only receiving a narrow-eyed grimace in return. Alistair shook his head.
"You never give up do you?" he asked.
Zevran grinned.
"There would be no fun in that now, Alistair!" he exclaimed.
They took a moment to rest as Zevran picked the lock of another chest and relieved it of it's contents, making sure to slip the medium sized silver bar for himself in his pocket. Bridget shook her head and smiled at him before turning back around and leading on once again. Finally they stumbled upon who Bridget assumed was Jarvia herself. She had a very tough appearance and Zevran mumbled under his breath that she probably ate small children for breakfast.
"So, you're the one that's been causing all this ruckus…" she spat, cracking her knuckles.
Bridget narrowed her eyes.
"Your Carta is done, Jarvia. Give it up, you've got no where else to turn."
Jarvia raised her eyebrows.
"I can smell Harrowmont all over this. Listen pretty girl, shove off and tell Harrowmont I ain't going anywhere. If he wants me gone, he can come and handle me himself like a real king would instead of sending hired muscle."
Bridget gripped her sword in her hand.
"No, this ends here…you end here." She replied.
Jarvia withdrew her axe and narrowed her eyes.
"Kill the others but leave the pretty one for me, I've got some things she can do…"
Bridget was very grateful she brought Morrigan along. She knew how badly she wanted to get out of Orzammar and could tell she put that want to get away in every spell she cast. Firstly, she killed three dwarves on the spot with a lightning storm and then after taking a Lyrium potion she set the place up in flames. Bridget, Alistair, and Zevran took shelter away from her line of fire so that they would not be caught in it and remained there until it was over. Jarvia had taken a substantial amount of damage from the fire storm, and as she tried to regain her strength, Zevran threw a dagger at her and it buried itself in her back. After checking to make sure that she was really dead, Bridget declared the job a success and they were able to find a passageway out of the room. Alistair accidentally triggered some kind of trap because the wall that was nearest to them blew out and revealed a small weapons shop and a startled owner and fleeing customer.
"What in the name of the Ancestors…who are you? Why did you blow a hole in my wall!"
Bridget brushed some of the dirt from the stone off of her and looked at him.
"This actually leads to a passage into Jarvia's Carta."
The dwarf looked flabbergasted.
"What! Oh no…you…I don't have anything to do with the Carta, I swear!"
Bridget nodded.
"I believe you,"
The shop keep shook his head and made his way towards the door.
"I'm getting out of here, make sure everybody knows I had nothing to do with that sodding piece of trash!"
Bridget raised her eyebrows and turned and looked to the others.
"Let's get back to Harrowmont and be done with this place."
Bridget should have realized though that something else would stand in her way of gaining Orzammar's support…
Upon returning to Harrowmont's estate, Bridget relayed the news that she had dealt with Jarvia and her Carta members. He grinned and thanked her, but Bridget could see the hesitation in his eyes. She crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side.
"You still don't have any favor, do you?" she asked.
Harrowmont looked up at her and sighed. He motioned for her and her friends to sit in front of his fireplace. They did so as he sat in a chair across from them. Harrowmont rubbed his eyes and looked up at them.
"I must ask for your service once more, my friend."
Bridget could tell Morrigan was about to say something but she bit back her remark and bore her eyes into the nearby wall.
"You know if you stare at that hard enough you might bore a hole into it." Zevran whispered.
"Shut up." Morrigan hissed.
Bridget cleared her throat.
"What must I do this time?" she asked, not meaning to sound annoyed in any way, though she would be lying if she said she wasn't.
Harrowmont ran a hand through his beard and said,
"The Assembly says that they cannot make the decision. One of us must have the voice of a Paragon behind us in order to win."
Alistair drew his brows together.
"I thought all the Paragons were dead." He stated.
Harrowmont shook his head.
"No…there is one left but…"
Bridget raised her eyebrows.
"But…?"
Harrowmont sighed.
"Branka went into the Deep Roads two years ago in search of the Anvil of the Void. She never returned from her expedition…she took her entire House with her well, except for her husband, and none of them came out either."
Morrigan crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.
"So you are sending us on some wild nug chase through the Deep Roads that are infested with Darkspawn?"
Harrowmont looked into his lap and nodded slowly.
"I am asking that you either bring Branka back if she is alive or a part of her body if she is not. This is the only way the Assembly will choose."
Bridget sighed.
"You are sure that there is no other way that the Assembly will vote?"
Harrowmont nodded.
"Yes, they were quite clear that unless a Paragon was involved somehow they would not be able to make a decision. You see, a Paragon is the closest person we have to our Ancestors, to the Stone…"
Bridget nodded and stood.
"Well, if this is the only way that you can be made king…we will leave in a few hours."
Harrowmont stood and nodded to her.
"Thank you, my friend. I could not have done this with out you."
"That's for sure." Zevran grumbled as he trudged off to his room.
Bridget smiled down at Harrowmont and she and Alistair went back to their own room. Alistair closed the door behind them and sighed.
"I don't think we're ever going to get out of this place." He groaned as he began to remove his gauntlets.
Bridget removed her armor as well and splashed some water onto her face.
"I feel the same way…all of these tedious tasks are driving me insane."
Alistair fell back on the bed, stretching and sighing into his pillow.
"There'll be plenty of Darkspawn in the Deep Roads, that's for sure. We need to make sure we're fully rested before we go in there."
Bridget laid down next to him and nodded as she rested her head against his shoulder.
"I'm exhausted anyhow, so I think I'll be able to get to sleep rather quickly."
Alistair nodded and yawned.
"Same here…"
Within minutes they were asleep. Although Bridget dreaded going down into the Deep Roads the next morning, she did not know that they were about to gain another rather interesting party member, and how much of a help he would be to her in the future.
A/N: Once again I apologize for not updating in a while. School is literally taking over my life! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter is the Deep Roads so expect some Darkspawn bashin' Ogrhren swearin' goodness! ;)
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The Last of the Couslands