Dragon Age Origins: The Tale of Solana

Chapter 42: Time to Go

Solana unlocked the cage, its' hinges squealing in protest. "It is done," she said gallantly with her arms stretched wide open.

"And so it is done," Sten stepped forward holding his stomach. He stretched to his full height for the first time in weeks. He peered down at the elf who stood toe to toe with him unblinking as she did so. Very strange...

"I will follow you into battle. In doing so I shall find my atonement."

"Thank you, Sten," Solana smiled. She didn't doubt this monster—Qunari, would betray his oath. "I am glad to have you with us."

"May we proceed?" Sten cracked his knuckles, ready to fight as if he hadn't been just locked in a cage to starve to death. "I am eager to be elsewhere."

"I can completely agree with the big, threatening fellow," Alistair nods. Sten growls and the ex-Templar held up his hands.

They traveled down the road, feeling very at peace in the rolling farm lands. "We just follow this road, and it should take us to the section of the Imperial Highway that will take us to Redcliffe.," Leliana instructed.

"Sounds good to me," Solana agreed.

"I do not know why you have a mutt as a companion," Sten's lip raised in protest. Andaran whined next to him.

"Andaran is smarter than he appears, Sten old buddy," Alistair chuckles with his hands behind his head.

As they all walked together, a group of villages hung in the road. They had been waiting for the Grey Wardens coming this way. Their leader, Randy Lech, kicked his sleeping fellows boot. "Wake up, Charles. The Wardens are coming this way!"

"I don't think we should be doing this," said Marble Smith. He wrung his hands nervously. "We should have talked with the Gereable family or at the very least convinced the Hawk family to help us."

"We don't have time to be second guessing ourselves, Marble," Randy hissed. His attention caught Solana's first. Her narrowed eyes held suspicions.

"What's going on here?" she asked.

"We done heard what was said," Randy gripped his hands into fists. They were shaking out of control. He had to do this... He had to do this for his family.

"You're a Warden," he states plainly.

"So what?" Solana crossed her arms. "Is there a problem? Did you see some darkspawn?"

"I don't know if you killed the King Cailan," Randy sighed. "And Maker forgive me, I don't care. But that bounty on your head could feed a lot of hungry bellies."

"And what do you plan to do, exactly?" Solana held her hands behind her back, and waited.

"Attack!"

Solana didn't have time to talk the three men out of their mission. It was a sudden, a fierce battle. They came at her, and when her eyes began to glow blue, Randy shivered inside. For a moment, looking into those eyes of blue, he thought he heard the darkspawn's screeching somewhere inside his head. He jumped away, but not before he fell onto his own sword.

Solana reached out, trying to save the man's stance, but it was too late. He crawled along the ground, then he was just... gone. She turned her head. His allies wounded, all ran away; Sten and Andaran screaming at them loudly as they did so.