Dragon Age: Origins | The story behind Cousland

Chapter 26- The Ultimate Sacrifice

Chapter 26- The Ultimate Sacrifice

"Before us stands the might of the darkspawn horde! Gaze upon them, but fear them not!" Alistair shouts at the men. "This woman beside me is a native of Ferelden, risen to the ranks of the Grey Wardens! She is proof that glory is within reach of us all! She has survived despite the odds, and without her, one of us would be here! Today, we save Denerim! Today, we avenge the death of my brother, King Cailan! But most of all, today we show the Grey Wardens that we remember and honor their sacrifice!" He grabs my hands and drags his sword, pointing it towards Denerim. "For Ferelden! For the Grey Wardens!" He shouts and everybody starts to scream and run towards Denerim.

"Let's go," I say and start to run towards the gates of Denerim. Alistair and I rush through the darkspawn, killing them as we head towards the gates. We don't have time to waste on this battlefield, we need to save what we can in Denerim and if Riordan fails, kill the archdemon.

Riordan drags us in and closes the gates. "You managed to fight your way to the gates. We're doing better than I hoped."

"That will change quickly," Sten mutters.

"That damned horned thing is right!" Oghren shouts. "Bloody nug runners! We're outnumbered three to one!"

Wynne sighs. "What are we to do now, Riordan? You have a plan, I assume?"

"The army will not last long, so we'll need to move quickly to reach the archdemon. I suggest taking Alistair and no more than two others with you into the city. Anyone you can't bring with you can remain here to prevent more darkspawn from entering Denerim on our tails."

"How are we going to fight a flying dragon?" I ask him.

"We're going to need to reach a high point in the city. I'm thinking the top of Fort Drakon might work."

Alistair looks shocked at him. "The top of...? You want to draw the dragon's attention?"

"We have little choice, though I warn you that as soon as we engage the beast it will call all its generals to help it. I can sense two generals in Denerim. You may wish to seek them out before going to Fort Drakon. I can sense one of them in the market district and the other one in the alienage."

"I'm ready."

"Who do you wish to take with you into the city?"

"Sten, Wynne and Alistair." I say. "Oh, and I have to take my Baby," I say and my mabari barks.

"Good. And who will lead them."

"Oghren has led men into battle before, so him."

"Haha! I'm going to do my best, Warden!" Oghren laughs.

Riordan bows. "May the Maker watch over you."

Oghren comes towards me. "So. This is it."

"It has been an honor to fight with you, Oghren."

"Honor? Nobody's looked at me and seen honor in a long time, Warden. You took in a drunken disgrace of an Orzammar warrior. You gave me a reason to fight and the will to keep going. You helped me get past Branka so I could be someone new. I owe you a lot, Warden. I consider it a fine honor to die for you and your cause."