Opposites Road

They walked back into Redcliffe village to be greeted by a young man with a short bow and arrows. He looked anxious and nervous. She had only been gone for a few days and knew that Genitivi had gone north to sail across Lake Calenhad.

"I- I thought I saw travelers coming down the road, I scarcely believed it. Have you come to help us?"he asked.

"I came to see the arl."

"The arl? Then... you don't know? Has nobody out there heard?"

"I haven't been anywhere near a city in days." she eyed him strangely. "Why? What's happened?"

"We're under attack. Monsters come out of the castle every night and attack us until dawn. Everyone's been fighting... and dying. We've no army to defend us, no arl and no king to send us aid. So many are dead and those left are terrified they're next." he nodded . "I should take you to Bann Teagan. He's all that's holding us together. He'll want to see you. He's just over there in the chantry. Please come..."

Shale shrugged as the man started down the hill towards the chantry and the rest of the village. Makeshift barricades of tables, barrels and logs surrounded the chantry and men were practicing their archery skills on a few standing targets. Inside the Chantry villagers who could not fight were milling about with nothing to do. One young woman was even crying in corner.

Ealisay had never met Bann Teagan but her father had respected him and his brother. He was standing at the front of the chantry. "It's...Tomas, yes? And who are these people with you? They're obviously not simple travelers."

"No, my lord. They just arrived, and I thought you would want to see them"

"Well done, Tomas. Greetings, friends. My name is Teagan, Bann of Rainsfere, brother to the arl. You're rather unusual group, to say the least. Can I ask who you are and why you've come?"

"I am Ealisay, daughter of Teryn Cousland." she answered "I came to see the arl."

"You're here to see my brother? Unfortunately, that might be a problem. Eamon is gravely ill. No one has heard from the castle in days. No guards patrol the wall, and no one has responds to my shouts. The attacks started a few nights ago. Evil...things...surged from the castle. We drove them back, many perished during the assault.

"What evil things are you talking about?"

"Some call them the walking dead; decomposing corpses returning to life with a hunger for human flesh..." he closed his eyes and shook himself as if trying to shake off the imagery. "They hit again the next night. Each time they come, with greater numbers."

"What can I do to help?' she asked before he could go on.

"Thank you! Thank you this...means more to me than you can guess." he turned to Tomas. "Tomas, please tell Murdock what transpired, then return to you post."

"Yes, my lord." he bowed and trotted off to do as he was ordered.

"Now then. There is much to do before nightfalls. I've put two men in charge of the defense outside. Murdock, the village mayor, is outside the chantry. Ser Perth, one of Eamon's knights, is just up the cliff at the windmill, watching the castle. You may discuss with them the preparations for the coming battle."

"I will go now."

"Very well, Luck be with you, my lady."

Tomas was walking away from the man who must have been Murdock. The older man's eyes were strained from fatigue, mental and physical, and she wished she had been here instead of at Haven to be of help earlier.

Murdock bowed when Ealisay came over to him. "My lady, when Tomas told me that we would have your help..."

Ealisay nodded. "Don't worry, good man, we'll defeat them together. Now what needs to be done?"

"Well there's the matter of our blacksmith, Owen." he groaned. "He's locked himself in the smithy and refuses to repair our armor and weapons."

Ealisay frowned."Why?"

"His daughter, Valena, is a maid in the castle and he demands that we force our way into the Castle and rescue her."

Ealisay's eyebrows shot up her forehead. Breaking into Redcliffe castle was insane with walking corpses attacking the village every night. Murdock nodded at the unspoken agreement that the man was mad. "Let me talk to him then. Where is the smithy?"

"Just over there." Murdock thumbed the building she had passed by in coming to the chantry.

"Alright." she replied and headed over to the smithy with Major and Shale following behind her. She came up to the door and knocked politely.

"Go away! You've already taken everything out of my stores leave me alone!" the man's gruff voice shouted through the door.

"Are you Owen?" she asked.

"Who are you? Whatdaya want?" the man asked.

"I'd like to talk to you." she answered. "Could you please open the door?"

There was a pause. "Alright, I'm unlocking the door."

The inside of the smithy was heavy with the scent of ale and other assorted liquors that made Ealisay feel slightly sick. Major whined next to her and tried to cover his nose with his massive paws. Owen was leaning against a wooden support and he was drunk, really drunk.

"So, I let you in. Talk." he replied angrily.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked nicely.

"Getting besotted, do you want to join me?" he asked.

"I want to be able to get into the castle and rescue the people inside without my limbs torn off by the walking dead." she replied tartly. "Of course since everyone will die because they don't have adequate armor and weapons that won't happen."

Owen's eyes narrowed. "You plan on going into the castle?" he thought for a few moments. "I'll open my smithy if you promise to bring my daughter back to me."

"I had planned on bringing everyone in there safely out."

"When?"

"After tonight." she replied. "We need to thin their numbers in the castle and I plan on killing many of them."

"Not good enough!" he shouted. "I want a promise."

Ealisay nodded. "I promise: I'll bring Valena safely out of the castle."

Of course she had no idea if his daughter even lived but she wasn't going to ruin the chances of his fellow villagers because he was selfish.

Owen looked pleased. "Tell Murdock he better be quick with the equipment if he wants it repaired by nightfall."

Ealisay didn't answer him but simply walked out the smithy and into refresh air coming off the lake. She went over to Murdock and smiled. "He's drunk but he'll open his smithy."

"Excellent, thank you." Murdock gestured to a couple of guards and they started gathering the equipment they needed to repair.

"Anything else?" Ealisay asked.

"The men would feel better if there was a veteran among them but the only one besides the knights is a dwarf named Dwyn."

"Where is this Dwyn?"

"He and his men are holed up in his house by the lake." he pointed to a small walkway between two houses.

"Right." she replied and started off towards the dwarf's house before Murdock could say anything more.

Dywn's house was right against the water the farthest away from the village square. It was possible to hold the horde off in the house except if they decided to attack from the water. Ealisay politely knocked on the door.

No one answered.

"Hello?" she called out and still no one would answer.

"Let me handle this." Shale replied and stepped in front of Ealisay. The golem leaned close to the door.

"This is a very large golem in front of your door and if you do not open it, come out here and fight with the rest of the villagers I will break down this door and squish your puny little heads in."

"Andraste's knickers." Ealisay sighed in annoyance.

They waited a few seconds, as if the dwarf was trying to call a bluff, but the door did not open. The two shared a look and shrugged. Shale lifted a massive foot and slammed it through the door making it swing spectacularly open and trounced in. It did not take long for the dwarf and a few of his men to skitter out of the house with a golem following behind them.

"Fine, we'll fight if it will stop that thing from caving our heads in." Dywn replied and stomped towards the barricades.

"Thank you!" Ealisay smiled evilly up at the golem. "You remind me of an aunt I had when I was a little girl. She was a terror too." she replied looked over at the other end of the docks. "Oo look a general store. Lets see if they've got anything to help with tonight. "

The General store was deserted but they did find several barrels of oil that could be of use in the frontal assault. It could burn the things to ashes or it could light them on fire and burn the village down. There was nothing else she needed from the building so she left it and started back through the houses to the village center where Dywn was berating his men for questioning his order to fight. Murdock was almost smiling when she approached him.

"Thank you, my lady." he replied.

"Is there anything else? How is morale?" she asked looking back over at the few archers that were practicing.

"Morale is fairly high with Dwyn and the repairs going so smoothly." He inclined his head to the mill at the top of the cliff. "You'll want to speak to Ser Perth. He and his men are stationed by the castle entrance by the mill."

Ealisay couldn't help but slap the older man's shoulder as she left him. The path up to the mill was steep but not hard to adjust to and she met Ser Perth by the cliff facing the castle. He was a tall handsome man with gleaming armor and long hair. She could see Ser Gilmore being in his shoes and for a moment she wished he was here.

He studied her companions and then looked down at her. "Tomas said that we would have help. I do not know how to address a lady of you stature."

" "My lady" is appropriate," she replied congenially. "I am a teryn's daughter."

"Ah forgive me lady." he replied and bowed to her.

"Do you need help with any preparations?"

"Not as much as the villagers but I saw from the wall that you helped them quite a deal."

"Then how about getting a couple of men a hauling a great load of barreled oil that I saw in the general store."

Perth seemed intrigued. "Oil you say? How much?"

Ealisay grinned. "Enough to set many monsters aflame."

"Excellent. I will have my men go down and retrieve them." he looked to the barricades that would bottleneck the horde coming from the castle. "My lady? I do have something to ask of you."

"Yes?"

Perth almost looked ashamed. "I have already asked Mother Hannah to pray for us but I fear that it will little good for my men's courage."

Ealisay furrowed her brow. "Your men doubt that the Maker and Andraste will let them live through the night?"

"Indeed they are doubtful."

For her part Ealisay didn't want to trudge all the way back down to the chantry until she had everything ready. Shale surely wasn't going to go get her and she doubted Mother Hannah would brave coming up here. She also had a real relic in her pack that would give the men's hope for the coming battle. She had a flask of Andraste's ashes that she was going to use for Eamon. If these brave souls knew that she had been there and saw the earthly body of their prophet it would give them hope.

"Ser Perth gather your men and meet me by the cliff side. I have something to show you." she replied and went to retrieve the flask from her pack.

There were maybe six knights left from the quest for the ashes and they all studied her with uncertainly. Ealisay held the flask in both hands hiding it, treasuring it against their gaze for the moment. "Brave knights," she started. "You are the best that the Arl has and he needs you to stay strong. This night will be the last night of battle because we will destroy them utterly. You should not doubt that the Maker and Andraste watch over you for you are protectors." she revealed the flask of grayish powder and it almost seemed to sparkle in the light. "These are from the Urn of Sacred Ashes: the last resting place of Andraste and they are proof that Andraste holds Men dear in her hearts." She opens the flask and looks up at Ser Perth. "Step forward, Ser Perth." Her voice was airy, light as the breeze, breathless with some sort of emotion she had no word for.

The man's brow is slick with sweat and she gestures with a leading glance for him to knee before her. She wiped her thumb on his damp forehead, pressed it to the opening of the flack and tilted it lightly. A faint shadow on her thumb is pressed to his forehead. The man starts shaking and he starts rambling prayers to the Maker's Bride. Perth looks, for a moment, like he will weep for the extreme welling of faith and privilege of being blessed by Andraste. He shifted out of the way and another knight came up to her. She pressed a tiny bit of the ashes on each knight's forehead and they prayed to Andraste to keep them safe.

When she was finished with the blessings that might damn her soul she hid the flask in the Mill where only she could reach. The knights were silent but they stood straightened handled themselves with greater bearing as they prepared for the battle. She slowly walked back down the path to the village center and prayed that she had done right.

Tonight she would see.

Tonight would make her or break her.

Murdock eyed her curiously as she came over to him. A few of the villagers and knights were rolling the oil barrels past them. "Got everything settled?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied and turned to look up at the castle. "Now we wait. Some of the men should get some rest while they can. I will go in to see Bann Teagan."

The Bann was sitting off in a corner, watching the small number of villagers that had holed up in the chantry. Major was the first to reach him his muscular neck tilted to the left, eying the man. He barked as she came over to him and the Bann. Ealisay took a seat by him and watched him, willing him to give up an explanation why there were corpses killing people. He shifted nervously at her gaze and she broke the silence.

"There is something you're not telling me." she replied sternly and crossed her gauntleted arms over her armored chest.

Teagan sighed. "I can't speak of it now." he replied morosely. "Please I will tell you all I know after tonight."

Ealisay relaxed into her seat and looked at the man in a softer light. "You should get some rest, you look horrible."

"I can't. Not when Eamon and Isolde and Conner are still in there." he replied.

"You will do them no favors if you are haggard during the fight." she replied and leaned forward placing a gloved hand on his shoulder. "It is still light for a few more hours you can do nothing for them unless you happen to have a secret entrance in which to sneak in and look in on them."

He looked over at her sharply and saw that she was just as worried about him as he was about them. "You speak rightly, my lady. I do them no good if I do not take least take a nap."

"Good." she replied and nodded her head in farewell.

The sun was just passing the afternoon which left a scant number of hours for them to ready themselves. With Shale in tow she walked the village, memorizing the layout for hiding places that the walking dead could hide in. Shale was silent, watching out for birds that might fly over or land next to her. Ealisay decided to think of Shale as a woman after Dywn's induction into the militia and decided it fit.

She went over to Murdock after her detail. "Get all your men together and meet me on the steps."

Murdock nodded and turned to Tomas. "See whether there are any of our boys in the tavern."

"Yes, sir." the young man ran up the hill to where the tavern lay.

Most of the men were still in civilian gear because of the repairs being done on their equipment. They eyed her curiously, wondering what she had trotting through her pretty little head of hers. The few men that were in the tavern rambled onto the chantry stairs a little drunk which made Ealisay narrow her eyes at them. She turned to Murdock and raised a questioning eyebrow.

Murdock had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. "It's helped the past few nights. Men are scared stiff of the creatures."

"Darkness will be coming in a few hours enough time for them to get sobered up and have their wits about them." she growled and turned to the twenty or so men that waited for her. "I know you have all lost loved ones in the past few nights but you musty conquer your fear of these walking dead if you are to win against them. They have no strategy for battle as they have no capacity for it which gives us the advantage." She waited to see if any of the men spoke up. None did. "Ser Perth and his knights will be by the Mill with barrels of oil to burn whatever creatures come out of the castle gates. That is where I shall be."

My Lady?" one of the men stuck his hand up. "They also come from the lake."

The men grumbled in agreement.

"Those who can only use a bow will aim for the creatures outside of the barricade . When they do attack here Shale, Major and I will be at the openings of the barricade. We will cut down as many as we can that get through." she glanced over them and noticed that a few had swords and shields as well. "If some should ever get through us then those of you who have swords will cut down any that get through to the open area. The archers will stay on the Chantry steps, your aim will be farther and high enough that you shouldn't hit any of your friends." the men nodded at the good idea. "Any questions?"

The men were silent, thinking over the strategy that common sense had dictated. There were none.

"Good. When the sun sets I want the whole center lit by torches. It will give you an easier sight to aim with." she turned to Murdock. "Get two men to stand watch. One over by the Mill and one at the docks. I want to know when they attack from another direction."

"Yes, my lady."

"If Bann Teagan wishes to see me I'll be up at the Mill." she replied and spun off to make her way to the knight's area.

The sun was setting and it was time to put up or shut up.