The Diamond Quarter was better maintained than the Commons, being more organized and cleaner. The air of the place was that of arrogance as with the nobility and upper class of any city, according to Alistair.

"Raise your voice in support of Lord Harrowmont!" A Dwarf standing near one of the estates cried. "The one true king of Orzammar and our future savior!" A Harrowmont supporter. Or at least someone on his payroll. We went up a flight of stairs; what was with Dwarves and stairs?; and approached another crier.

"Lord Bhelen's impending marriage to a casteless proves his dedication to change! No Dwarf is without worth, he has been heard to say!" And this one seemed to be working for Bhelen.

"So how is it the Dwarves have a king?" Alistair wondered out loud. "I thought they voted on everything or something like that."

I shrugged. "You're asking me?"

Alistair chuckled. "I guess a Dalish wouldn't know, huh?"

"I would think not."

We finally found the Hall of the Assembly. The hall leading to where the Assembly gathered looked like it had been cut directly from the rock of the mountain and not smoothed, like everything else in Orzammar. The walls and ceiling were rough as if the Dwarves had just quarried it. We walked towards a pair of massive doors guarded by a lone Dwarf.

"The Assembly is in session," he said. "Enter quietly if you wish to observe."

Alistair, Wynne, and I went through the doors while the others chose to stay in the hall. All eight of us entering would have been a distraction. The deshyrs were arguing when we entered and stopped at the top of the stairs leading down to the Assembly floor.

"Your mind has gone to dust if you think we would pass such a writ," a blond beardless Dwarf was saying. A beardless Dwarf was an odd sight to be sure. All the ones we'd met so far had beards. "Half our houses would go broke without the surface trade."

"The proposal is only effective until we have a king to ensure we are respected by the surfacers!" A black-haired Dwarf replied.

"Leaving you conveniently positioned to take over all contracts. I'll see your head on a pike first!"

"Deshyrs, lords, and ladies of the Assembly," A silver-haired Dwarf standing in the middle of the floor said, his voice weary. "I've already doubled the guard to prevent violence. Must I summon more?"

"Steward Bandelor," the beardless Dwarf said. "Bhelen's sympathizers are laying our hands with trivialities! They may as well open us to the sky!"

"I suggest we put the matter to a vote," a female Dwarf said.

"And I suggest you have a taste of my family's mace!" the black-haired Dwarf cried.

"Enough!" Bandelor cried. "The Assembly is in recess until the members can regain control of their emotions." He turned and saw us. He motioned us out as he walked towards the stairs we were standing at. We retreated back to the hall as he came closer.

Once we had left the Assembly with Bandelor, the guard shut the doors.

"Stone-forsaken fools and dusters...," Bandelor muttered. "I'm sorry. This is the Assembly of the Clans. Only deshyrs and occasional guests of state are allowed in."

"You don't recognize a Grey Warden?" I asked. Everyone in Orzammar knew we were here by now.

"Forgive me. I am so exhausted. I completely forgot about the message from the gate guard. Welcome to Orzammar, Warden. I hope you can forgive our unrest. The loss of our king has hit us hard. Respect for your role is great but you won't receive a proper hearing until we have a king on the throne."

"Is there any way to break this stalemate?" If Grey Wardens were as respected as he said, perhaps we could help out.

"I must admit, I am at a loss myself. It lies with Prince Bhelen and Lord Harrowmont and they are slow to trust anyone in these uncertain times. Dulin Forender, Harrowmont's man, can be found at the Harrowmont estate. Vartag Gavorn, Prince Bhelen's second, is often found here in the Assembly. I only wish there was more I could do for you." Bandelor returned to the Assembly.

I sighed. So we were going to have to help with the decision for the throne.

"I would back the prince, I were you," Zevran said. Leliana and Morrigan agreed with him.

"I care not which you decide to back," Sten said.

"Neither one sounds like a wonderful candidate," Wynne said. "I have heard it said that Bhelen betrayed his brothers to their deaths and Harrowmont's words were what caused the king's death. But perhaps the prince would know how to rule better?"

"Doesn't necessarily mean he knows how to rule," Alistair said. I had forgotten that he would be in the running for the kingship of Ferelden once we were completed with our mission of gathering allies against the Blight. Not something either one of us were looking forward to.

"He was raised in the royal palace. He..."

I held my hand up. "Zevran, shut it."

He gave me a mock bow and grinned when I shot him a dirty look.

"Let's find this Vartag."

We found Vartag in a side hall. He looked up from reading something. "Welcome, Warden," he said. "It is always a blessing to host your order. I am Vartag Gavorn, top adviser to our good Prince Bhelen. What news do you bring?"

"You know who I am?" I asked.

"It would be hard not to notice the Grey Warden and her entourage."

I had to smile at that. We did stand out among the Dwarves; two Elves, two humans, two Mages, a Qunari, and a dog would be like a black mark on a white wall in Orzammar.

"I hear you seek the aid of Orzammar's finest."

"I need aid against the Blight."

"Yes, the treaty. I've seen it in the Shapers' libraries. Now, the difficulty is that the treaty only compels our king and we are sadly lacking one of those right now."

"Is there some way we could help?"

"My prince is the rightful king but a disappointing number of lords back the upstart, Harrowmont, for the throne. If you show your support for Prince Bhelen, he might be able to assist with your requests."

"Very well." I just knew he was going to ask me to do favors for him.

"Harrowmont promised the same portion of his estate to two different deshyrs, Lady Dace and Lord Helmi. Harrowmont can't possibly grant it to both of them but they won't find out until after the vote is cast. I have copies of the promissory notes Harrowmont gave each of them. Once they see those, they should both reconsider their votes."

"A corrupt politician," Zevran said. "How nice."

"Where do we find them?" I ignored Zevran's comment.

"Lady Dace doesn't leave the quarter much. But Lord Helmi's adventurous. He likes to spend his time at Tapster's in the Commons. Remember, don't tell them you got these papers from me. You learned of them and drew your own conclusions." He handed me the papers and we left the hall to find the Dace estate.

We had to pass by Bhelen's crier on the way. "News of the hour! Two more clans endorse Lord Bhelen as the new king! Change is inevitable and it must come quickly!"

Lady Dace was standing outside her estate when we approached it. "What do you want?" she asked. "Oh, I suppose you're the Grey Warden everyone is talking about." Good news travels fast.

"Are you Lady Dace?" I asked.

"I am. And what business would you have with me?"

"You might want to look at these papers." I handed her the notes.

She took them and read them over. "Well... these are exactly surface broadsheets. Where did you get these? Never mind. It is true enough. But there is nothing I can do about it. This deal was made on behalf of our entire house. Only my father can revoke it."

"Where is he? I'll bring these to him."

"He is leading a Deep Roads expedition trying to secure an ancient thaig. It's unlikely that he'll be back before the election but perhaps this vote is important enough for you to brave the tunnels to tell him? The Dace family would be in your debt." Lovely. The Deep Roads was Darkspawn territory.

"How would I know where to find your father?"

"He was searching an old Aeducan site. He left me with this map in case his expedition never returned." She handed me a map and a seal. "I'll give you a pass as well. Usually, no one is allowed past the front lines. Good luck, Warden, and Ancestors guide you."

But before we ventured into the Deep Roads, we needed to find Lord Helmi. Which meant we needed to go to the Commons.

"News of the hour!" Harrowmont's crier called as we passed the Harrowmont estate. "Three more clans endorse Lord Harrowmont as the true voice of the Dwarven folk! Is Paragon-hood far behind?"

"That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think?" Wynne said.

For someone to be raised to a Paragon, Duncan had told me, was to be called a living ancestor. They had to do something or invent something great to be raised to Paragon-hood. I wasn't seeing that in either one.

As we closed the distance to the doors leading to the Commons we passed a Dwarf with flaming red hair and beard and red armor arguing with another Dwarf. "It will be two years tomorrow. By all the holy sodding ancestors, how can you people just ignore that?" the red-haired Dwarf said.

"Branka didn't go alone, Oghren. She took the whole house. Everyone but you. So just get yourself over to Tapster's and drown yourself already. You know as well as I do that's how this always ends," the other Dwarf responded.

"You think I'm afraid of some cub warrior who's barely off the teat! I'll—"

"You lift a weapon or attack a single citizen of Orzammar and you're stripped of your caste and exiled! Even you can't have forgotten that. Get out of here before I call a guardsman."

Oghren muttered and grumbled, storming off in the direction we were heading. He shoved his way past Alistair and Leliana.

"What a pleasant Dwarf," Leliana said. "Such manners." I knew she was becoming much more comfortable with us for her sarcasm the show like that.

~~~

We found Tapster's, and Oghren drowning himself in ale.

"Is this some sort of mass suicide?" Sten asked when we walked in.

Zevran chuckled. "This is just where people drink themselves stupid," he said.

We were directed to Lord Helmi by a barmaid, who tried to get us to taste some Dwarven Ale. Alistair advised against it and I took his word for it. He saw me approach.

"Lord Denek Helmi, honored deshyr of the Orzammar Assembly and terrible disappointment to my esteemed mother, who doesn't like me spending time in taverns."

I chuckled.

"You understand what I'm saying right? On the surface, there are no castes and it works fine. Am I right, Warden?"

"Most humans treat my people like your casteless," I said.

"But there are those like you who see this with concern, no? Well, I've taken the time to actually talk to the other castes. You know, most smiths and tavern-keeps would make decent deshyrs if we give them a chance and a seat in the Assembly. Orzammar is so mired in tradition no one bothers asking if the castes are even necessary."

My Dalish curiosity peaked. You'd think with what happened with the mirror, that would have cured me of that, wouldn't you? "How does the caste system work anyway?"

"Badly."

I waited.

"Oh, you're serious. Well, it's simple, I guess. The king and elected deshyrs of the Assembly are at the top, then it's the nobles. Then the warriors and all the craftsmen. At the bottom are servants. The casteless and criminals are below even that. Your caste is determined by that of your same-sex parent and that's where you stay your whole life, whatever your skill." So moving up in the world of the Dwarves relied heavily on the children, it seemed. I was glad I wasn't a Dwarf.

"Did you know Harrowmont is double-dealing you and Lady Dace?"

He sighed. "I'd ask for proof or why you care but, frankly, I'm so tired of it I'm not even surprised anymore. I don't even want the land but my house would kill me if I turned it down. Responsibilities, you know. Now I'll have to go through the whole process of rejecting the deal and they'll both have to try something else. And I thought it was going to be a nice day."

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news."

"You're just doing what you think is right. I'll have to inform Mother that Lord Harrowmont hasn't bought our vote after all." Helmi walked away.

"Off to the Deep Roads, I presume?" Alistair asked.

"That's the plan," I responded.

~~~

We approached the guards to the Deep Roads. "What's this?" The commander asked. "An Elf?" What gave that away? "I'm sorry but I cannot allow you past the front lines without a deshyr's permission. And I've heard nothing of any new patrols scheduled to leave today."

I held up the seal Lady Dace had given me. "I am looking for Lord Dace's patrol."

"I see you have his daughter's seal so I will not stop you. But be careful. Just because the beasts have pulled back from Orzammar doesn't mean there are any fewer in the Deep Roads. Either we finally have the edge, which I doubt, or the beasts are building up numbers for the next attack."

"Actually, they've made their move. On the surface."

"The surface!" one of the guards cried. "But I thought the vermin never went up that far except—"

"Except during Blights," the commander finished. "Ancestors help us if that's what's happening."

"Are the Darkspawn the only dangers in these tunnels?" I asked, wanting to be prepared before I went in.

"Of course not. Down here, you're bound to run into giant spiders, deepstalkers, and other vermin."

"Deepstalkers?"

"Ugly beasts they are. Walk on two legs but they have the head of a worm and hunt in packs. Watch out, they're not afraid to take on a group their own size."

"Thank you for the warning."

"Best of luck."

They let us through and we ventured into the Deep Roads.

~~~

The Deep Roads was once the highway system between the Dwarven cities before the first Blight. Now they were a crumbling mess. Many of the tunnels had collapsed due to neglect and war. Or so I'd been told. We traveled through side tunnels and main roads and had mini battles with Darkspawn, deepstalkers, and spiders. The usual. Funny how having a run-in was becoming a normal way of life. The joys of being a Warden. At least one of the last. After some time we came upon a group of Dwarves who were fighting off deepstalkers. We charged at the tiny creatures. Which, by the way, are vicious little bastards. They are no bigger than a chicken but they pack a punch.

After we felled them, one of the Dwarves approached me. "You pulled us from a tight spot, friend," he said. "You have my gratitude. I am Lord Anwar Dace. So how does an Elf come to be down here anyway?"

"Lord Harrowmont is trying to cheat your family," I said, going straight for the point. I didn't come down to the Deep Roads for my health.

"What are you talking about? I've dealt with Harrowmont many times and he's always been forthright. I'm not ungrateful for your assistance but I hope you have some evidence to back up such accusations."

I handed him the notes. "See for yourself."

"I don't understand. What could...?" He read. "These are the terms of a deal I made with Lord Harrowmont but... the charlatan! He's promised the exact same land to Helmi! Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I owe you twice now, my life and my house's fortune."

"Will you tell your daughter not to vote for Harrowmont?"

"We will certainly not support a man who would use my family like that. I will tell everyone I know what a wretched trick Harrowmont tried to play. I must return home now. My men need healing and I want to look into this. Do you wish to travel with us?"

"Safety in numbers, right?"

Lord Dace chuckled. "Then let us reach Orzammar before more beasts find our scent."