I barely noticed the gasp escaping Callum's lips at my words.
"Mother!" Eric ran into my arms after being released, whimpering as I stroked and kissed his head. "It's alright," I assured him. I would never put his life willingly at risk.
"If we are done hugging each other, we can get to our agreement now, no?"
Turning to the elven assassin, I shot him a glare, demanding that everyone be set free and left alone ever after. "All but one," he agreed with a dark smile and I scoffed.
"Then I'll stay." Eric's eyes widened and he tugged at my sleeve, protesting against my decision but I insisted. "He is right," Sten spoke, approaching us, "your son is nothing without his mother. I have sworn to protect you and now I shall keep my word."
"Oh no," I scolded, pointing my trembling finger at him, emphasizing every word I said, "you are not staying. If you want to protect us, go with my son. He needs more protection than I do."
But he did not budge. He simply stared at me, his emotionless expression revealing none of his thoughts. "I will stay," he stood his ground, declaring the end of our discussion.
"You are unbelievable," I huffed, my anger almost dispersing when I saw the corners of his mouth twitch. "I am doing this for you, Kadan," were his only words, before he went on to face the Antivan.
They were sharing plans on another ambush, until Selene stormed past us, interfering as she pulled Sten back by his arm, "You would make an awful bait, Ser Qunari. What better decoy than a frightened woman seeking help?"
The elf was clearly enjoying himself too much. "Then it is settled," he chuckled, winking at her, "I promise you will not come to harm, my lady. You will be able to leave once our task is accomplished."
"Let us just get it over with, alright?" Was her annoyed response, her unwillingness evident, even though she kept turning down her father's pleas to come with him.
It was hard to seperate ourselves from Selene.
I held Eric as he was sobbing on my shoulder, while Callum was held by no one.
The elderly man was already grieving alone, the stream of his tears never stopping. It broke my heart seeing him so lonely, his daughter but a few feet away from him.
When we started leaving, I halted before the brutally mutilated corpse of Callum's ox and clenched my fists. Sten had been right, we should have listened to him. And now half of our group was dead before the fight had even started. And yet we were still alive, no thanks to the Crows' mercy, but because they just so happened to remember we could be of use, trading our lives for the aid of one person.
"We have no reason to linger here any longer, Kadan," Sten pulled me back to harsh reality as he always did, but I refused to move. "Kadan." His hand was now resting on my shoulder, squeezing it gently when my eyes met his. I felt another hand brush mine and looked down to see Eric, smiling reassuringly at me through his tears.
And thus we moved on.
Callum had decided to part ways with us after the ambush. It felt like reliving the events in Lothering, with our hearts as wounded and minds as traumatized as when we departed.
Eric sought comfort in seclusion once again, more afraid than ever of every stranger we encountered.
Only two days of travel were left until our arrival in Denerim, a time promising to be the most agonizing two days I had ever lived. Eric's condition was not only like when we departed from Lothering, it was worse.
The quiet had been a comforting friend of his thus far, but now even that scared him, especially during our travel. He always asked me if there was going to be another ambush, wishing the Blight had never happened and Allison had never died.
His mask was faltering and he became more prone to anger outbursts.
Sten didn't blame me for my decision to keep walking into the ambush, though, saying there had been no alternative route anyway.
I didn't know him for long then, but I knew him good enough to know he had a heart. He didn't admit it, but he tried to comfort me whenever he noticed I was not feeling well. He had told me about the 'deal' he and Eric had made in Lothering, that we would need to visit the docks of Lake Calenhad before heading to Denerim to find something he had lost which had been gone.
When I asked him about it, he told me he had lost his sword, Asala, and I then understood that he trusted me. Every qunari possessed an object they used for their job, linked to their souls, and losing their soul meant they were no longer worthy of living. No qunari would ever admit the loss of such an object, but Sten did.
He had lost Asala and trusted me enough to tell me.