A/N: Short chapter today. But a very important one! Thanks to BlackWolfHellHound for the review! Enjoy and as usual R&R.
Alistair woke to the rattling of steel and Gerard collapsing into his tent. He jumped out of his bed roll before Gerard had a chance to fall on him, grabbing for his chainmail in the corner.
"What in Maker's Breath is going on!"
Gerard got up and grabbed his sword, growling at Alistair, "The camp is under attack by some sort of thieves or mercenaries. Problem is they move so quickly you see black then nothing. All you see is the devastation they leave in their wake." Gerard then ran back into the clearing, hoping to catch one of the stealthy thieves.
Alistair shoved his armor on as quickly as possible and stepped through the ruins of his tent into the sunlight. He saw a flash of black then his shield (which he failed to pick up in all the mess) disappeared and his tent shredded.
"Maker's blood! What in Thedas is going on!" Alistair thought to himself as he tried to formulate a strategy. He saw a flash of black again and Leliana screaming running out of her tent in her smallclothes.
"They stole my blanket! And my Daggers!" Leliana yelped furiously. The bard searched pensively for her leathers. Once she located them in her disarrayed tent, she buckled them on and grabbed her bow.
The party saw two more flashes of black before the rest of the party joined them. Sten came running from his glen where he was collecting herbs and Morrigan, in wolf form, came trotting into the clearing.
"How are we going to stop this thing? Zevran! Use your stealth or something!" Gerard yelled at the elf. Zevran nodded and faded into the shadows….
OOOMPH! There was a flash of black and Zevran appeared in the creatures way, colliding with it. The party saw a black cloak with legs splayed on the sides of Zevran.
"Well this seems the most appropriate position for me to catch someone, no?" Zevran joked as he tied the creatures' arms behind its back. The collision seemed to knock it out.
"Gerard, help me lift this creature so we may see whom our assailant is."
Gerard trotted over to Zevran and lifted the body, when the cloak shifted and the hood fell from the creature's face.
"Maker, it's a woman!"
Alistair's eyes nearly fell out. This was THE same woman he saw bathing last night. He cursed himself silently for not saying anything to Gerard or the party.
The woman moaned and her eyes fluttered open, slowly taking in her situation. She looked at Gerard and Alistair who were towering over her, then closed her eyes again as she began to speak.
"I suppose an 'Oops' would not be an appropriate thing to say at the moment"
"I'd like you to give me one reason why I should not execute you on the spot for attacking us and stealing our things" Gerard fumed.
"Because I've been looking for you. The Grey Wardens, correct? "
"Who has sent you then? We already have one Crow in our entourage, I do not think they would send another, Zevran?"
"You are correct in assuming so, friend. The Crows send only one to do a job." Zevran stated, observing the young woman's face. She glared at the elf as he looked her up and down.
"I am no candy to be eaten with your mind,ser, you can kindly turn your gaze."
Gerard scoffed, then replied, "For someone that is at our mercy at the moment, It is in your best interest not to be rude."
He stood up and walked a few paces from the girl and turned his back, thinking for a moment.
"She has demonstrated extreme skill in whatever she was doing. Maybe she will be useful if we could get her allegiance."
He turned back around, and opened his mouth to speak as she cut him off.
"You are Gerard Cousland are you not?"
"How do you know who I am?" sending a shiver up his spine as she said his name.
"You have changed a lot, but you still hold yourself with the same cockiness as you did when you were younger"
"Who are you!" Gerard's voice raised in irritation and surprise. This woman became more and more strange with every word she spoke. He covered the distance between them and held her to the ground.
"Tell me how you know who I am!"
The woman looked up at him, meeting his green glare with her cool grey one.
"Many people call me a Shadow, a person half apparent. Some think of me as a demon, leaving devastation in my wake. You know me as something a little more personal…"
She shifted, moving her cloak and shirt to show a patch of skin on her hip.
"My name is Aria"