The second group of darkspawn proved to be more difficult. More... Advanced than the previous. This group had sacrificed two of their archers so the warriors could run across the bridge, and even though their shield had taken a beating from the arrows, they had held firm, but Elanda didn't know how long that would last against magic.
"Oh wonderful! A darkspawn magister!" Daveth shouted with no small amount of sarcasm, "What will they think of next!?"
"Just keep bloody shooting, you fool!" Jory shouted back.
Elanda steadied her breath, they had to get across the bridge. But she felt as if it was trapped. But they had to.
"Alistair, you're more equipped to deal with that mage more than we are." She wanted to be the one, but it would be foolhardy. She wasn't stupid. Alistair was trained to be a Templar. He was the perfect anti-mage.
He nodded, understanding that she didn't mean it personally.
"Jory, charge right after Alistair and I do. We need to catch them by surprise." They nodded and she went out from her spot shield in front. Alistair followed her maneuvering and Jory followed that. But stopped midway.
He looked down to see his foot caught in a trap. A trap!
"Hang on one moment, Ser Knight!"
"Great! Being rescued by a dammed cut purse!" Jory cursed loudly, "Fereldan is in excellent hands."
Daveth quickly slid over to him, firing his arrows as he did so and he made it over to Jory and with no small amount of strength, got the trap opened, then with speed retracted his hands as they quickly clamped down again.
Daveth tossed Jory a potion.
"Nicked it off a mage." Daveth grinned deviously after Jory had chugged the red vial.
"Maker, I hate you."
"I'll remember next time you get your foot in a trap."
"If you are quite finished, gentlemen!" Elanda shouted, her arm slicing off a darkspawn's head clean off.
Daveth reached for an arrow but found his quiver empty.
He grinned at Jory for a moment and then quickly disappeared. Jory ran unhindered across a bridge, hearing Daveth's mad laughter, but not seeing the thief.
Before he knew it, Jory saw Daveth dig his daggers into the back of a darkspawn, making it howl in pain.
"Get down!" Jory shouted, raising his great-sword and cleaving the darkspawn, nearly in two.
"I'm not being on the end of that." Daveth mumbled, yanking out his daggers out of the last darkspawn.
Elanda took this moment to regain her breath until she looked at Alistair, who looked worse than she did.
"Are you... Are you okay?" She gently put a hand on his bicep, and despite herself found that it was all muscle.
It was the nearest body part, wasn't it? Or could she have easily gone for the shoulder?
Alistair looked at her and offered an awkward chuckle, "Yes, yes. Just... Just fine." He stood up straight, "I pushed myself a little hard on that one." Then a lopsided grin, "But no worries. I just haven't done it in a while. If we are to be fighting darkspawn, I need to get into the practice of that at least."
"I'm glad you're alright then."
"Maker... Never knew blood could smell so awful." Daveth cursed loudly as he stuck his extra stiletto, the same one that Jory used, into the now dead darkspawn and filled his vial and corked it, then stood up in victory holding the vial.
"And now we're down to you." Alistair said offering her another lopsided smile, to which she tried to return, but was barely able to do so, before she turned away.
"Daveth, what of your quiver?"
"Tis empty, my lady-"
"Call me Elanda, and we may want to take this time to at least catch our breath, refill your quiver if you can, Daveth, but do not go to great pains to salvage an arrow."
"You got it boss."
She sighed with irritation as she sat down.
The last thing she wanted was leadership. She didn't want leadership of Highever and she certainly didn't want leadership now.
Jory made it a point to sit on rock, or weathered chiseled stone. Which was thankfully a bit away from her. Good. Perhaps she needed to be alone. She closed her eyes for a moment and saw darkspawn. Her eyes flashed open to see a pair of caramel colored eyes filled with concern. She was so startled she couldn't recover and fake a smile.
"Are you... Are you alright?" Alistair said, opening his pack and offering her some bread, "One of us had to pack food." Another lopsided grin, "I am the junior member anyways. But before you answer my question you have to try this!" He quickly grabbed the slice of bread from her hands and from his pack got out a small piece of cheese and with a thankfully clean dagger cut a small piece off and put it on the bread, and then re-offered it to her.
She looked at the bread and cheese, then back to Alistair who patiently waited for her to take it. Which with a slightly timid hand, she did.
With the introduction of food in her system, she did not realize how hungry she was. When Alistair offered another piece of bread and cheese she scarfed it down again.
"Just as I suspected." He said, almost with victory.
"What?" She asked, rather dumbly, wiping crumbs away from her mouth.
He quirked an eyebrow at her, "When was the last time you ate?"
Her mind reeled at this question. She struggled to remember when the last time she had consumed food.
"I'm concerned that I'm getting silence by this question." Alistair slightly chuckled, attempting to bring a smile to her face.
He made her a small pathetic excuse for a sandwich. Two slices of bread with some dried meat and another slice of cheese.
And released another sigh when he saw she had no water skin and offered his which she took a small sip of.
"Do you feel better?" He asked.
She took in a breath, about to tell him at least a little of what happened. She felt she could trust him. It was starting to eat her up.
"Quiver's good now, Ela!" Daveth cheerfully called out, "And I got a few more of those mabari saving flowers!"
"Wonderful news!" She tried to sound cheerful, "Jory, you feel better?"
"Aye." He nodded, standing up.
And then she stood up and offered a hand to Alistair, "How 'bout you?"
"Don't ask me to do two more smites in a row though." He said sarcastically with a nod, putting up everything he got out and taking her hand, "But I'm good right now."
Her eyes reminded him if a cloudy sky, the color of storm clouds, but hers were more sparkling... And filled with a sadness that he couldn't place. Her red hair reminded him of rose petals and for an instant he wondered if her hair was just as soft and velvety.
A thing he noted about her body, as she pulled him up she did not struggle to lift him. When he feigned to trip she held and offered a sarcastic smile, which he answered with an awkward chuckle and a shrug. He would definitely not mistake her for weak. Mind or body. And he knew why Duncan had chosen her. He hoped that she would make it.
"The ruins Duncan wanted us to go retrieve the treaties were this way, I think." He pointed after realizing he had been holding her hand for a moment too soon. To which she pulled away slowly.
Reluctant? Or was it his imagination?
"But what about her vial?" Daveth asked, crossing her arms.
"Oh don't worry about that-"
"There are darkspawn just up the hill." Alistair informed them, interrupting her mid-sentence.
"Wonderful." Elanda chuckled, and began trudging up the hill.
She heard Alistair speed-walk up to her, "Don't think you've dodged my question." He smiled and shook a finger at her.
"Oh, but haven't I?" She smirked. Only just barely. Daveth was useful, when he interrupted her bleeding heart moments and that was worth it.
Before they fully got up the hill, she turned to her three companions, "They have the upper hand here. They have archers and they are on top of the hill. Alistair, Jory, and I will need to run up there as fast as we can and take out the archers, so that way Daveth has a chance of taking some of the extra guys."
They all nodded, and the two shield bearers grabbed their already arrow-ridden shields and charged up the hill.
Alistair and Jory saw the two archers. But Elanda saw another target. One that would definitely be a problem. And had it's eye on Alistair.
She charged and gave it a shield bash, straight to the chest, catching it's attention. It wasn't enough to knock it down, but she did grab it's attention.
And the attention of two other archers. She was barely lucky in the fact she blocked the first arrow, and the attack from what looked like the Alpha, of this group. When this was over, she would ask Alistair about the different types of darkspawn. It was oddly creepy how there were different types.
The second arrow dug itself in her shoulder and she gritted her teeth as pain shot through her arm.
An arrow whisked past her, and she knew it was Daveth. And she was able to see that the darkspawn archer that had landed the hit on her, was busy attempting to get his foot out of the ground.
The alpha roared, and Elanda not to be scared roared back and gave him another shield bash, this time right in his ugly mug. One. Two. STRIKE! She met resistance with another, this time smaller darkspawn. She growled, and kicked it's knee, making it buckle. She gave it a swift knee to it's face, then with a slashing motion, sliced open it's chest. She raised her shield to save her face from the black blood spatter.
A sickening roar came behind her, and she turned around with her shield, already up, deflecting whatever blow came next, but only barely. Her arm couldn't take much more of this, but thankfully there were no more archers to contend with.
"Hey ugly!" Alistair's voice, she looked over and saw him banging on his shield.
The alpha reared it's head to look at the Junior Warden.
She gritted her teeth, "NO!" She shouted and was able to push the alpha's leverage off of her shield and send him off balance.
She took this opportunity and stabbed the Alpha right in the stomach and yanked her sword up and out. Then with a kick to the chest, he fell down right on his back where she stabbed her sword right into the Alpha's throat and twisted it. Just for good measure.
"I don't know whether I have a dagger in my breeches or be absolutely terrified." Daveth awed with raised eyebrows.
"Your stiletto." She glared at him, her palm opened.
"Terrified it is. Right. Got it." Daveth gave her the blade, hilt first, and with ease she filled her vial from the slit wrist of the alpha.
"Three vials of darkspawn blood. One for each recruit." She put it in her pack, and handed Daveth back his stiletto, after wiping it off on the leather part of her bracers.
"I... Uh... Ela..." Daveth tried to get his attention.
"What?" She turned her head to glare at him.
"He's telling you,'hey proud and fearless leader you might want to sit down'." Alistair playfully glowered.
"What? Why? I am fine!" She tried to push him off, everyone was suddenly fussing over her and- Maker her arm hurt. She looked at it for a moment and stared, "I had forgotten."
"Forgotten that there was an arrow in your shoulder?" Alistair chuckled, "So you're from Highever? What did you like about it?"
"Why are you asking me these question- MAKER!" She shouted through gritted teeth, and gripping the grass, nearly ripping it up with some of the dirt. Alistair had ripped the arrow out and was now holding a cloth on the wound as she drank a potion that he quickly handed her.
Distraction through pain. Good plan. Even if it did hurt.
"Potions taste vile." She made a disgusted face.
"Is that supposed to be a joke? An awful one, that I might use later, but it's still bad." Alistair chuckled, and couldn't repress his laughter when she tried to glare at him.
"And she tells us to kiss." Daveth teased.
"If you insist to kiss Alistair by all means." Elanda laughed, deflecting his comment, "But you might want to explain it to Ser Jory. He might be heartbroken now."
"The bleeding has stopped." Alistair sighed with relief.
"Good! Then let's find these treaties and get back to Duncan. I can only take so much of cold swampland." Elanda shared his relief, but for a vastly different reason. His caramel eyes were burning a hole in her skull. As if she needed to explain anything to him.
"I second that!" Daveth exclaimed following her.
Jory shivered, "Me three."
Which left Alistair to sigh for a moment before following after.