Valoll smiled fondly at the hunter as she handed over the packs of ram's meat and the bundle of wool she had skinned from the dozen or so that she killed for the small village of farmers and refugees. Her group looked on with a mixture of respect, surprise, and impatience.
"Herald, I must protest that we leave these tasks for the scouts and go to find the Horse Master."
The elf turned to the seeker, her brown eyes suddenly hard.
"If you have a problem with how I'm handling things, Seeker Pentaghast, I will happily find you a horse back to Haven." The dwarf of their group let out a nervous laugh, slightly shocked by the elf's blunt defiance and amused by the look on Cassandra's face. The apostate of the group gave only the softest of chuckles, but Varric heard it.
"That is certainly not the case, Herald. I simply – "
"You believe these people should simply starve? Or freeze to death?" The elf was obviously challenging the seeker, and Cassandra reluctantly stood down. "We will help them. Even if it means putting off our mission for a few hours. They told us Master Dennet's home is along the West Road, it should not be too hard to find. Unless you doubt my navigation skills?"
Cassandra bit her tongue. "No, my Lady Herald. My blade is yours. I will follow you."
The hardness around Valoll's eyes softened.
"Thank you. Now, I believe they spoke of a rift near the lake. Once we've investigated I will turn our direction back to Master Dennet."
They trekked up the side of the steep hills. Valoll took the time to take a chisel to the raw deposits of iron and carefully pocket the elfroot that was growing amongst the grasses and shrubs. It was as her feet hit a small cobble stone path off to the side of a decrepit castle that she felt the tingling in her left hand. Valoll looked down at it momentarily. The usually dormant glow of the mark was now bright, even in the mid-afternoon sun. She clenched the fist, but the tingling grew until the mark almost hurt. It was when they rounded the ruins that they found the green tear in the air.
Valoll instantly nocked an arrow, drawing her bow tight as she lined up her shot. There was the slight coolness of a barrier being put up, and she briefly glanced toward the group's mage (for only a moment) before releasing the arrow. It made its mark in the throat of a shade, but it only did so much damage.
She kept the demons from straying too far from the rift, antagonizing them when they grew too adventurous and tried to slink away. Her arrows angered them and made them return. It was a full team effort, killing the demons and weakening the pull of the rift enough for her to close it. It felt like every atom in her body was being split apart as she reached forward and slammed the rift closed. It took much effort on her part, and Valoll found herself faint and in need of water.
"Herald?" Cassandra asked inquisitively, kneeling beside the elf as she sank against the cold stone of the castle. The Fade was thin there, she could feel it tingly in her hand. It was said that the rifts opened where it was thinnest, pulled and tugged and stretched like old cloth forced to grow with a growing child. She clenched her hand into a fist.
"Give me a moment. I am still not accustomed to this."
The warrior nodded but stood guard, in case any stray demon or bandit showed their face. The dwarf took a seat on a rock not far from them, and their apostate companion looked stoically into the distance. She drank from her water skin, pressing a handful of it onto the back of her neck to cool her off. Once her heart evened out and her knees did not feel week, she stood and crossed her bow over her chest.
They began to move once again, only pause to mark a spot for a camp that seemed fitting for Leliana's scouts and new soldiers that would soon join them.
The small stone paths leading down from the cliffs was slick with moss and dewing soil. She almost slipped once, mind still hazing from the rift, but a firm hand from both Cassandra and Solas kept her upright.
"Herald, are you certain you feel well? We could take rest at the camp, at least until you've rested."
Valoll ignored her, continuing their descent into the chaos that soon surrounded them.
"Look at the apostates! They've gone made with power."
"The Templars aren't making it any better, Seeker."
The elf ignored her two companions and nocked an arrow, loosing it at one of the rebels that came running towards them. She hid behind a crystal of ice jutting from a rock, nocking another arrow. She and Varric shared a look before she bound around the other side of the ice and loosed another arrow, hitting the apostate in the shoulder. He gripped it, both hands free from spellcasting and the dwarf knocked him back with a bolt through the chest.
They nodded, and went after the next.
Then they took on guards patrolling in front of a broken fort. Then scouts from a small camp and rogue Templars that crossed their paths when coming to the large, broken bridge. Valoll had loosed all her arrows, save for two, and would be of no use from long range until she found more. The elf wasted no time and begun to wade through the low-rise water where the bridge was worst. The seeker tried to protest, but Valoll only gained more ground to put between them. The dwarf chuckled, falling behind. Their elven apostate ever the quiet one.
It was the wolves they came across that made her fully pause. The air around them tingled the same way a rift would, but not as wrong. Their eyes glowed a strange yellowy-green, growls deep and duo-toned, like it was trying to say more with its animalistic ways. Valoll did not bother to waste her last two arrows. When they pounced to attack the crew, she used her bow like a staff, swinging with full strength as they got in arcing distance of her bow. She felt the bow almost give in her hands, but the wolf yelped with pain in its ribs and as she took another swing for its head, it scampered away to nurse its wounds. The other two were relentless, and she could tell the others were growing weary of their constant fighting.
They were rest for the day, after speaking with the Horse Master.
And speak with him they did.
Valoll felt tension bow up in her shoulders and neck at what the man asked of her. More demon wolves? And surveying?
"Would you protest to us making camp outside of her farm? There's a small pond and an abandoned cabin."
The master shook his head. "I would give you my stable, but there is no room for your bunch. Take any spare land you like, Inquisition."
She nodded her head in thanks and turned to leave the master house.
They settled in the spot behind a projection of rock, not too far from the river that they had crossed not far back. Her hand tingled, as if to signal another rift was near, but she ignored it for the most part. The tents were easy to prop up, flaps tied open to let the warm air move as it pleased. There was the beginning of a fire pit but no fire. That could wait for once the sun left.
Valoll sat, staring at her quiver with its two arrows. She was too tired to go hunting for materials and it would be at least until the morning when the Inquisition came to pick up the camp for them. The elf slumped.
"May I?"
She looked behind her, staring at the palms of the elf that offered his skills. Reluctance met him in answer, but he gently rubbed his hands together, fingers lighting up in an orange glow as he warmed them.
"It will only take a few moments, lethallin. I can feel your stress from across the lands of Thedas."
His smug look only made her deepen her frown, but she turned her head away from him and slipped out of the rogue jacket she was given. It pooled around her waist, sleeves crossed in her lap. She unlaced the collar of her tunic and let the material slip down her shoulders, but not fully. She was still covered, only flaunting the sharp cuts of her collarbone and strong archer shoulders.
The Seeker gave a sound of disgusted protest, but the moment the warm palms met her tense shoulders, the world melted away.
There was no Breach. No rifts. No mark, no herald, no Haven, no Conclave. No Thedas.
The warmth eased the knots in her muscles, soothed the sore ones that were used increasingly more and more every day.
This was only their second day in the Hinterlands and already she was wishing for the safe haven of her cabin up in the mountains. She would close rifts as they asked, but this? All the diplomacy? She still wasn't entirely familiar with the language, although Sister Leliana and Lady Montilyet were working diligently on rectifying that.
They would spend a third day helping Dennet and his needs and possibly a fourth clearing out parts of the hills of rifts.
But there was no time to think of those needless quests that they were making her run around on. The Inquisition needed horses. Master Dennet needed help with his farm so that he could supply the horses. It was a fair trade.
Valoll sighed loudly, not in relief but in defeat, and the warm palms stopped. She didn't realize she had made the sound until he made a noise of his own in question.
"I'm sorry, Solas, my mind is far too busy with other things. I can't relax. Thank you for your help but…"
She trailed off, her tongue growing thick in her mouth as his long fingers eased up from her shoulders and to the base of her hairline. His thumbs rubbed away the oncoming headache, nails lightly massaging her scalp. Valoll would have fallen asleep in moments if he had not stopped and brushed her hair back into some sign of semblance as before. When she opened her eyes, Varric and Cassandra were staring at them both with mixed looks.
Varric, one of chagrin, and Cassandra, one of distaste. Curse them both.
"That should help," Solas said, moving away from her and settling against his pack some distance away from the fire pit. Valoll instantly yearned for him to return to his ministrations but she would live without it. For now. When dusk hit, the fire was sparked quickly, and they sat about eating what rations they had packed.
A raven was sent to Cullen. They would need some of his troops to build the watchtowers for Dennet.
.
Valoll knelt beside the dead demon-wolves, head bowed. She laid her bow beside her, angled away from the frozen, and fur-bared bodies. Her companions watched on, curious.
Then, after only a few moments, she took one of her arrows – supplied by the Inquisition but sharped to her tastes with a stone she found in the bed of the pond they camped by – and began to cut the pelt of fur from its meat.
"Herald, pleased, I must-"
"You will not disrespect these creatures, Seeker Pentaghast," Valoll cut her off sharply. "If you so please, feel free to go back to the camp. Otherwise, shut your mouth until I am done."
Varric took point on a stack of rocks, easing his short body down onto them, and watched. She worked methodically, like each movement had once been part of a routine that she took part in on frequent occasions. The elf never looked to her companions during the entire event, never cared for their opinions of her 'savagery' nor took notice to their looks. Solas, who had first looked on with amusement, soon morphed into something else.
Something... familiar.
Like he was remembering an old dream. A faint dream. A dream he wasn't even sure happened. After all his many quests and journeys deep into the memories of the past, they seemed to blend together after some point.
There was a... flash. Blue silk and braided hair and eyes like fresh honey poured under sunlight.
The opinions of their Herald, however new to the title she was, were obvious. Respect, frustration, and mirth were common. She was a woman who did not remember her life but they could tell that she lived a good one from her decisions and quick wit. She was certain of things she wanted, and when she didn't know she quickly decided with weighing the long term consequences, not the short term ones.
Solas, of all of them, found that part most interesting. She could think ahead and clearly, like playing a game of chess or, even worse, Wicked Grace.
Once the pelt had been cleared from the meat of the wolf, she carved away the parts best for eating and wrapped them in bits of slicked papers that had been holding their rations. They would have plenty to get them back to Skyhold, and even some to add for those at the Crossroads.
The dark fur of the wolf was folded over, the wet side of it touching so not to make a mess of her new armor and leathers. Valoll bundled the skin under her sleeping back at the base of her back, and stood once again, bow in hand.
"Let us inform Master Dennet that the wolves have been taken care of."
The trek wasn't long but when they came across a second rift just under the waterfall, they quickly had to fight off the demons. This one was stronger than what they were prepared for. Valoll felt the ice of the beast cutting deep into her skin, chilling her through blood and bone. Even the warm tingle of Solas' shield did barely enough.
The wisps of green souls that shot her with fade energy were quick to go down, but the icy despair demons and long, twisting wraiths proved to be the change. Her arrows only did well when her enemies were not fast, but that had proven to be difficult with this bunch. She missed many shots, cursing herself further when she ran out of arrows. With quick, quiet steps, Valoll vaulted across the terrain and pulled her missed arrows from where they landed. She only had a half dozen or so before the despair demon charged for her with a wave of icy magic. She lifted her arms to shield her face, waiting for the coldness to wrap around her, but instead she felt the tingle of a barrier. The magic was more of a slight breeze instead of a blizzard, and with one well aimed arrow through the throat, the demon fell into a pile of green ash.
Valoll looked to Solas, nodding in thanks, before walking under the rift to close it with the mark.
This time, even though her bones still lit aflame, she was able to keep moving after only a few moments of rest.
"Let us continue."