A.N. Chapter 8. Updates might be coming a little later than before, I just got job, so I don't have as much free time. R & R please! Remember I'm always open to suggestions!
A Few Miles Outside of Treviso:
Gwen's wrists were rubbed raw. She had twisted and pulled on her chains until she hadn't the strength to keep struggling against them. The captain's body lay dead just out of reach, mocking her with its presence. Her savior's breathing was shallow and labored. He had not regained consciousness. She slumped over in defeat.
Suddenly, something nudged her face. It was slightly wet and cold. Before she had the chance to look up, the bump changed into a tongue that swept across her face. Gwen sputtered and looking up, was greeted with a sight she would always be grateful for. There seated in front of her, tail wagging, and she would swear a smile on his face, was none other than Boomer. He barked once and Gwen started crying tears of joy.
Boomer crouched down and nudged a piece of metal towards her. Gwen eyed it with curiosity. It was just a rounded circle. There was no indication of what it was used for.
"What am I supposed to do with that?" she asked skeptically.
Boomer huffed and puffed out his chest. He did not like being doubted, apparently.
He pushed the metal with his nose until it touched her chains. Immediately there was a bright flash and then the metal rock sat completely unchanged.
"That was helpful," she said sarcastically. Boomer looked even more exasperated, if that was even possible for a dog. Then he did something she did not expect. He scratched just hard enough to draw blood. Gwen gasped and reflexively healed it.
"What was that for?" she shouted indignantly. Boomer merely raised an eyebrow, at least the canine equivalent, at her and glanced down to where he had scratched her. She followed his gaze and found that her wound had healed.
"Oh, Maker. I love you Boomer," she told him. Boomer just swelled with pride. Gwen focused her magic, and froze her chains. She then shattered the frozen metal against her knee. The manacles were still on, but the chains were broken. She gave Boomer a hug and then hurried over to her savior.
She fell to her knees when she was in range, and focused her magic in order to determine what was wrong. She quickly encountered a problem. Her magic couldn't penetrate through his armor. She quickly switched to his head, which was the only uncovered part of his body. Her magical scan couldn't penetrate very deep, however she could tell there was massive internal bleeding. It would be days before he was conscious.
With very few options, Gwen decided on a plan of action. She called on the spirit of Faith that was bonded with her and asked for his help. The Fade spirit readily agreed, he seemed nearly as curious as her about this armored stranger. With her magic at the ready Gwen placed a hand at his exposed temple and started pouring healing magic into him.
After half an hour of continuous healing, Gwen decided to take a break. She did not want to find out what pouring too much magic into him would do. Since it was non-focused healing magic, all she could do was encourage the body to heal. She couldn't actually put anything back together.
She sat back, and sighed. There was one other who might require healing. She gently rubbed her knees as she stood.
"Watch him, come and get me if he wakes up," she commanded Boomer. The dog dutifully sat down a few feet away from his charge. She smiled fondly at him. With one last stolen glance at her savior, she turned and strode through the flaps of tent.
She was woefully unprepared for the carnage that lay about her. A Templar to her left had his head separated from his shoulders while the other on her right looked like he had his helmet and face smashed in by a rock. The metal was dented straight into his head, where she knew it bent back farther than it should have been able to.
There were a total of five tents in the clearing, if one included her temporary prison. One of them was collapsed where a Templar had been thrown bodily into it. The man's head was bent at an unnatural angle, clearly dead. A fourth lay dead near a fire pit, with his shield still tucked underneath his dead body. She could see no wounds on his backside, and her curiosity needed to be satisfied.
She focused her mind and quickly cast a quick force spell to flip him over. One of the benefits of constantly fighting for the past seven years of her life allowed Gwen to cast quickly and efficiently. Most of the spells she used constantly, she did not even need to recite. They just flowed from her. More complicated spells still required her to speak, however. She turned her attention back to the dead Templar.
She gasped at what she saw. The man's red steel shield was bisected, cut into two pieces down the middle. It seemed to offer little protection from whatever had also easily penetrated his armor, leaving a deep gouge that went from shoulder to hip. The only other Templar she could see was leaned against another tent. This one was sturdier than the other and hadn't collapsed completely. It was leaning precariously to one side and the Templar had what looked like a giant boot carved into the chest of his armor. His armor also bent in far too deeply for him to still be alive. She glanced around and still did not see the mountain of a man whose shadow she had seen from the inside of her tent. She hoped he wasn't dead for his troubles. There were too few good Templars as it was. She certainly wouldn't miss this other lot.
Unable to find him, she turned her attention towards locating her staff. She hoped the Templars hadn't left it in her room. She looked at the five tents and choosing the most opulent one, strode in. It definitely looked like the captain's tent. There were plush rugs on the ground and a large bed. A desk sat on the far side with paper strewn haphazardly everywhere. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a constantly recurring symbol: a sunburst behind an eye. A Seeker of Truth. Not the captain's tent then. The lot of Templars that were on guard were clearly not from that particular order, which could only mean the powers that had knocked her out belonged to one. She dreaded her next confrontation with him. She turned her focus from the table and began scanning the tent once more. She spotted her staff sitting in the far corner and quickly strode to reclaim it. She looked it over and could find nothing different from the last time she had held it in her hands. It was the last item of her father's that she owned. She carried a memento from each family member she had lost as a reminder. No matter how vigilant she was, she could still lose people she cared for. She carried her father's staff, Bethany's scarf underneath her tunic, and her mother's locket. She would always remember them.
After reminiscing a few moment, she exited the tent in order to check on her savior. While striding towards the tent, she heard a muffled groan. She stopped dead in her tracks. She listened closely and heard some rustling near the collapsed tent. She pushed aside the canvas and found one of the biggest men she had ever seen. Her recent savior and the gigantic, horned Kossith amongst the Qunari were some of the few larger than him. She looked down at his legs and saw that both were bent at unnatural angles and winced slightly. She wasn't about to just heal him though, the man was a Templar first and she didn't know him well enough. She set about making preparations to awaken him.
Sergio's Point of View:
Sergio groaned as he awakened. The first thing he noticed was the pain. Or to be more correct the lack thereof. He felt surprisingly good for someone who had just had both of his legs broken. The second thing he noticed was the lack of armor, and the third was the fact that his hands were tied to his feet and he was hunched over on his knees. He risked peeking his eyes open and immediately closed them. In his face was a massive dog, it hackles raised as it snarled at him.
"Boomer, enough!" said a feminine voice. Sergio felt the dog's presence retreat and opened his eyes once more taking in his surroundings. He was inside the Seeker's tent. Eventually, his eyes landed on the woman who spoke. The woman was sizing him up. Her violet eyes unnerved him a little. There was a wealth of experience and hardship behind them. He found himself locked there: he wouldn't have even been able to tell someone what she looked like at that moment. All that stuck in his mind were the eyes and their potent gaze. After what seemed like an eternity she spoke.
"Your name, serah?" she asked. The accent spoke of a Ferelden heritage, but it was only slight. She must not have been there for some time. Then he noticed her staff that she was casually leaning on. He stiffened. This was the supposed "Maleficar". How did she escape? Where were the other six Templars that were left to guard her? Hundreds of questions flashed in his brain in a matter of moments. She must have noticed the change in his demeanor, for her gaze hardened. Sergio found himself even more intimidated.
"I asked you a question, serah. I will not ask twice," she glared at him with her eyes and with her voice, if such a thing were possible. Sergio took a moment to analyze her magical aura using his Templar abilities. She wasn't even trying to hide her power from him. It pulsed from her in waves, and she was easily the most powerful mage he had ever been in physical proximity to. He also noticed that there wasn't a trace of the sinister effect blood magic seemed to always have on a mages aura. He was struck with a sense of awe.
He swallowed past the lump in his throat and finally spoke. "Sergio," he told her. There was really no point in lying to her. "Your name?" he asked. "I find being lied to uncomfortable. You are no Maleficar as I was told."
"You were told I was a Maleficar?" she asked redundantly. She scoffed. "Blood magic is a crutch; anyone who uses it doesn't deserve to be called a mage. My name is Gweneira Hawke." Sergio's eyes almost popped out of his head. This was THE Champion of Kirkwall. The woman who had fought and beaten back a Qunari invasion, and while the details were a little fuzzy, she had also stopped the annulment of an entire circle. Sergio wondered just what the Seeker's mission was really about.
"I am sorry I could not better defend you, Champion," he told her as the memory of his failure came to mind. His body posture lost its confidence and he hunched over, unable to look at his failure anymore. The fact that she was a hero made it all the worse. Suddenly he felt a hand under his chin, and he found himself staring into those violet eyes once more, filled with an emotion he hadn't seen in a long time, compassion.
"Just Hawke, please," she said softly. "And don't worry. Another stepped in." Now Sergio was curious. The answer was rather cryptic.
"Who?" he asked, unable to keep the curiosity from his voice. Whoever had stepped in had to get through Six Templars. Five of which were heavily armed and armored.
She sighed. "It will be better if I just show you," she told him. "I'm taking a leap of faith here and am gonna cut your bonds. I think I have figured you out, and you won't try to hurt me." He nodded in confirmation. "But just in case," she turned towards the corner of the tent. "Boomer, if he does try anything, kill him."
The massive dog was once more in his field of view. It huffed once and seemed to eyeball him. Finally, deciding that it could take him; it huffed and sat down watching him. Sergio found himself thoroughly intimidated once more. Without any armor or weapons, he had no illusions that the massive war dog would be able to easily kill him.
Hawke walked over and he felt a slight burst of heat, and the pressure on keeping his hands bound to his feet was gone. He stood slowly, not wanting to find himself wrestling with one hundred and fifty pounds of dog. As he did so, he felt and heard every joint pop from being in such a position for so long. Hawke strode over to the entrance of the tent and pulled the flap back for him. He was unprepared for the devastation he would find just outside.
So next chapter Dominic awakens! Woo! Finally some main character interaction!
