A/N: Chapter is still un-betad but I edited it anew in August 2011. Hope it makes it a better read overall now.
Chapter 14: Wonders never cease
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"Interesting solution, I might say." the witch smirked into Lenya's direction, as she stepped outside of the Chantry. "So let's get our supplies, that Qunari and then..."
"How could you do that?" Alistair burst out, full of rage. He couldn't contain the anger any longer, nor did he want to. The young Warden positioned himself in front of the elf and glowered down at her, his breathing ragged.
"What now?" Lenya sighed nerved and gleamed up to him, visibly unimpressed of his antic.
" 'What', she is asking." His laugh was bitter and scornful. "How could you threaten to kill an old, unarmed woman in a holy place? Or...at all? A-are you really that ruthless? "Alistair's voice nearly flipped over.
"To kill?" Lenya blinked confused, yet stayed calm. "Whoever said I would? That shem just didn't want to let go of the key and I hadn't all day to discuss that out. Easy as that."
"But that doesn't mean you had to threaten her for it..."
"What do you want? It had worked, or had it not? We have the key, that is what counts. And remember it was you who said we need further help, so don't backfire this at me now!" she snapped at him and the remaining rage seethed up in her again.
"No, what I backfire at you, is your absolute inane and irrational behavior towards defenseless people. Have you ever heard of common sense?"
Morrigan observed the back and forth arguing with exasperation and shook her head in disbelief. "My mother must have reeaaaally hate me to send me away with such imbecile creatures of Wardens."
Lenya glared at him, green eyes flashing with hatred and she straightened her posture. "Listen human, you made me leader. You shove the whole responsibility of the task to me, despite being the senior Warden. So you are in no position to complain about my actions now. "
Alistair gaped at her for a moment, bewildered. He took a deep breath to calm himself down again, yet his words came out harsh and vexed. " You may be the leader now, but you are not commanding me. So I don't have to shut up about everything you do. Huge difference here, you fail to understand. Or you don't want to understand."
" Fine, go on, whine about my decisions ... – if this makes you happy. I, in the meanwhile, will go and get the Qunari." Lenya shoved him roughly aside and stormed away, leaving an aghast Alistair behind.
Frustration welled up within him. Not only that she let him stood here like an utterly idiot, she also didn't get why he was so angry about it. "You are so ….aaaaarhg!" Alistair yelled after her retreating figure, kicking the dust with one of his boots.
"How very eloquent. So you both are done now, I take it?" Morrigan shot him a glance. "Because we have no better things to do then to argue about to be humble to a withered chantry wench or not. No, of course not."
"You wouldn't understand," Alistair scoffed, still mad. " We can't effort to make us more enemies. We have already enough, as you probably know. Besides a Grey Warden is there to help people, not to scare them."
"Nor do I want to understand, thanks. But I'm sure that the darkspawn will be certainly very impressed, if we save every kitten from every tree we see. They will conceal in horror, in fact." Morrigan didn't comprehend what the problem was – except for Alistair in a whole, maybe. They got what they wanted and now they should make a beeline to set up camp somewhere outside Lothering.
It had been too much time-wasting, too much needless discussions for her already – but the whiny Chantry boy must have sprung at the elf's neck for insulting his beloved Revered Mother. Which only caused even more procrastination and discussion.
Annoying.
Alistair sighed, resignedly. "Why am I even talking to you? At all?"
"Don't ask me, for I do not know." Shrugging, Morrigan put gladly more space between herself and that oaf of a Warden, like Lenya had wisely done it already.
.
.
.
"I have the key to your cage."
Lenya stood in front of the stoic giant and surveyed him. The sun towered already high in the sky, the gleaming light radiated onto the dark-toned skin of the man. She couldn't believe that they have already wasted so much time in this shem place, for it would be dark in a few hours. It was time to grab their supplies and leave here to move on.
"Unexpected. I wouldn't have thought the Revered Mother would part of it." Sten's deep voice snapped her back to attention.
"Let's say I have convinced her to get rid of it." Lenya put the key in the fitting lock but before she turned it around, she hesitated for a moment and looked up. "Do you regret what you have done?"
Sten glanced at her."Either you have an enviable memory, or a pitiable life, to know nothing of regret."
She halted and averted her eyes briefly.
I know more of regret than you would guess.
The moment of unwanted vulnerability passed again and Lenya looked at the Qunari again. "Don't expect me to lead you to your atonement. Fighting darkspawn, that will be your purpose from now on."
"As well as yours, elf," Sten replied dryly.
"Comes along with being a Grey Warden, I suppose."
Normally, the term elf was deprecative when coming from out of a human's mouth and hence Lenya hated to get called like that. Yet in Sten's case. it seemed to belong to that Qunari's way of speaking without a denouncing intent.
He was huge, but in all his oddity he seemed to be reasonable and less intimidating than his appearance was implying. More importantly, Sten would be useful; he would gradually raise their slim chances to survive.
"So be it. I'll follow you into the battle." Sten leisurely stepped out of the cage until he stood aside her, which looked nearly comical. A small framed elf, covered in dried blood, in contrary of a massive and brawny Qunari, topping her height about two heads at grim expression in both of their faces was the only thing they had in common.
After a moment, Lenya ignored the lasting stare of the Qunari and bowed down to pick two leafs of an elfroot plant instead. In all the hectic over the Qunari and the Revered Mother she had completely forgotten to treat her scratch, which was still faintly burning. She ground the leafs between her fingers and tend the wound with the green mashed remains of it. Not that it was a bad wound by any means, still she felt instant abatement by the treatment. Her knowledge about herbalism would come in handy during the travel.
"Can we leave this place? I'm eager to be elsewhere." The Qunari eventually raised his voice after a long bout of silence.
"Nothing more than that. I spend enough time here!" Lenya glanced up. "I suppose we have to get you some kind of weapon first and – "
"So you managed to turn the key around in the lock after all. Makes me almost proud."
"Oh Morrigan, there you are. Where is the human? I won't run around and search this whole shem place for him."
She gave the elf only an apathetic shrug. "Last time I checked, he was crying at the Chantry's wall how bad life is treating him. I don't care either way."
"Umm, not really, but thanks for your concern. I guessed you would be here. Cage, Qunari and all that." Alistair's expression was grim and he avoided to look at his fellow Warden. He was still too mad to give in and doubted his mood would change so soon again. Nonetheless he had to follow her now or else she would abandon him in a heartbeat. Ruthless enough for it was she, that she had already proven to be true. " I have enough of this place. Let's move on."
Lenya glowered at him. "That is the first smart thing I hear you saying today."
"Oh pleased to hear that, commander." Alistair glared at her. "May I be of service otherwise?"
"Actually yes. Get the needed supplies. Take Sten with you. He need a sword or something else he can kill with."
Alistair looked up to the tall man and sighed narrowed his eyes as he took the money out of her hand, tone sharp."As you wish, my lady."
Sten snorted, glancing down to Lenya. "Is that how you want to defeat the blight? With talking?"
"No I actually thought to use a huge army, many pointy things and blatant violence instead. Which requires to have a pointy thing, actually."
"Parshaara. Then let us go to the merchant, human."
"Oh wow, now I have two companions who are unwilling to acknowledge my name. I feel so special."
Sten peered down at the Warden, unimpressed. "This would require to know your name, human. Less talking, more acting. Now move." Groaning, he moved unwillingly into the known direction of the merchant near the chantry, with Sten in row.
"And what now? Waiting until the fool returns?"
"I guess so. You can also play hide and seek in the meanwhile, if you like," the elf answered, harsher than intended. As much Lenya appreciated Morrigan's presence, she was nerved that she broke the stillness with her gratuitous comment. Stillness, she direly needed and sought now, if only for a tiny amount of time. She rubbed a hand over her dirtied face, feeling the weariness resettle over her. "I'm tired. I just need a moment to breathe."
And to suppress the thought of how amazingly great my life has become since I gulped down the so-called-cure.
Lenya was exhausted, but not stupid enough to give in to the illusion that they could immediately rest once they have left Lothering. With her experience of being one of the wandering folk, she knew that there could still pass hours until they'd have found a suitable and secure place enough to camp. She plainly hadn't the slightest idea where to go next after Lothering. Curling up to a ball and to wait until all would be over was definitely not one of her preferred way of handling things, but right now it was an alluring option nonetheless.
Lenya gritted her teeth, as she arched her back and felt the strain within. Her armored hand found somehow the calming fur of the mabari and absentmindedly stroked it. Arai whined concerned as he cocked his head up and licked her hand. As if a spell has been broken, stubbornness kicked in again and superseded the prior feeling of despair within her. She bowed down to her hound, the faintest of smile grazing her expression. "Thank you, lethallin."
"You are an odd woman."
Lenya blinked repeatedly and glanced at the witch, dumbfounded. She had completely forgotten that Morrigan was still here. So she quickly corrected her lax posture and expression, hoping she hadn't recognized her slip of emotion.
Right, strong and good leader, that is. Ugh.
She had no time to answer as a very agitated Alistair rushed toward her, his weapon drawn and shield ready. "Darkspawn. Not afar from here."
He hectically pointed to an undefined place behind the windmill and Lenya asked herself why by the creators she should even care. As Lenya still not showed any sign of movement, Alistair decided to wait no longer and ran toward the appointed direction on his own.
It has been a bit unthinking of him to storm all the way back as if the Maker Himself would have chased him, but at the crude and yet familiar feeling of sensing darkspawn nearby, Alistair had no other choice. Knowing that she couldn't sense darkspawn just yet, she wouldn't notice them until it was too late. Regardless of how much she drove him insane, he couldn't abandon his fellow Warden.
There were other voices yelping for help, faint in the distance, but yet grip around the hilt tightened, as he counted the darkspawn in his mind, the tainted blood within him singing with their presence. He resented that part, the remaining, eerily, incoherent bits of their communication buzzing in his head, which he was unable to mute down, when they were so close.
Alistair reached the stone bridge, the tainted creatures long aware of his presence stormed toward him with raw, murderous intent. A faint glimpse to above and he recognized two, little persons cowered in the corner, right before his shield crashed into his first opponent, snapping him back to focus. His roaming eyes counted three, four hurlocks, who were slowly circling him and he cursed his impulsive and downward suicidal behavior. At least until two known blades and the chill but welcomed feeling of magic joined the fight.
Hunting, focusing on and killing the prey, that were things Lenya had learned as soon she was able to walk. It was natural to her like breathing, her blades were like extended arms of her own – and yet they felt heavy as she ran it through the rotten flesh of a hurlock.
It was a different sort of hunt, an unbalanced, dangerous act of hunting the prey and being one herself. One misstep or mistake and all would be over. In contrary to hunt an animal, a darkspawn wouldn't back away and seize its chance to kill. So she shook her weariness off to focus, and dodged a sword wielded with brutal force. Today she wouldn't be the prey, nor on any other day...but she would hunt mercilessly instead. Whatever it would take to survive the madness that was now her life. As if the Dalish wanted to emphasize her oath, she chopped the genlock's head off Alistair had pushed in her way.
Lenya loathed darkspawn, but she had quickly had learned to despise the Alpha Hurlocks in particular. Basically for their utter ugliness and smell, though most because of their toughness; for it would take longer to kill them. She glanced over to Alistair, who was attacking it first. Her fellow Warden seemed to have heroic, suicidal tendencies and to be an idiot in a whole, but she knew she could count on him, when fighting. A small part of her even respected him for it.
The Alpha snarled as it got pushed back by Alistair's shield and tried to strike at the elf with his sword. The creature had easily more force than the woman, but she acted quick-minded enough to dodge the attack and strike at a lower level instead. The freeze of Morrigan's wintergrasp spell from behind ended the fight and the darkspawn's life unexpectedly abrupt.
"Happy now?" She snapped for air and glowered up to her fellow Warden, who was equally breathless.
He avoided her gaze. "Well, sor-"
"Parshaara. Why did you ran off all the sudden, human?" Sten interrupted his words, as he walked up the bridge, full-packed with all the supplies.
"Oh, I didn't want to be late for the little darkspawn party here, you know. Sorry that you'd missed it."
Sten's eyes roamed over the area, recognizing the darkspawn corpses on the ground. "Obviously."
"Well at least you have our supplies and a sword, I see," Alistair tried to shift the subject and took a few steps forward to be away from the fuming presence that was Lenya.
"That merchant gave me those freely, without wanting any money. Odd."
"What a timely arrival, my friend. We are most obligated for your help." Two male dwarves approached closer, one older and bearded and the other one seemingly younger. Alistair recognized them, they were the ones screaming for help in the first place.
"Well at least one is," Morrigan snarled vexed and thwacked Alistair with her wooden staff on the head.
"Ouch," he howled out, looking confused and hurt at the witch.
"Next time you are off to play idiot hero, 'tis you I freeze."
"Next time I'll wear a helmet, that is."
"And the point is?" Morrigan shrugged, apathetic. "There is nothing there that needs protection, anyway." Alistair sighed in resignation and pondered if it wouldn't be safer to get back to where Lenya stood, but the Dalish wasn't there anymore.
"It is a dwarf!" Lenya said and tilted her head in awe before the two men. "A dwarf, "she repeated, even more excited.
"Err...yes...apparently so," Alistair murmured, bewildered by her sudden mood swing and delight.
"I've never seen a durgen'len before..." Arai barked in solidary agreement, though more for the barking itself, then anything else.
Morrigan tapped impatiently with her foot. "Yes, wonders never cease, I take it. Can we move on?"
"But we haven't thanked our rescuer yet," the elder dwarf intervened." Let me introduce myself; I'm Bodahn Feddich and this is my son Sandal. Say hello, Sandal."
The younger dwarf stepped forward. "Hello."
"Might I asked where your journey leads you, and maybe offer a little reward for your most needed help?" Bodahn asked.
"No and yes. The reward, I mean. Rest is Grey Warden business," Lenya said curtly, all prior enthusiasm in her voice now gone.
Bodahn's eyes grew wider. "Grey Wardens? That would explain a lot. Now I fear your kind of excitement is too much for us to journey with you."
"Apparently, it is," Sten said, deadpanned.
The dwarf stepped forward with a smile and put a few coins in Lenya's hand. She looked down to it, seeing that it were two golden and one silver coin within her palm. She didn't knew its value, confusing as the shem currency was, but hoped it was much. They would need it.
"Now let me say goodbye and all the best to you, my friend. Come on, Sandal we have a full packed cart of goods to get fixed." Bodahn turned around again and started to gather the things his cart had lost before.
"See, we even earned money through it. So everything is fine, right? Alistair said, almost apologetic. "Now let's move on and find a camp for the night, shall we?" The grunt Sten made was the only respond he got, while the two women followed him in fuming silence.
Until they would find a suited place to camp, Lenya feared it was going to be still a long, long journey.