Eruestan came to in a place as far opposite from the Hanging Elf as possible.
He was kneeling down in the center of a large marble ruin, hands tied behind his back. The others, all sporting large bruises, were in a similar position. Eruestan winced as his hand gave a sudden jolt of pain. Definitely broken, he thought miserably.
But that was going to have to wait for now. There was a rather more pressing matter that was going to need to be taken care of.
At the moment, about thirty elves stood around them, all armed to the tooth.
Eruestan gulped. This was going to be tricky.
However, before he had a chance to form any battle plans, one elf stood out from the circle. She had long brown hair, kind eyes, and very, very large ears.
"Andaran atish'an, Grey Wardens," she said calmly.
"Lanaya?" Eruestan said incredulously. Lanaya had led the Dalish elves during the Blight, and was now the unofficial ruler of the various clans.
She bowed her head. "It is good to see you, lethallin." She turned to the other elves. "You see, my brethren? These are the Grey Wardens who have been such friends of the People."
An old man spat at them. "Bah! I see no heroes, or friends! I see only four shemlens, a durgen'len, a Qunari, and a blood-traitor. How dare you defile this meeting of the Council with such scum, Lanaya?"
"We need their help, Erynion," Lanaya said clearly. "Surely you can agree with that."
"Like they could offer us help," the man said contemptuously. "They are too weak to do anything."
Oghren murmured something.
"What was that, durgen'len?" the old man barked.
"I believe it was an implication that he would have strength enough to have relations with your mother, unless I am much mistaken," Morrigan said calmly.
Wynne groaned. "I really don't think this is the time for this."
"Well, it's true," Oghren chuckled.
"Enough!" the old man snapped. "Can't you see, my brothers and sisters? We should kill these Grey Wardens on the spot for their disrespect."
"Erynion, how can you say that?" a brown-haired elven man said from the other side of the circle. "Your own daughter was killed by this creature!"
"And she would be enraged to think strangers avenged her!" The old man stood up, livid. "The idea of my Alya being in debt to these fools! Rhachon le, Landion! And you, Saerwen, who has lost so many of her clan to this fiend! How can you ask them to accept the aide of these strangers, these traitors, in bringing about the death of a monster? Dôl lost lîn."
"Sa farn palan," Lanaya said firmly. "Erynion, remember that no clan has the right to insult one another during the Council."
Leliana gasped.
"Yes?" an elven woman asked suspiciously.
"Nothing…it's just, I have always wanted to see a session of the Council of the Dales!" Leliana said excitedly.
"You know of our customs, shemlens?" the woman asked curiously.
"Yes, and she also speaks Elvish," someone said loudly. Eruestan looked over to see Gondian standing beside them.
Lanaya nodded. "I remember, from the Blight. You had knowledge of the People beyond that of even Zathrian."
"Ma serannas, Keeper," Leliana said shyly.
"And you are welcome." Lanaya stood up straighter. "So, Leliana, I presume you know the reasoning behind a meeting of the Council?
She nodded. "The Council is called together whenever a threat arises that affects every clan of the Dalish."
"Unfortunately, you are correct. A great evil has descended upon the People, and we are powerless to stop it."
Cries of outrage fell from the lips of several of the representatives. Lanaya held up a hand.
"If we are ever to solve our problems, we must have the forbearance to admit our weaknesses and accept help," she said firmly. "Every party we have sent out has disappeared. Our hunters have been found dead. Our children have gone missing. How are we to end this if we cannot turn to others for assistance?"
"What exactly is happening?" Eruestan said worriedly.
Lanaya sighed. "It started about two months ago. One of my hunters went out in the morning to try and find game. He did not return. His body was found a week later, shriveled up as if someone had sucked the years out of him. We searched high and low for his murderer, but there was no trace to be found. We pegged it to fate, packed our camp, and left. Then the next hunter went missing…"
"We soon came into contact with our brothers and sisters from the other clans, and they, too, claimed to have something stalking their hunters. Search parties were sent out—none returned alive. Every corpse we find looks the same as the first—withered, almost mummified." She shuddered. "Something terrible is killing our People, and we must stop it!"
Alistair coughed.
"Is there a problem, shemlen?" a young woman asked.
"You mean other than the fact that I was knocked out and kidnapped?"
"Naw, I think she was aware of that, mate," Eruestan said, grinning.
"Well, in that case, nope, not much."
One of the Keepers gave Gondian a stern look. "I apologize for that, Grey Warden. Gondian is one of my hunters, and I'm afraid he was a little too…forward in his intentions."
"Forward?" Rowena said indignantly. "He had us knocked unconscious! With rocks!"
"Again, Grey Warden, my apologies." The Keeper smiled sadly. "However, this quest has taken a personal note with Gondian and my clan."
"How so, boy?" one of the other Keepers asked.
Gondian straightened up. His mouth was firm; however, his eyes were tormented. "Yesterday, my wife's brother was kidnapped by the beast."
Murmurs came from the crowd; a young woman with long black hair stepped forward.
"I have searched high and low for Marcaunon," she said. "And yet I cannot find him. I fear the worst."
Marcaunon? Eruestan thought wildly. No, no, it can't be him…it must be a common name, that's all…
"I am sorry, Herenya," Lanaya said solemnly. Eruestan gasped; the name triggered a memory of a young black-haired girl playing tag with him. Could these elves possibly be who he thought they were?
Lanaya turned back to the group. "So now you see our sorrow. We elves are strong people—however, this is a task that is too great for us alone. I beseech you, Grey Wardens, help our people to rid ourselves of this evil once and for all."
Eruestan looked at the woman named Herenya. There was worry written in her eyes—eyes almost the exact same shade of grey as his…
"We'll do it," he said suddenly.
"What?" Wynne and Morrigan exclaimed.
"We have to help," Eruestan said, amazed how his voice seemed to be speaking for itself. "We're Grey Wardens—it's what we do."
Wynne blanched. "This sounds like blood magic of the worst kind, Eruestan. I don't like it."
"Neither do I," he said. "But that doesn't change what's right or what's wrong."
She nodded reluctantly.
"I for one shall not stand for it!" Morrigan said sharply. "This is foolishness of the worst degree! Why should we put ourselves in danger for those who view us as inferiors? Besides, were we not on the way to Lothering to help with Oghren?"
Oghren grunted. "The way I see it, here we'll be able to smash some heads and see some action. The best we'd get in Lothering is lyrium poisoning. I'm all for this."
"Morrigan, we really should help," Rowena said quickly. "The Dalish helped us during the Blight—we need to return the favor."
The witch huffed impatiently. "I suppose 'tis true…"
Lanaya gave a sigh of relief. "Wonderful. Gondian, Herenya, talk to the Grey Wardens and give them directions to where Marcaunon was last seen. Good luck to you, Grey Wardens. May Mythal the Protector watch over you on your travels."
"Thank you, Keeper," Eruestan said.
Lanaya snapped her fingers, and the bonds holding everyone's hands back disappeared. She and the others then left for their various camps.
With a sigh of relief, Eruestan began to stretch his arms…only to yell in pain when he tried to move his hand.
"Oh, dear," Wynne said, running forward. "Let me help…" She gently picked up his hand and whispered a few words; instantly, there was a warm glow emanating from it that quickly healed his fractured bones.
"Excellent," he said appreciatively.
"And now for the others…" With a wave of her hands, Wynne bathed everyone in a blue light that made their various bruises vanish. Rowena walked quickly over to Eruestan.
"Did you hear what they were saying?" she said urgently. "About the elf that's missing? Do you think he's your…"
"I don't know," Eruestan said quietly. "I guess we'll find out."
The party approached Gondian and Herenya silently.
"Awk-ward," Alistair said under his breath.
Gondian bowed. "I apologize, Grey Wardens. I was unaware of another way to get you to come to us."
"Riiight, because asking us to follow you would have been too easy," Alistair said.
The elf ignored him. "Marcaunon is a much-loved member of our clan. He is like a brother to me, in more ways than one." He put his arm around his wife. "I am glad you have decided to look for him."
"Where was he last seen?" Eruestan asked quickly, mildly embarrassed by the praise.
"Marcaunon likes to hunt alone, and away from the normal sites," Herenya said quietly. "I would start looking near the old Tevinter ruins in the middle of the forest. Perhaps you can find some clues as to where he is from there."
"Thank you," Eruestan said; she nodded.
Rowena nudged him in the side. "Go talk to her," she whispered.
Eruestan nodded. "Could I speak with you in private?" he asked the elf hesitantly.
She looked at him strangely, but nodded and walked away with him.
Unsure of how to begin, Eruestan opened his mouth and started to speak.
"Be quiet," Herenya said tensely.
Startled, Eruestan's mouth hung slightly open.
She turned around and looked him straight in the eye. "I know what you want to talk about."
"Y-you do?"
"Of course. Your last name is Surana, you're from the Denerim Alienage, not to mention you look just like the both of us…" She stared at him defiantly. "You're our long-lost brother."
"Um…I guess…" he said slowly. "Yay?"
She shook her head. "No. Not 'yay'. You destroyed our family!"
Eruestan stood there, stunned.
Herenya got into his face. "You know what happened after you were taken away to be a mage? Huh? Our mother died. She just gave up. Stopped eating. Stopped sleeping. Completely wasted away. After she died, Father committed suicide. And there we were, five children completely alone in the world. We were sent to the orphanage, made to beg for scraps. Did you ever have to put up with that? Did you suffer the thousand humiliations that we did? Did you have to live through raids, and plagues, and famines? Marcaunon and I eventually got so sick of it that we ran away to join the Dalish. Helenniel became a servant; Beriadanwen and Máfortian were sent to Gwaren. And what about you? You got to become a mage, and a Grey Warden, and a friend to the King. You are not a part of this family, elf. You aren't even a member of the People. Look at you; you even sound like a shemlen."
"I was raised in the Circle," he said, dazed, his rote response for when elves called him out on his different accent. He shook his head, and a little bit of indignation flared up inside him. "I'm sorry, but wasn't I taken by force from the Alienage after I froze a soldier to a tree?"
The girl crossed her arms. "You ruined our family. That's all that matters." She took a step forward. "Find Marcaunon. Redeem yourself. Save our brother."
"I-I will," Eruestan stammered, completely thrown off.
She shot him a look of supreme contempt. "I doubt it," she said darkly. Without a backwards glance, she headed off to her camp.
Some reunion this turned out to be, Eruestan thought bitterly.
The next morning, the party headed out before sunrise. Still smarting from the night before, Eruestan led the way, not wanting to talk to anyone. Which, of course, meant that everyone wanted to talk to him.
Rowena: "So, did it go well? Eruestan? Was she your sister? Hellloooo?"
Alistair: "Soo…Rowena told me to talk to you because you're scaring her or something. So, uh, you alright there, mate? Mate? Ok, cool, glad we had this chat."
Wynne: "I think Oghren stepped in some poison ivy, but I'd really rather not go near his feet, so if you could just…look, I know it's revolting, but don't I at least get a response? Well! If you're going to look at me like that I'll just ask Morrigan to do it!"
Morrigan: "Kindly tell Wynne that I am not here to identify the fungal infections rampant on dwarven feet. Eruestan? Are you…ignoring me? Well, I…! I would expect this from Alistair, but not from you! Hmph. Perchance there will be more than one person afflicted with a fungal infection tonight."
"LOOK, I DON'T WANT TO TALK, OK?" Eruestan shouted, spinning around to face whoever had approached from behind him. It was Leliana.
"Well, that's fine, but there's something I need to show you," she said breezily.
"Er…yeah, let's do that," Eruestan muttered embarrassed.
Leliana pointed to a large boulder carved to resemble an eagle. "This isn't Elven," she said quietly. "These are Tevinter markings. I think we're getting closer."
"Great," he said. "Look, I didn't mean to yell…"
She waved him off. "You don't want to talk," she said pointedly. "I understand."
He blushed as he realized what she meant. "Point taken," he mumbled, crushed.
Suddenly, there was a light touch on his arm. He looked up to see her hand on his shoulder. She looked at him with a mixture of pain and affection. Then she turned around and walked on.
"Well, THAT was a mixed message," he said to no one.
The group walked on for another hour, passing under countless trees, tripping over hidden roots, and frightening away small animals. The sun began to blaze down on their necks.
Eruestan looked up into the sky, to see if he could determine the time by the sun's position. However, something just barely peeking over the trees made him jump visibly.
"Everyone, look!" he said in awe, pointing up.
There were collected gasps of wonder as everyone raised their gazes up to the tree line. Towering over the trees was a giant head.
"It's a statue," Leliana whispered. "The Imperium constructed them to remind everyone they ruled over of their power. This is probably over one thousand years old."
"Let's go," Eruestan said. "This is probably where Marcaunon was."
The party approached the statue with mild trepidation. It was even more massive when you could see its body.
"It's almost like it could come to life or something," Alistair breathed.
Rowena nodded. She looked down to see what it rested on…and suddenly gasped.
"Look!" she cried.
Lying at the base of the statue was a corpse.
Eruestan ran forward and pushed the body onto its back. Staring down at it, a wave of nausea swept over him, and he felt like he was going to retch.
The corpse looked like its flesh had shrunk a size far too small for it. Its lips had disappeared, giving it a horrible, leering grin. Vacant eyes bulged out of their sockets. A few scraggly strands of hair were all that remained on the body's scalp.
"The poor thing," Wynne said sympathetically. "I hope it went quick."
"You don't think this is who we're looking for, do you?" Rowena asked nervously.
Eruestan shook his head. "No, from what I remember the only one of us to have blond hair was my younger sister."
Rowena jumped up and squealed, "I knew she was your sister! She just had to be! Oh, Eruestan, I'm so happy for you!" She turned to the others delightedly. "Eruestan found his family!"
Leliana jumped up too. "This is just like in all the tales! The hero is taken away from his family and ends up saving them when he returns!" She and Rowena hugged each other happily and began to jump up and down.
"For the love of the Maker, stop!" Eruestan snapped, glaring at them. They froze, confusion spreading across their faces. Eruestan sighed. "Look…they don't want anything to do with me, alright? They think I killed our parents and caused them to be split all across Thedas." He looked away. "I'd rather not talk about it."
Alistair crouched down beside him. "Do you remember Goldanna?" Alistair asked calmly.
Eruestan nodded; she had been Alistair's half-sister whom he had tried to reach out to during the Blight. She basically turned him out on his ass.
"Look, people are odd, alright? Especially if they've had a rough time of things. From what it sounds like, your family's had it really rough. And now that your brother's missing…all I'm saying is that you shouldn't let whatever she said get to you, alright? At least not now."
Eruestan hung his head.
Alistair tried again. "Look, do you remember what you and Rowena told me when I was like this with Goldanna? That you guys were all the family I needed?"
Eruestan nodded.
"Well, maybe you should think about that too. We're you're family. Maker's breath, Eruestan, you're like a brother to me and Rowena—which, considering that we're married, should disturb us all a little—anyway, we're all really close."
Eruestan smiled. "Thanks," he said quietly. He then looked up. "So wait, if I'm both your brothers, does that make you two…"
"Let's not even go there," Alistair said quickly, shaking his head.
Eruestan looked back at the body. Its state implied a magical death; however, it was a spell that he didn't recognize.
"Wynne, Morrigan, let's take a look," he said. The two women bent down over the corpse and held their hands out over it. For a brief moment, the three explored the aura over the body, searching for any key signs of blood magic. Suddenly, however, there was a huge flash of something evil, and the three were blasted back.
Morrigan sat up, dazed. She gently rubbed her forehead.
"You alright?" Eruestan asked, concerned.
'Ye-s," she said, looking very confused. "'Tis…difficult to describe. While I am not certain as to what that was, I am quite sure that I have sensed it before." She shook her head. "'Tis very familiar…'tis as if I am hearing a song again for the first time in a very long period, only I cannot remember the words." She blinked suddenly. "Odd…'tis vanished."
Everyone fidgeted nervously. Leliana, however, looked up and asked, "Well, can you take us any further from here?"
Eruestan nodded. "Now that we've got a sample of magic that's going on around here, we should be able to trace it to where it originated."
Focusing, Eruestan touched a hand to the corpse and pointed another one into the air. There was a weird rushing noise, and all of a sudden a small yellow beam of light flew from the body into the air, shimmering over the trees.
"So it's kind of like finding the gold at the end of the rainbow," Alistair said, impressed.
"Yeah, only the gold is some evil monster that sucks your soul out," Rowena snorted.
As the party walked on, Eruestan began to notice some very serious changes in the forest. All wildlife was gone, leaving a hollow sound to the now empty trees. Even the trees seemed different; their leaves did not rustle with the breeze, and their branches seemed to curl in upon themselves. It was very unsettling.
About another hour later, Morrigan froze in the middle of the path, eyes wide open.
"'Tis started again," she whispered, voice shaking slightly. "Only this time, 'tis stronger—much stronger. This is a great evil indeed."
"Do you remember what it is yet?" Eruestan asked worriedly.
She shook her head. "But I can promise you that we will not like it, whatever it is."
Death now seemed to surround them. Dead animals, dead trees, dead flowers…and dead travelers. All along the forest, the shriveled-up corpses of dwarves, humans, and above all elves littered the ground. Rowena and Alistair instinctively drew closer together, while Leliana drew her bow, prepared for anything.
The group moved slowly, uneasily looking about what seemed to them was an unending cemetery. They stepped out of the forest into a little clearing.
The clearing contained what looked like a normal camp…or at least, what would look like a normal camp, were it not for the fact that the ground was covered in half-eaten corpses.
"What is this place?" Alistair said in disgust.
Suddenly, there was a loud rushing noise. The group looked around to see to its horror that a solid wall of vegetation was growing around the camp, trapping them in. They could hear a distant cackle.
Suddenly, Morrigan gave a blood-curdling scream. She fell to her knees and grabbed Eruestan and Rowena's hands.
"HELP ME!" she screeched. "I KNOW WHAT THIS IS! HELP ME!"
Eruestan stared in terror, having never seen Morrigan like this. He bent over her.
"Morrigan, what is it?" he shouted urgently.
However, before she could reply, she froze, eyes glazing over. Without a sound, she fell to the ground, twitching horribly.
Everyone in the party drew their weapons instantly. Eruestan quickly scanned the trees, looking for an attacker while Wynne dropped to her knees to try and help her.
It was then that he saw it.
There was a tiny ripple in the growth encircling the clearing, and from it a horrendous creature walked forth. It looked like a man—however, its body was at angles and moved awkwardly, as if controlled by a puppeteer. Waves of evil magic emanated from it, washing over Eruestan and making him feel sick.
The creature stopped about ten feet away from them, staring at the ground. Then, it slowly lifted its head and gave a hideous cackle.
Eruestan took in a sharp, horrified breath. He recognized that laugh.
The creature's gaze focused on him. It was the face of a handsome young man…then, with a flash, it morphed into the face of a wizened old woman…a woman Eruestan knew fairly well…a woman he had good reason to fear.
"Flemeth," Eruestan said, terrified.