Chapter 11

After two days of searching, Alim was beginning to wonder whether or not there really was a Dalish clan within the Brecilian Forest at all. There wasn't even a hint that there might be someone living in the forest. At the moment, he was resting up against a tree as he looked over the three people that he was recently placed in charge of. Leliana had hardly spoken to him since they had been set upon by the assassins three days ago and he seriously starting to worry about her. Zevran had been his usual self, making jokes and propositions to everyone in the group. And Alistair had seemed to just be going with the flow of everything.

"Alim," Alistair said painting slightly. "Can we take a break here for a moment? It's not like the Dalish are going anywhere anytime soon."

Up to that point, Alim hadn't realized just how hard a pace he was setting in the woods. He thought that he would be the straggler, not the other way around. Perhaps it was the chance to actually meet the Dalish that had him so excited.

"Ahh, I'm not so sure that would be a good idea my Warden friend. The Dalish are quick to move, and if they've sensed the darkspawn approaching, they will flee." Zev assessed causally scanning the area.

Alim stood up right and took a deep breath. "Zev's right Alistair. The Dalish will flee quickly if they sense approaching danger. It would be best if we found them sooner rather than later."

"Well, all I'm saying is that sooner or later we're-"

"Quiet." Leliana cut in sharply. "Did you hear that?"

The men in the group all went quiet and listened to their surroundings. After a few tense moments Alim was going to ask what she had heard, but then he heard it. A soft moaning sound that was coming from not too far away.

Motioning with his hands, a trick he had learned from both Aedan and Zevran over the time he spent with the two, he signaled the three to spread out. Leliana notched an arrow and drew it back slightly, Alistair readied his shield and drew his sword, and Zev drew his dagger, couched down and started to inch slowly towards the sound. The source of the noise was something that none of them were expecting. A young elf girl was lying on the ground curled into a tight ball. Her long midnight black hair covered her face and ears, but based on her armor she wore he assumed that she was one of the Dalish.

Kneeling down next to her he reached out with his magic and hands to see what was wrong with her. He actions stop however when he felt the sharp edge of a dagger being pressed firmly against his neck. The elf girl was awake. He was frozen stiff with fear, but a quick look into the girl's eyes told him that she was in fact more afraid then he was. And also that she was very sick.

"Drop the knife. Now." Leliana demanded pointing her arrow directly at the young girls head.

The elf's eyes went back and forth between his and Leliana's. He felt the blade slowly leave his throat as the young woman laid back down to the ground. Setting to work again, he reached out with his magic to try and see what was wrong with her. After a moment he stopped. Something was very wrong. "Is your clan or another that you know of near here?" He asked.

The elf slowly raised her hand and pointed off to the east. "Are they close?" Alistair asked.

Letting her arm fall she nodded. Alim stood up and faced the others. "Alistair, see if you can carry her. We need to get her to the Dalish camp quickly, something isn't right here."

Alistair bent down and gathered the young woman into his arms. "By the Maker, she is all skin and bones." He exclaimed when he lifted her.

"That's great. But we need to get her to the Dalish now. Perhaps they can tell me what is wrong with her."

Each member of his small group nodded and they took off in the direction that the elf had pointed too.

While Alim was wandering through the forest, Aedan was laying down next to Kallian and Sten on a small hill as they looked over the village of Honnleath. It was just as the merchant had said. A small band of darkspawn had made it to the village and now there was little left except for a few houses in the village square. Villagers were either dead on the streets, or strung up.

Kallian shivered next to him. "I don't know why they do that. Why do the hang up the dead for everyone to see?"

"Fear." Sten said simply.

"What?"

"Fear. The darkspawn display their kills to frighten or to attract more to their deaths." Sten explained without emotion.

"He's right Kallian," Aedan said backing away from the hillside with the elf and qunari in tow. "The darkspawn try to use fear as a weapon, and for unseasoned soldier's it works out well. When people become frightened they make mistakes. And one mistake could cost someone their life. The darkspawn may be disgusting, but they are fairly intelligent. Well, at least some them are."

Rejoining Morrigan, Wynne, Natia, and Wolf at the base of the hill Aedan went over what they had seen. "So, there is a village full of darkspawn over that hill and no sign of villagers except those who are dead. Why do we linger?" Morrigan asked crossing her arms.

"Because there's a golem in that town Morrigan. Hey, speaking of which, did you guys see it?" Natia asked excitedly.

"Yeah," Kallian said. "It's right in the middle of the horde. Getting to it isn't going to be easy. I could've sworn that I saw an Emissary or two down there."

Aedan stared off in the direction of the village. "Kallian, I want you to use your bow. If you see any of the Emissaries take them out as quick as you can. Morrigan, I want you to focus on the archers. Hit them with whatever you got. Sten, Wolf you two stay next to me and we'll keep the darkspawn off of Kallian, Morrigan and Wynne. Wynne, I want you to keep up the healing. Attack on occasion, but keep us going. Natia, you do what you do best. Stay in the shadows and take down whoever you can."

Everyone gave their consent to their duties and they headed off towards the village with Aedan in the lead. There were no darkspawn on the short trail leading into the village, but that quickly changed once they rounded the last bend and entered the town. Kallian was able to let an arrow loose and Morrigan was able to hit another darkspawn with a Fireball before the creatures had time to realize that they were there.

Aedan and Sten stood their ground as the darkspawn charged. Aedan spun his blades around in swirling patterns, taking down one darkspawn after another. Kallian's aim proved true as she was able to take down the one Emissary before it could charge up a spell. Sten used the great sword he held to cleave darkspawn cleanly in half. Morrigan stood back with Kallian and carefully chose her targets before either freezing them or setting them ablaze.

When the darkspawn started to retreat up the hill everyone followed them. When Aedan saw what they were retreating towards he stopped.

"Everyone get behind something!"

Acting purely on instinct he grabbed hold of Kallian and pulled behind a turned over cart as everyone else ducked behind or hid under a something solid. Arrows flew all around them, slicing into anything and everything, including the few darkspawn that were near them. "Great, walk right into a line of crossbowers. Son of a bitch." He hissed.

Taking a chance he peaked over the edge of the cart. Hurlocks and Genlocks were running down from the village square to meet them. "Morrigan," he yelled to the witch who was hiding behind a wall. "Burn them!"

Morrigan nodded and began to gather a flame in-between her hands. This time Kallian looked over the cart. "Morrigan, any day now would be nice!" He yelled again.

With a yell, Morrigan came around from the side of the house and threw the fire ball at the darkspawn. At first it looked like a normal Fireball, but that didn't last long. The flame hit one, and then bounced off of one and hit another, then another and then another. The ball kept bouncing back and forth off of the creatures until all of the advancing darkspawn were burning.

Kallian stood up and looked around at the charred corpses. "Whoa, Morrigan that was incredible, what was-"

A soft thump cut her off and made Aedan turn around. What he saw would surely haunt his dreams for the rest of his life. Kallian stumbled back a step and then looked down. An arrow had pierced through a thin separation in her leather armor. The arrowhead was clearly buried into her chest.

Looking back to him her eyes were filled with shock. Weakly she reached out for him before her eyes closed and she fell.

Leliana supported the head of one of the wounded Dalish and urged him to drink some water. The elf slowly took some, but started to cough violently when she gave him too much. Pulling the bowl away from him she wiped his mouth with a cloth and laid him back down. Picking up the water skin she moved over to the next bed and lifted up a female elf's head so that she could drink.

Upon arriving at the camp, the Dalish elves immediately pointed their arrows at the group and threatened to kill them. If it wasn't for the fact that they were carrying a wounded elf, she was sure that they would've killed them even though there were two elves in the group. They were then taken to the Keeper, Zathrian, and Alim was allowed to make his case about why they were looking for the Dalish and why they were carrying one.

As to the elf they brought with them, Zathrian was not sure what was wrong with her. She was extremely sick, but her symptoms were different compared to what the other elves in the camp were dealing with. Zathrian showed them around the camp and all of the sick and wounded Dalish that were there. He explained to them that creatures called 'Werewolves' had ambushed the Dalish as they were passing through the forest. What was worse was that anyone who was bitten by these creatures eventually turned into one; that was of course if they even survived the change in the first place.

Alim, of course, had immediately offered their assistance to the Dalish; provided that they would in turn honor the Warden Treaties of old and aid them in the battle against the darkspawn. Zathrian agreed full heartedly, and explained what needed to be done. Deep in the woods there was a creature called 'Witherfang'. It was this creature that led the werewolves. If it was defeated and its heart brought back to the camp, then Zathrian could create a cure for the disease before anymore of the Dalish died.

A moan from the elf that they brought in though, called them all up short. Alistair placed her down on a cot where the Keeper directed, and then the Keeper, his First, and Alim began to work magic on the young woman. Leliana looked around the camp and bent over to pick up a water skin while they worked.

"What are you doing Leliana?" Alistair asked.

"We might be here for a time. Who knows how long it will take to find out what is wrong with that girl, and while we're here we might as well make ourselves useful instead of standing around." She said and then pointed at the ground. "There are two more water skins and some cloths. You two, go around and help the wounded with either their wounds or by offering them water. Now."

Leliana wanted to get to Denerim fast and confront her mentor and one time lover, but the compassionate side of her told her that she was needed here for the moment tending to the elves.

After an hour in the camp Alim had stopped working his magic and came back to the others. "Well," Zev asked coming back from taking with the craftsman of the clan. "What's wrong with her?"

Alim shook his head. "I don't know and neither does Zathrian. Him and his First, Lanaya, will stay here kin order to work on her. We need to head out into the forest and see if we can't find this 'Witherfang' and bring its heart back here. The Dalish that are wounded here in camp will be in serious trouble if we can't get a cure to them soon."

"Well, as long as we're going out into the woods, we should try and find some Ironbark," Zev said waving back at the merchant. "Varathorn, the clan's craftsman has promised to make something for us if we bring him back enough ironbark."

Leliana remembered a short conversation she had with another elf while Alim was working. "We should also try and find a Dalish named Danyla in the forest. Her husband is worried because she hasn't come back yet and the Keeper told him that she was dead."

Alim nodded to them all and picked up his staff. "Well then, I guess that we have our work cut out for use then. Let's get this over with then. The sooner we find the heart the sooner we can heal all of the elves here."

Aedan was sitting on a chair with his head in his hands as he watched Wynne work. Before Kallian could hit the ground he had caught her and picked her up. Wynne had immediately directed him over to an abandoned house on one side of the town and had him set her down on a bed. He didn't even notice that everyone else had set about to killing the rest of the darkspawn. His only concern at the moment was Kallian. He was determined to stay by her side and hold her hand, but Wynne moved him off to the side so he couldn't see the elf while the mage worked.

He heard Wynne cut open the leather armor with the knife that he had given her, and then he heard the ripping of Kallian's cloths so Wynne could get at the wound. "This is bad Aedan." She explained looking down at the elf. "The arrow is barbed. It does more damage going out than it does going in. I'm afraid I'm going to have to open the wound more in order to take out the arrow, and then heal whatever damage has been done."

His mind was blank. The image of Kallian standing there, her mouth open, her eyes pleading, and an arrow sticking in her chest was constantly running through his mind. The others had stopped in briefly to tell him that they had finished off the rest of the darkspawn and that they were going to try and activate the golem. He gave the control rod over to Natia without question.

Wynne was still working on repairing the damage done when the door opened again allowing Natia and Morrigan to enter the small house. Both of them were quiet until as they looked at him. "How is she Aedan?" Natia finally asked after a few moments of silence.

Aedan lifted his shoulders. "Wynne's working on her."

Morrigan clapped him on the shoulder. "Not to worry. She maybe a school teacher, but she can heal better than anyone, even mother for that matter."

"By the Ancestor's Morrigan. I think that's the first time you've ever complemented Wynne." Natia said jokingly towards the witch.

"If you cannot be quiet, then I suggest you leave." Wynne said not looking up from Kallian. "In fact, I think it would be best if none of you were here right now."

Aedan stood up and began walking out. "Wolf," he called. "Stay here and guard them. No one gets in unless it's us. Understand?"

-Bark-Bark-

Aedan looked back one more time then left the house. Once outside he took a breath. "Natia, where's the golem?"

Natia started fuming. "The Ancestor Forsaken thing doesn't work." She yelled waving the control rod around.

Aedan looked down at her. "What do you mean, 'it doesn't work'?"

"Well, either this isn't the right control rod, or that merchant gave us the wrong chant." Natia said glaring at the control rod.

"We've other problems too, I'm afraid." Morrigan said offhandedly.

Aedan rubbed his eyes. Of course, there were always more problems and never any solutions. "What is it now?"

The witch looked around. If she was put off by his tone, she didn't show it. "I sense a demon somewhere in the village. It is very possible that it was the demon that caused the darkspawn to arrive. It doesn't happen very often, but it isn't unheard of for demons to attract the darkspawn."

"Magic." Sten said the word with distain.

Aedan stared at the witch with new found purpose. "Can you tell me where the demon is?"

Morrigan nodded. "Yes, tis this way."

Alim fell onto his back, his staff in front of him as he fought off the giant spider that was attacking. Pushing as hard as he could he flung the creature off to the side and rolled. Getting his feet under him, he leveled his staff and set the creature ablaze.

This forest was one danger after another. At first it was just some wolves that attacked them, but it went from bad to worse in a hurry. Shortly after their encounter with the wolves, they were set upon by a small group of werewolves. Seeing one for the first time caused Alim to freeze in fear, and that almost cost him his life. Leliana pushed him to the side just in time from a razor sharp claw to fly through the space he was just in.

That quickly brought him out of his stupor and cause made him react. After that encounter he was much more cautious of his surroundings. The next surprise came shortly after that, when a group of werewolves came up and started to talk to him. According to Zathrian however, the werewolves were mindless beast, and they shouldn't have been able to talk at all. After a very short conversation the werewolves ran off into a deeper part of the forest, forcing them to follow. Next there was a small band of darkspawn, which wouldn't have been too bad except for the fact that an Ogre was with them. After that, they were set upon by trees. Trees of all things.

One of the older trees however talked to them, and told them about where the werewolves were hiding and what they had to do in order for it to help them. That led them to dealing with a crazed bloodmage who was hiding in the woods. While hunting the mage, they also came upon another werewolf, but this one identified itself as Danlya, and begged them to kill her and bring her scarf to her husband. Once they finally caught up to the werewolves, they got their first good look at Witherfang.

It looked like a normal wolf, but Alim could feel that there was some kind of spirit in it. It wasn't a demon, but it was definitely something with ill intent. Witherfang called off the werewolves and then quickly retreated with them into an old ruin.

Getting through the ruin though was proving to be another problem altogether. Between the spiders, werewolves, corpses, and sprits that were running around Alim was surprised that the group was still alive let alone relatively unharmed.

Alistair pulled his sword free of the last of the spiders. "You know, I'm starting to think that Aedan got the easier route here."

"Ah, but what is life without a little excitement, am I right my pretty little bard?" Zev asked cleaning blood off his blades with a discarded cloth.

Leliana was busy restocking her quiver with arrows that she found laying about. "I can do without this Zevran, and without the distractions," she said without looking at the elf.

"Oh, so cold, yet so beautiful." Zevran said shaking his head.

Deeper in the ruins they came upon a large open room. Alim was about to take one step into the room, but was hauled back by Leliana before he could do so. "Leliana, what's the-"

She covered his mouth with her hand. "This isn't right." She said simply.

Bending over she picked up a stick and threw it into the room. Once it hit the floor two pieces of metal shot up from the floor and broke the stick in half. "Be careful," she said looking at him. "Broken bones take a long time to heal, and you're our only mage here."

Stepping carefully the group made it across the room, and stopped dead in their tracks at what they saw laying on the ground. There were several piles of silver and copper and at least a hundred sovereigns spread all over the ground as well as some piece of shining armor and weapons.

Zevran whistled and then punched Alistair on the arm. "Now you see my friend, we did get the good route after all. I doubt the others will find something like this in that village. Maybe in the Keep, but that is some time away."

A low growl caused them all to turn around slowly, and come face to face with an adolescent dragon that was slightly taller than any of them. "Yeah," Alistair said drawing his sword. "Should've gone the other way."

Aedan marched down the corridor halls in the underground pathway. They had come across several villagers who had created a barrier and were hiding behind it in order to protect themselves from the darkspawn that were still in the tunnels. After dealing with the darkspawn that were in the room the apostate that had created the barrier lowered it. They talked briefly about the golem outside and why it wasn't working. The man told them that they had the wrong phrase and then told them that he would only give them the correct one if they went into the tunnels deeper and rescued his daughter who had run off.

Aedan didn't let the man say anything else and marched off down the corridor then man pointed at. At the end of the tunnel they found the young girl. She was kneeling down talking with a cat. Amaila looked up at them when they came into the room. "Oh, are you here to play with us too?" She asked innocently.

Aedan went down to one knee in front of the girl. "Your father is looking for you Amaila. He's worried about you and wants you to come back with us."

The girl shook her head. "No, I can't leave Kitty."

Natia came forward. "Come on girl, your cat can go with us."

"I'm afraid that I can't."

Natia jumped back and Aedan fell on his backside as the cat's eyes glowed a dark purple. "Demon." He hissed.

The little girl giggled and rubbed the cat. "No, Kitty isn't a demon, she's my friend."

Morrigan leveled her staff at the cat. "Release her now Desire."

The cat tilted its head to one side. "No, I like this one. I won't let her go."

"Then leave demon or die quickly. We have no time to deal with you." Sten said drawing his sword.

The cat stood up and stretched. "If you kill me, then I'll take the girls mind with me. And as for leaving, if I could've left, I would've done so a long time ago. The wretched mage that brought me here all those years ago also sealed me into this room. I cannot leave as long as his barrier exists."

Aedan looked back and forth between the cat and the exit. "If we release you, then you let go of the girl and leave. Agreed?"

The cat looked up at the girl. "But I do like this one. But if letting her go is the price of freedom, then I agree. Solve the puzzle that the mage left, and I will be free."

Aedan stared at the puzzle behind the demon. The flames were jumping from one square to another, and the direction of their movement depended on an arrow that was on the square also. "So, all we have to do is get the flame to move from one end to the other correct?"

He waited for the demon to nod before he started to move the tiles around. He had no idea how long he worked on that puzzle, but it would've taken him far longer had Natia not been there to help him. Between the two of them they were eventually able to rearrange the tiles so that the flame traveled from one end of the puzzle to the other. When the flames connected, the room shook and the barrier that was guarding the room glowed brightly then shattered.

"Ohh, the feel of my power. It's been so long I'd almost forgotten it."

Aedan pulled out his sword. "Now, uphold your end of the deal. Let the girl go."

The cat looked at the girl. "I rather like this one though. I won't let her go."

Amaila began to realize something was wrong. "Kitty, what is it? You're scaring me."

The demon laughed. "Don't worry my pretty, soon we'll be together forever."

Amaila back away slowly and then ran away out the entrance. "No. Don't Kitty. I won't let you in."

The cat started to glow. Aedan pulled out his two swords and stepped back, ready to face the demon. The cat grew and soon a Desire demon was standing in its place. The demon slowly ran its hand's over its body. "Ohh, this feels soo good. Perhaps I can reward you then. Let me in won't you?"

Aedan steadied his stance and held his blades out in front of him. "Never demon."

The demon chuckled. "Such a foolish human. I guess you'll have to die instead. What a waste."

Desire waved its hand. All around the room Shades and Corpses started to rise from the ground and stand with the demon. "Sod," Natia swore. "I think I should've gone with the elf on this one."

In the deepest part of the ruins in the Brecilian Forest, Alim found himself standing face to face with the so-called Lady of the Forest. She seemed to be almost able to control the werewolves which caused suspicion to run through his mind. She had sent some of the werewolves out to get him because she had wanted to talk to him. What she had to say thought completely through him off. She told him the story of the curse and Zathrian's role in its creation.

"So, you're telling me that Zathrian created this curse in order to punish those who killed his children. But that he can end the cures at any time he wishes?" He asked the spirit.

The Lady nodded once. "Yes. All will all return to their normal selves and the curse will be no more. However, Zathrian's anger knows no bounds. He will sacrifice even his kin to punish those long dead."

"Great, so now what do we do Alim?" Alistair asked.

Alim looked back at his companions. None of them were sure what to do. They were set on going out and killing these creatures, but now that they heard their story, they were unsure as to what their course of action should be.

Alim's gaze met that of the Spirit. "What would you have us do?"

The Spirit smiled slightly. "Find Zathrian. Bring him back here to talk to us. We do not wish to harm the elves, but we wish to be free of this curse that is no longer justified."

Alim looked back at the others to see what their thoughts were. One by one they each agreed. Looking to the Lady of the Forest he nodded their consent. "We'll bring Zathrian back here with us. But first you promise us that no harm will come to us or Zathrian as we leave and come back."

The Lady waved at the werewolves who each went down to one knee. "We have an agreement."

Aedan sat next to Kallian and held her smaller hand gently in-between his two larger ones. After they killed the demon and left the underground passage Aedan, once again handed off the control rod to Natia and went to the home where Wynne was working on Kallian. Coming into the house he saw that Wynne was gently placing a blanket over the elf. When she saw him, she explained that the Kallian was out of danger for the moment. Luckily the arrow had not struck anything vital and, with the aid of magic, she would be able make a full recovery within the next couple of days. Wynne then excused herself, saying that she needed to find a place to lay down for awhile.

Raising Kallian's hand, he placed a gentle kiss to the back of it. "You scared me Kallian. You have no idea how much you scared me. I lost my family, friends, everything before becoming a Warden. Then I lost everything again when Loghian betrayed us all at Ostagar. But for some reason, whether it was the will of the Maker or not, I gained it all back and more with you Kallian. I can't lose you Kallian. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Probably trip over your own feet because I wasn't around to make sure your boots were tied correctly."

Aedan's head snapped up at sound of her soft voice. She was still laying down flat, but her head was tilted towards him and her green eyes were focused on him. He felt slow flush pass over his face. "How long have you been awake?"

Her smile grew slightly. "Long enough to hear what you've lost and gained."

His face was heating up more by the second. "You weren't supposed to hear that."

Her free hand reached up and caressed his face. "You've nothing to be embarrassed about Aedan. I feel the same way too."

Reaching out, he copied her movements and gently cupped her face. "You scared me Kallian. You have no idea just how much you scared me."

Her eyes softened. "Yes I do Aedan. After we were separated at Ostagar I felt something within me die. I wanted to die. Alistair and Natia tried to talk to me, but I just ignored them. It wasn't until Wolf found me that I felt the first glimmer of life again. I know what you felt Aedan, that's why I swore that I would always come back to you. And that's why I made you promise to always come back to me Aedan."

Aedan fought hard not to laugh. It seemed that the right to put a dagger into him was reserved only for her. Smiling he leaned in and kissed her. Passion started to overrule his common sense as the kiss deepened. Kallian's arms wrapped around him and pulled him in close.

Just as things were starting to hear up more, a sharp intake of breath from the elf though froze his passion as reason flooded back into his head. 'She's hurt you idiot. This isn't the time for this'.

Reluctantly, he pulled away from her. Her eyes were a mixture of pain, sympathy, and most of all; desire. "Soon Kallian," he promised running his fingers down her face. "Soon."

"Hey Aedan! Get your tongue out of her throat and let her sleep. Besides, you gotta come out here and see this."

Growling he faced the door. "I swear. One of these days I'm going to do something drastic to that sodding dwarf."

Kallian's chuckled softly as she closed her eyes. "You wouldn't do that Aedan. Besides, once she reunites with Zev we can get her back."

He felt his mood lighten at her joking tone. It was simply amazing how easily this elf from Denerim could lift his spirits. Standing up, he placed on last kiss on her lips. "Rest now," he said gently rubbing her forehead. "We'll be leaving shortly. I'll remove some things from the pack horse so you can ride it. And no, I don't want to hear any complaints from you. Wynne said that she's going to have to heal you a couple more times before you are fully recovered. Now, I better get outside before Natia starts yelling out some of her more obscene sayings."

The new Keeper Lanaya stared into the fire as Alim finished his story on what happened. "I think he knew that this was going to happen," she said after a moment of silence.

"Why do you think that?" Alistair asked. "He still wanted us to kill all of the werewolves almost right up until the end. He only changed his mind at the very last moment."

The new Keeper leaned back. "I don't know. When he left the camp after you four, he just had this look in his eyes. He looked at everyone in the clan and studied them before leaving. It was almost as if he wanted to etch everyone into his memory. I think he was ready to die for his people. He had to know that something bad was going to happen. I just didn't suspect that he was cause of the clan's suffering. Maybe not directly, but he was the cause of it."

Alim picked up his staff and used it to help him stand. "In the end he died serving his people Lanaya. He should be remembered for serving his people, not for bringing about this curse."

The Keeper stood with him. "Yes. Now, let me say this officially as Keeper. The Dalish will honor the treaties with the Grey Wardens. I will speak to the other clans that I can find and gather whatever elvhen are in Ferelden."

Alim bowed to the Keeper. They had done it. They had secured the allegiance of the Dalish. That only left the dwarves and then the Arl of Redcliffe.

"The clan would be honored if you stayed with us for the night. It is late and you all must be tired. Please, rest here for the night."

Alim turned to his companions.

"Some rest would be good I think." Leliana said with a shrug. "It's not like Marjolaine is going to leave Denerim within the next few days."

"Well, if they're offering a place to stay, then I say we take them up on it." Alistair said looking around.

"Time amongst the Dalish hmm. Could be fun." Zev smirked.

Alim faced Keeper. "We would be honored to share your fire's this evening Keeper. As long we are not intruding."

Lanaya smiled. "Please, for now call me Lanaya. It will take some time before I am use to being called 'Keeper'. We owe you our thanks Warden. There is no intrusion. Speaking of which, there is still one more who wishes to speak with you."

Lanaya moved aside and the elf that they saved on the road came forward. Her armor had been cleaned and a bow with a full quiver was now attached to her back. Behind her head on either side the hit of a dagger stood upright ready to be drawn at a moment's notice. Her midnight black hair was tied back so she could proudly display her tattoos which wove around her forehead and under her eyes like wild vines. Her brown eyes were still fogged over slightly, but her skin had regained much of its color.

"Aneth ara Wardens." She greeted with a slight bow.

"Greetings to you also." Alim said in return. He understood a little of the elven language, but living in the Tower the Templar's had forbidden anyone from learning it. If the Templar's couldn't understand what you were saying, then you had to be a Bloodmage by their logic.

As she straightened he was able to get a good look in her eyes. Even though she was sick he could tell that a fire burned beneath them. And as he gaze settled over the humans in the group he could see her eyes tighten slightly. "Are you all truly Grey Wardens?" She asked.

Alim pointed to himself and Alistair. "No, only Alistair here and myself are Wardens. Leliana and Zevran are not Wardens, but they are traveling with us all the same to stop the Blight."

She looked them all over again and bit her lip. "This is difficult to say, but I've been searching for the Wardens for a few days now."

"Searching for us? Why?" Alistair asked from behind him.

Her face lowered. When it came back up Alim was surprised to see her almost begging with her eyes. "My clan has left these lands, and I was forced to stay behind to seek the Wardens. My name is Lyna Mahariel, and I'm dying. My Keeper told me that the only way I would be able to survive was if I found the Wardens. I must become a Warden soon, or I will surely die."

I've been seriously debating on whether or not to put Mahariel into this story, but I got a couple of reviews that suggested I do and that was what pushed me to put her in. Not as long as I usually make them, but I figure this way I can get more out quickly. Thank you to everyone who has followed along so far and thank you to all of the new readers. Please leave a review and let me know what y'all think. Sorry for the wait with this one. I've been dealing with that damn 'Error Type 2' message all week and I must have sent over ten emails to the support people to no avail. Finally i found the forum for the bypass, so hopefully I will be able to update this story. See y'all in the next chapter.