The glare from the sun blinded her eyes. No, not the sun. Torches. Hundreds of them in a long, otherwise dark hallway. Was she underground? She had to be. Thinking back on the last few hours, she couldn't remember much. Faint flashes of bright lights, blues and whites. But she could remember opening her eyes, seeing the face of Liam with a large grin standing in front of her. She felt...complete, whole.
Then the memories came. Thoughts of being empty and lifeless, barely functioning enough to survive. Being so alone that there weren't even thoughts, just actions.
But seeing light again, taking it as it was and valuing it, seeing the purpose to life, it didn't feel like an end. It felt like a beginning.
Neither of them wanted to dismount. There was no safe place to leave their horses, let alone any place where they weren't likely to bolt. Leliana had plenty of confidence in Onyx, but not even she expected the poor horse to remain where he was when there was a tidal wave coming for him.
"Well?" Aedan was evidently out of ideas.
She glanced nervously at the water, back to him, and sighed. "I suppose we go into the cave. It's not like we have any other options."
"This is a bad idea."
"I know, but it's all we can do." She swung her leg over Onyx's side, dropping into the soft sand, and started forward, tugging the horse along by his reins. Aedan followed suit, ending up in the lead somehow, whether because he wanted to be first or from his longer legs, Leliana wasn't sure. She wasn't going to object...much. After all, he was the one with the shield.
She took one look at the steep dropoff once they were inside and shook her head. It's a cove, not a cave.
He nudged her and nodded towards the back of the overhang. There was a small wooden structure, weather-beaten and covered in vines, situated next to a large outcropping of stone. A rickety pier jutted out into the body of stagnant water; small black spots dotted the support beams and Leliana assumed they were barnacles of some sort.
"Looks like the home of an old bat," Aedan commented.
"Sounds about right," she replied. "Take Onyx's reins and let me check it out. If I see anything, I'll call you up." He nodded, catching the leather cords while Leliana went on ahead. She stuck close to the wall of the cove, headed for a large boulder. If she could get on top of that, she might be able to see through the cracks in the walls without being spotted. And if by some horrible chance, whomever was inside came outside, she'd be safer above them. No one ever looked up.
Running the last few steps, she leapt onto the craggy surface and hauled herself onto the stone, pausing to catch her breath and recover from the pain lancing through her leg. She held a hand to her knee, keeping it bent at an angle that kept her weight off her ankle, and returned to watching the hovel. The light from inside was flickering wildly, probably because someone kept passing between her and the fire.
She crept a bit closer, trying to hear what was going on over the crashing of the waves outside. It sounded like arguing, but over what she couldn't tell. The light shifted again, revealing a small cave behind the house, fenced in by twigs and stones.
Then she saw it. Jasper's horse. The mare was tied to a wooden stake, just out of reach of the water trowel.
There was no doubt about it now. Jasper's miracle woman was almost definitely a mage, and definitely a member of this cult operating out of Highever.
Leliana slid back a couple of inches, snagged her hand on a grip, and swung the rest of her body down to the ground before letting go. She jogged back to Aedan, who was waiting off to the side, holding both horses still even though they both looked like they were ready to run for it. She gave him an approving smile and took Onyx's reins back.
"See anything suspicious?"
"Jasper's horse is tied up out back," she reported. "Looks unharmed, but they've kept water from her. I couldn't tell if that was intentional or not, but..." She trailed off with a shrug. "Whoever's in there is arguing with someone else."
"I doubt they'd allow Jasper to keep his tongue flapping."
"So we should be expecting two mages, at the very least." Aedan gave a grim nod, looking past her to the home. "Follow my lead. I've got a plan."
"That's your job, isn't it? Coming up with the plans, I mean."
She flashed him a grin. "I am the smart one." It was hard to see what face he made at her, but she assumed it was something akin to sticking his tongue out (hopefully not quite as childish).
"Let's get this over with," he grumbled with a sigh. Leliana nodded her agreement and began tracking through the sand-strewn stone, not bothering to try and conceal her and Onyx's approach. The light was still flickering wildly, but as they got closer and closer, it was easier to see shadows. Four of them, two unmoving and two constantly waving arms and jabbing fingers at each other. The argument became audible again when they were a few yards from the door. It was something about "what to do with the two in the back."
Leliana tugged up her hood and wrapped the edge of her cloak around her shoulder, hunched a bit, and raised her fist to knock. "Hello?" She made a half-frantic motion at Aedan for him to get down, and thankfully, he made himself look like somewhat of a mess before the door swung open. It revealed a young man, probably sixteen or seventeen, with disheveled hair and a frown plastered to his face.
"Who are you?"
She did her best to give him an apologetic smile. He didn't seem to buy it. "The storm, we were caught in it. It's damp and cold out here, doubly so out there, and we were wondering if you would allow us—"
He slammed the door in their faces.
Aedan bristled beside her, even went so far as to start reaching for the door, but Leliana caught him and mouthed, "Wait." He didn't look happy about it, but followed her suggestion. If she was right, he was only asking for permission, and if she was lucky, they'd let them in.
The door opened again a few moments later. "You can come in. I'll take your horses around back."
She slapped on an overly-grateful smile and passed Onyx's reins to the boy. "Thank you so much! You have no idea—"
"Yeah, yeah, shove it."
Charming.
He led the two horses to the pen with Jasper's mount, leaving Leliana and Aedan to show themselves in. The templar went first, simply because he chose to, and looked more nervous than a kid going to see a local healer. Leliana smiled faintly to herself at the irony of that statement.
Despite having broken-up walls, the shack was surprisingly warm compared to the outside air. The pair turned from the small hallway into the room that dominated the center of the small building, finding themselves not far from the source of said heat. It was a rather large firepit, dug right into the stone by magic, and was being fed by torn cloth and dry twigs. A girl was seated next to it, tossing sticks into the flames at random intervals, and refused to look at the guests standing in the doorway.
Leliana noted the door across the room; it was placed in such a manner as to lead into a tunnel system. That might be important later.
Another door was set to their left, slightly ajar, revealing darkness and shadow darker than Leliana thought possible. This entire building made her skin crawl, but just looking at that room made her want to run for it.
Two women, one somewhere around Leliana's age and the other older than Dorothea, came from the room, followed by a middle-aged man. The woman carried a staff, gnarled and clutched so tightly she could probably pass it off as a walking stick. Leliana was suspicious enough to believe otherwise. While she was probably the same woman Jasper had talked about last night, she was definitely a mage. She just...gave off that feeling.
"Damien said we had visitors." The woman's voice sounded like nails on a board and made chills run down her spine. "He never said they were so...fit."
Out of the corner of her eye, Leliana saw Aedan's fist tighten on the hilt of his sword. So he knew something wasn't right as well. She had hoped as much. He should've known that since she told him about Jasper's horse, but Aedan didn't come off as the overly suspicious type. He might've wanted to believe her counterpart was right and she was wrong, and she didn't blame him; she wanted to believe that too, but after being gone for so long, she couldn't ignore the fact that something had happened.
"Are you travelers?" the younger woman asked.
Aedan took the lead. "We're bounty hunters for Teyrn Cousland," he explained. The lie came from him so easily, Leliana could've believed he had experience lying. "Looking for a bandit leader. He was last seen on the coast, but..." He shrugged sheepishly. "Our hunt for him hasn't gone so well."
"Ah, the storms," she replied. "They'll do that. Highever doesn't typically get such terrible storms."
Leliana could imagine Aedan giving her the "I told you so" look if he didn't have to act surprised.
"I'll keep that in mind for future reference," he said smoothly.
Silence lapsed over the room, the only sound that of the girl's fueling of the fire. The three standing across from them seemed entranced by its flames, as did Aedan, but Leliana's eyes never wavered from the elderly woman and her staff. She didn't trust these people whatsoever. They were hiding something, namely Jasper.
"Thank you for letting us stay here," Leliana said carefully.
The mage glanced up from the fire and smiled coyly. She had to resist the urge to reel back and grimace; that smile made her sick to her stomach. "But of course, my dear. It won't do us any good to look like hermits on the coast."
She gave a small smile. "You might want to, ah...rethink your living space, then. It...it feels like somewhere a hermit would live."
"You are quite the Orlesian," she said, chuckling.
Yes, sure, believe that. I don't care; I'm trying to figure out what we should do.
The front door opened and closed, followed by a mild stream of curses, and the teenager, Damien, reappeared in the doorway. He pushed past Aedan and Leliana, going to sit beside the firekeeper. They exchanged a few hushed words, but not before Leliana saw what he was concealing. Dark liquid, dripping from his arm. Blood.
She shook her head. "Just pointing out what many would agree was obvious."
The woman wasn't paying attention anymore. She was more concerned with Damien. "Did you tend to our guests' horses?"
"Yes, ma'am," he said. Leliana tried not to be awed by the show of respect.
"And assist our other guests with their things?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Other guests?" Leliana interjected. "I didn't realize others would be passing through such a remote area."
A patronizing smile covered the woman's features. Her two friends started toward the table against the far wall; dozens of wicked knives were cluttered across it. Leliana's hand drifted closer to the pommel of her blade. "Usually it's quiet out here. You know how it is."
She felt something pressing on the back of her neck, right at the base of her skull. It was uncomfortable, but more than bearable. At first, all it did was make her head twitch to the side slightly. Then it became nothing more than a pest, something telling her that yes, this woman was a mage, and yes, she was a blood mage.
The elderly woman's eyes narrowed. "Are you feeling all right, dear?"
Leliana scratched the back of her neck. "You and I both know that's not going to work."
Another patronizing smile. "What won't work, dear?"
By now, the two others had chosen a pair of daggers each, and were watching Leliana and Aedan with renewed interest.
"I know about your list."
The woman paled considerably. So did the two rogues. The man recovered first, face twisting up in a sneer. "You're the one he said would be a problem."
Aedan drew his sword. The man lunged for him, but Aedan swatted aside both daggers and drove the silver blade through his chest effortlessly. The younger woman let out a cry of anguish, the mage started speaking frantically, and far off, ever so faintly, Leliana was aware of Aedan collapsing beside her. It didn't matter now, though. What mattered was stopping the blood mage.
Luckily for her, neither of the two women were all that bright. She had one arrow whipped across the room in a heartbeat, sinking into the rogue's neck, and the other thrown directly into the witch's shoulder. With where it struck, she should've collapsed and started bleeding out, but instead, she summoned a chunk of the stone beneath her feet and threw it forward. Leliana dove out of the way and pulled her bow off her shoulders, knocking an arrow to the bowstring and having it fired in a matter of seconds. It hit her in the center of the chest with enough force to knock her off her feet; she collapsed as well, coughing up a mouthful of blood. She'd be dead in less than a minute.
Leliana got up off her knees, eyes narrowed on the two teenagers sitting by the fire. Neither of them moved during the small fight, and they remained sitting where they were now, totally unfazed by the woman staring at them.
"Damien, go let them out."
"Got it." The boy leapt to his feet and ran through the back door, presumably to free their other "guests." Or at least, Leliana hoped he was told to free them.
The girl didn't move, so Leliana edged towards Aedan, who had rolled onto his side and started coughing hard enough it sounded like he was going to hack up a lung. As she crouched beside him, it became apparent there was blood coming up with each cough, but she wasn't sure what kind of spell could be used so quickly as to cause internal damage.
While he coughed, she reached over to his satchel, rooting through as quickly and carefully as she could manage, and finally produced one of the healing potions. He watched her warily as she popped the cork out, brows knit together; her hands were shaking, and no matter how practiced her motions seemed, no matter how calm she made herself look, that shaking gave away the panic she was feeling.
Leliana refused to lose someone else to these mages and their friends.
"Do you think you can stop coughing?" Aedan gave one hard cough, spitting out blood onto the jagged stone, and nodded weakly. He reached for the flask, but she gave him a hard stare, and shook her head. "I don't want you dropping it. Sit back."
His eyes narrowed further. He didn't trust her.
"Aedan, please."
His eyes met hers, focusing so intently it actually scared her, but she resisted the urge to give in. They glared at each other for several minutes until Aedan started coughing again, at which point she went to grab his arm, but he recoiled, terrified.
"She tried to force a demon on him," the girl said softly. "I don't blame him for being suspicious."
Leliana looked between him and the girl, still sitting and tending to the fire, and sighed. "We don't have time for this. You don't have time for this. You keep coughing like that, and you'll fill your lungs with blood and choke on it. Trust me, Aedan. Please."
He only kept coughing.
She wanted to scream in the worst way. He had looked away from her in his fit, but she grabbed him by the chin and turned his head back to her. His hand latched onto her wrist, and the murderous stare he gave her, she thought he might actually still be able to kill her in this state.
"I'm not losing you, too," she snapped. "We've gotten through most of this mess together and we're going to finish it that way. Stop struggling."
The next few seconds passed so unbearably slow that Leliana almost knocked him unconscious and forced the potion down his throat. But when she went to, his grip on her slackened and he released her, watching her just as suspiciously as before. She couldn't blame him for it; if she had known that witch could've gone so quickly between targets, she wouldn't have taken so long to kill her.
"Slowly," she said. He nodded, barely, once. His skin was ridiculously pale; he'd lost enough blood coughing like that. He probably had enough in his lungs to drown any man who wasn't trained the way he was.
Her hands were still shaking, but Aedan latched onto her free one, and she held it back, helping him stay upright. She only let a mouthful or so out of the flask with each tilt, frowning slightly as he swallowed each of them. She was waiting for him to throw it back up, a sign that this was useless, but he kept the potion down, and by the time they'd gotten through half of it, his grip on her had tightened. Some color had returned to his face as well, and he was holding her wrist to his mouth, keeping the flask where it was.
For a half a second, Leliana thought she might be able to cry from how relieved she felt. Then she made a face and pushed it aside, putting on her typical emotionless expression.
"That's adorable!" The urge to scream returned, but her relief almost doubled at the sound of Jasper's voice. "In a sad sort of way, at least. Is he all right?"
She didn't look back at him, but her brows furrowed. "He should be perfectly fine once he gets this down."
The light in Aedan's eyes made Leliana's throat tighten. She was sure if he didn't have that vial in his mouth, he'd be teasing her. And she really didn't want to smirk at him, but she did anyway, and she thought he returned it.
No.
The instant he was finished drinking the potion, she got up and left, bloodied and all.