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"Isabela! My dusky goddess! You have buried yourself in the flesh of my heart, like a worm in a red, red apple." A man said, approaching the pirate in the Hanged Man tavern at the bar as Isabela shook her head.
Wanda neared them and seemed disgusted, with Isabela as well at the man's innuendo's until Isabela sighed in relief at the sight of Wanda.
"Oh, look, my friend is here. Excuse me." Isabela said as she got up.
"But I haven't gotten to the part where I invite you to feast upon my tender white flesh!" The man pleaded.
"That's all right. I think I'll manage." Isabela said quickly as she followed Wanda as the pirate chuckled. "Speaking of romance… You and Fenris, eh? That taut, controlled body, the brooding demeanor and intense gaze…" Wanda blushed. "I hear he wears the shackles from his life in bondage… under his clothes. You know what they say about men like that, don't you?"
Wanda sighed, knowing Isabela was trying to get a laugh at her and wanted to get it over with. "I'm going to regret asking you to continue, am I?"
"He can't find a saw." Isabela burst out laughing hysterically as Wanda wiped her face and rolled her eyes, blushing. "I had you there! You thought I was going to say something dirty!" The pirate giggled quietly, nudging Wanda, who took a deep breath and clenched her fist, trying to resist the urge to smack Isabela in the face.
Marian came to visit Merrill at her house.
"I've got something to show you. Come and see." Merrill showed Marian the broken mirror in her room. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Marian couldn't tell if it was beautiful but there was something that got her attention about the mirror. "Something seems… off about your mirror. Shouldn't it reflect the room?"
Merrill shook her head. "No. It's not that sort of mirror. I've spent the last few years restoring this. Two of my clan stumbled across it in a ruin. We never found Tamlen." She lowered her head, sad. "And Theron came back… poisoned by the eluvian. Sick just from being near it."
"What are you trying to do with this mirror?" Marian wondered, having a bad feeling about the mirror.
"At first, I wanted to find out what happened to my friends." Merrill sighed. "I told you we never found Tamlen. I hoped…" She shook her head. "But, it's been too long… Tamlen is probably dead by now, if he wasn't already. But still, I know it can help my people. I can at least recover this one small part of our heritage."
"What's an eluvian?" Marian inquired.
Merrill told her the tale, of Arlathan and mirrors that could communicate across vast distances. He had to admit, it did sound rather fascinating. "The Keeper wanted me to destroy the fragment I kept. She said our ancestors meant it to be forgotten. She's wrong. This mirror could teach us so much about who we once were." She rubbed her arms, and got that sad puppy look again.
"What are you trying to do with this mirror?" Marian asked.
"At first, I wanted to find out what happened to my friends. Maybe I could still help them." Merrill said, turning to the mirror. "I suppose the great Hero of Ferelden doesn't need my help now. Anyway, I know I can use it to help my people recover what we've lost."
"Did your clan member recover?" Marian asked.
"He had the Blight corruption, the Keeper said. Marethari's magic was keeping it at bay, but not forever." Merrill explained, turning to Marian again. "A Grey Warden took him away. He promised they could cure him. I suppose they have. The Keeper said he was one of the leaders of the armies that slew the Archdemon."
"I'm sure you wouldn't show something this dangerous to just anyone." Marian realized.
"It's not dangerous. I promise! I fixed it! Or tried to. With blood magic. The mirror won't hurt anyone." Merrill said before she rubbed her temple in frustration. "But… it doesn't work. I've tried everything, and I think it's because it needs to be finished with a special tool. An arulin'holm. And my clan has one. It's been in their hands for generations…"
"I hear a 'but' coming." Marian said.
"I can't go back there alone. You have no idea. The Keeper… I can't talk to her. We fight or talk circles around each other. She has a disappointed frown that turns your bones to jelly. Please help me? You will, won't you?" Merrill pleaded.
"I'll go with you." Marian said.
"Ma serannas. I'll find some way to repay you, I promise!" Merrill said. She took a bite of the pie, and her eyes lit up. "Oh, this is marvelous."
After the events of the previous evening, a nice walk up Sundermount seemed just the thing. Naturally, bandits attempted to attack them, which helped Varric work out some of his lingering issues.
"Wanda, I think you might want to keep a low profile now." Varric said as they walked down the forest after killing the bandits.
"Why?" Wanda asked. "Am I on the templars' radar?"
"If that means that they're closing in on you, then yes, you are on the templars' radar. I was playing with Ser Thrask and Fenris Wicked Grace in the tavern earlier today and he's advising you to lay low. I paid him a good sum to… make sure that the templars don't open their mouths too much." Varric said.
"Thank you. I appreciate it." Wanda said gratefully.
"Don't thank me. It was the least I could do. Although you might want to keep a low profile. Otherwise, it was wasted gold." Varric said as Wanda smiled.
They made their way into the Dalish camp. Lots of people were staring at Merrill. It really did not look all that friendly. Marian glanced around before walking towards the Keeper. She, at least, looked pleased to see them.
"You return to us, da'len. Have you reconsidered this path at last?" Marethari asked.
"I…" Merrill glanced at Marian.
"Go on, I'm with you."
Merrill smiled. "Thank you, Marian." She then looked towards the Marethari. "Keeper, I need the arulin'holm, the ancient carving blade that Master Ilen keeps."
"I see." Marethari said, clearly disapproving of the idea. "You wish to rebuild the eluvian."
"You don't have to approve. I'm invoking vir sulevanan. I'll do whatever task you wish." Merrill said firmly.
"Well, I'm glad to know I can still disapprove." Marethari glared, crossing her arms. "It is your right. I will give you a service to perform, if you insist."
"What did Merrill invoke?" Marian asked, confused.
"Our history belongs to all Dalish, child, so our clan's most cherished relics can be claimed by everyone." Marethari said. "Any Dalish can perform a service for the clan and gain ownership of such item. For a time. That is what Merrill has invoked. Even if she has chosen to live apart, she is still one of the People."
"We appreciate your help." Marian nodded. "This means a lot for Merrill."
"I'm glad that Merrill has friends like you, child." Marethari said, smiling. "I hope you will look after her."
"I can take care of myself, Keeper." Merrill said firmly.
Marethari chuckled slightly. "Yes, da'len. I know. A varterral has taken the lives of three of our hunters. It lairs in a cavern in the mountainside. Seek it out. Slay it. No one else must fall to its anger." She frowned again. "Do this for us, and I will give you the arulin'holm. May the Dread Wolf never catch your scent."
"The Dread Wolf?" Wanda asked, confused.
"Fen'Harel. The Dread Wolf. The elven trickster god, who feasts on the souls of the dead. We have statues prepared outside the camp to scare off evil spirits." Merrill explained as Wanda nodded, remembering the wolf statues she had seen on the borders of the camp.
"What is varterral?" Wanda asked as they were nearing the cavern.
"A giant five-legged creature. They are not common but not really rare either. We would have to be very unlucky to bump into one in the woods." Marian said.
"You ever faced…"
"No but I've seen the pictures and heard the stories. Most people would do best to run at the sight." Marian said as Wanda nodded.
As they entered the cavern, not surprisingly, it was full of spiders. Wanda casted a shield to protect them from the webbing before Varric shot the spiders and Merrill and Anders burned them with rain of fire before Merrill gasped upon seeing the dead hunters in the tunnels and the spider's nest as Merrill gathered their amulets, while Isabela and Wanda hugged her in comfort.
Naturally the cave was home to giant spiders. He put up a wall of fire to drive them back as Isabela worked quickly to cut Merrill and Anders free of webbing.
Suddenly, they heard footsteps.
"Is someone there? It's safe, you can come out." Marian called out.
"Hello?" A young elven man peeked around a corner. "Praise Andras- I mean, the Creators. I thought I'd never get out of—" He froze and paled at the sight of… "Merrill?"
"Aneth ara, Pol. Are you hurt?" Merrill asked, worried.
"Stay back! What do you want from me?" Pol demanded, backing off, terrified as everyone looked confused.
"Pol, what's wrong? I'm here to help!" Merrill said.
"Stay back! Don't touch me!" Pol said, terrified, backing away.
"Calm down, Pol. We're here to bring you back to the camp." Wanda said, raising her hands.
"Merrill couldn't hurt you if she tried. At worst, she might make frowny faces." Marian tried to assure him.
Pol shook his head and continued backing away. "She'll do worse than hurt me. Don't you know what she is?" He turned and ran. "Creators, help me! Someone, please!"
Merrill went after him. "Pol, no! We have to catch him. Hurry!"
They ran to catch up with Pol but it did not take long until they saw a varteral near him as Pol screamed and fell down.
"Hold on, Pol! We're coming!" Merrill yelled.
Wanda, Isabela and Anders dodged, when the varterral tried to cut them with its legs. Anders sprayed fire into its head. To their surprise, the creature had no eyes. Wanda created a shield before it could slice her and Isabela into two. Marian rushed under it and sliced its stomach before Anders sent a hail of icicles at it as it fell down.
Merrill knelt towards Pol's corpse, crying.
"Pol… maybe it's not too late!" Merrill then turned to Anders in despair. "You can help him, can't you, Anders? You can heal anyone!"
"Merrill… he's gone." Anders said, giving her a sympathetic look.
Merrill cried and Isabela wrapped her arms around Merrill and held the girl while she cried. "Why did you run? You shouldn't have run!"
"Do you need to be alone?" Wanda asked, not sure what to do.
Merrill got up as she took a breath to get ahold of herself. "No. Thank you. I… we have too much to do for me to sit here, bawling." She wiped her eyes. "Pol was unlike the others. He was city-born. Worldly. He ran away from Denerim and found us. I thought if anyone would understand, he would. This… something is very wrong, I need to see the Keeper."
As they walk through the caverns Merrill was still trying to get her head around of what just happened.
"Pol… What was he thinking? He acted like I was a monster…" Merrill whispered.
"Don't blame yourself, Kitten. Sometimes men do senseless things." Isabela assured her.
Marian, Wanda and Anders scowled. There certainly was more to it than it seemed. And it was likely connected to Merrill's eluvian mirror and her using blood magic.
"The varterral is dead." Marian said to Marethari.
"Ma serannas. I'll breathe easier, knowing that we will lose no more people to it."
"We found these…" Merrill handed the Keeper the amulets.
"I'll return them to their families." Marethari said.
"We lost Pol. In the cave, he… he fled at the sight of me, straight into the varterral."
"Many of the clan fear you'll bring back the corruption—or worse—from the mirror." Marethari explained as Wanda and Anders again narrowed their eyes. This just confirmed their suspicions.
"And where did they get that idea?" Merrill asked, offended as she crossed her arms.
"I am their Keeper, da'len. It was my duty to warn them." Marethari said, concerned. "It's still not too late for you to return to us. Reconsider—there's no need for you to live alone."
"Must we go over this again? You'll never accept what I'm doing." Merrill snapped.
"The Eluvian is poison. It killed Tamlen. It stole Theron. It led you to blood magic. Will you let it twist you further from who you are?" Marethari was still pleading with Merrill, who had her stubborn face on. Finally, Marethari just shook her head, and turned to Marian. "Hawke…" Marethari threw a carefully wrapped item at her. "Because Merrill won't listen, I give this heirloom of my clan to you for safekeeping. Please… don't let her do this."
Marethari left as they seemed more worried. Marian and Wanda were confused why would the eluvian mirror be dangerous, if it had been cleansed of corruptions.
"Thank the Creators. I thought…" Merrill sighed in relief. "Maybe she'd go back on her word."
"Merrill, I'm not sure it's worth it. That mirror is turning your people against you." Wanda pointed out.
"You know what it's like to lose everything, Wanda." Merrill said. "Not just our land and freedom, but history, stories, language, magic, rituals. Even our gods are gone. It is a sacrifice, but if the mirror restores even one fragment of the past, it's worth it."
Marian and Wanda sighed. Obviously, there was no talking her out of this. Marian handed Merrill the item as she hugged her with a delighted squeal. How many times had Bethany done the same thing, back in Lothering? "Thank you. I knew you would understand." Merrill smiled before she stiffened as she saw the looks the other elves were throwing her. "Let's be away from here. The others are giving me the evil eye."
Later in the afternoon, Marian went to visit Merrill, who was sitting by the Eluvian. She got her when she heard her footsteps and looked at her with a look of great gratitude.
"Marian… I could never face the Keeper myself. I never imagined a human would help me restore Dalish history. No one ever understood. Not my Keeper, not my clan… just you." Merrill said.
"When the eluvian is finished, they'll appreciate all you've done to help them." Marian said. Deep down she was worried that Merrill's obsession with the cursed mirror and her using blood magic would be her downfall but she had convinced herself that she could protect the naïve elf from herself.
"It's alright. Even if they hate me forever, I'll know I helped them. You and Wanda are the first real friends I've ever had. Ma serannas, lethallin." Merrill said as before Marian saw the look on her face.
"What happened in that cave wasn't your fault. Pol did that to himself." Marian said.
"I know." Merrill nodded. "But I caused it. Or the clan did, filling his head with terrible stories about me. You're a true friend, Marian. Someday, I'll make it up to you, lethallin."
Wanda went to see Aveline at the keep and saw her bearing down upon one of her guardsmen.
"We'll need to give them answers by tomorrow, Captain." The guard said.
"I'll have them. Dismissed." Aveline said authoritatively.
"The seneschal was particularly vocal—"
"Dismissed." Aveline insisted. "You'd think the captain of the guard could requisition a templar or two, but no, that would be demeaning. Can't have them working for the people when eternity needs a nanny."
"You must have known this job wouldn't be easy." Wanda said.
"It's not the challenge. It's the unending part." Aveline sighed. "And really, I blame you and Marian. You poured money into a pot that was already full. Everything has shifted." She crossed her arms. "Good job validating the fears of every anti-Ferelden in Kirkwall."
"Aveline, come on. You don't really mean that." Wanda said, knowing that Aveline was just frustrated.
"I'm just harassing you." Aveline chuckled. "Although you two are a bit like the center of a hurricane. You've changed fortunes for many people. Not always for the better."
"Aveline, you know that if you need help, you can ask me and Marian." Wanda offered.
"I know." Aveline nodded. "I may not agree with the path you two go down… but I'm glad to have met you."
Present
"They aided a blood mage?" Cassandra demanded, shaking her head. "I'm starting to think that the rumors about the Champion and the Scarlet Witch and these Avengers were correct."
"From what I've heard, the Avengers like to help those they believe are worth helping, no matter how lost in their paths they might be and that is how Wanda had started. Sounds familiar?" Leliana gave her a pointed look as Cassandra sighed.
"I know. I know." Cassandra said, giving Leliana an apologetic look.
"Besides, the rumors indicate that Merrill no longer uses blood magic. It might be their influence. My agents tell me that she is actually helping elven refugees, leading them away from the fighting and protecting them. Can we truly condemn her for that?"
"No, but we should see what the dwarf has to say."
So, what do you guys think about it?
Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far and want for me to continue.