Theron awoke to find he was lying in an aravel, an elven wagon. He removed the blanket that was over him and recognized whose aravel it was. It was the Keeper's. He rubbed his head as he tried to remember the events that had occured. He then got dressed hurriedly and exited the wagon.

No sooner had he stepped into the daylight, Fenarel was standing in front of him. "You're awake! You've got the gods own luck, lethallin. You're back at camp. Everyone is worried sick about you." Fenarel gave him a concerned look. "How do you feel?"

Theron noticed that Tamlen was missing. "Worried. Where's Tamlen?"

"We don't know. The shem and the flat-ear who brought you here saw no sign of him?"

Theron blinked. He didn't know who this flat-ear was, but he remembered a human with a beard looking down at him. "There was a human?"

Fenarel nodded. "A shem and the flat-ear brought you back two days ago. You don't remember them?"

Theron stared at Fenarel in shock. "I've been here for two days?"

"He was a Grey Warden and she his recruit and they appeared out of nowhere with you slung over his shoulder. You were delirious with fever. He said that they found you outside a cave in the forest, unconscious and alone. He left you here and ran off, but not before ordering the flat-ear to watch over you. The keeper's been using old magic to heal you." Feneral explained.

"Is anyone looking for Tamlen?" Theron asked, concerned.

"Of course!" Fenarel assured him. "Most of the hunters are out there looking for him right now. But the keeper wanted to talk to you as soon as you awoke. Stay here—I'll get her."

Theron leaned on the wagon as he watched Fenarel run off. He felt very strange, like a he could feel the blood running through his veins. He could hear a faint melody in his ears and he felt an itch under his skin, it felt as if it was attacking his bones. It hurt all over.

A few seconds later, he was approached by Keeper Marethari and the flat-ear Fenarel had mentioned earlier. The flat-ear was blonde and had two blades strapped to her back, he had met very few flat-ears, but she was nothing like them, she seemed more determined and free-spirited.

Marethari immediately laid a hand on his shoulder, peering into his eyes. "I see you're awake, da'len. It is fortunate Duncan and his recruits found you when they did..." She then looked at the flat-ear. "This is Kallian, one of our brethren from the human cities, at first we thought she was Duncan's servant, but she has informed us that she is one of five recruits."

Kallian smiled. "It is nice to see you up and well."

Marethari then looked at Theron with concern in her voice. "I know not what dark power held you, but it nearly bled the life from you. It was difficult even for my magic to keep you alive."

Theron wanted to inform the keeper how he felt, but his main concern was for Tamlen. "Then Tamlen could be sick, as well?"

She gave a worried frown. "If he encountered the same thing you did, yes."

"We only found you at the cave's entrance, barely conscious." Kallian said, looking as concerned as Marethari. "Duncan thought there may have been darkspawn inside the cave. Is that true?"

"There were walking corpses and other strange monsters." Theron remembered the bear creature and suddenly looked did as if it got the blight. He could have been sick from that it had as much as landed a claw on him.

"Walking corpses?" Marethari narrowed her eyes before shaking her head. "Dark magic, but not darkspawn. I know not what the other creatures might have been. What else did you find? What is the last thing you remember?"

"A mirror." Theron remembered the mirror with a strange writing on it. "Tamlen touched it."

"A mirror?" Marethari blinked. "And it caused all this? I have never heard of such a thing in all the lore we have collected." She sighed, pacing down. "I was hoping for answers when you woke, but there are only more questions." She folded her arms. "And Tamlen remains missing. He is more important than any lore in these ruins. If he is sick as you were, his condition is grave."

"Duncan returned to the cave to search for darkspawn and the other recruits are searching through the forest for them." Kallian pointed out.

"We cannot lie on them to look for Tamlen as well. We must go ourselves, and quickly." Marethari protested as she turned to Theron. "Do you feel well enough to show us the way, da'len? Without you we will not find it."

Theron felt unsure. He still felt dizzy and weak and he wouldn't be much of a help if not in full condition. "I don't know. Is my sickness gone?"

"Your fever broke, and the signs of whatever illness snared you are gone… but truthfully, I don't know if you are free from it or not." Marethari admitted. "I wish I knew more. Still, you seem well enough now." She gave Theron a closer look. "We must watch your condition, but without you we will not find this cave."

"Then I am ready to go." Theron nodded.

Marethari relaxed. "I am relieved to hear it. I am ordering the camp to pack the camp so we can go north. Take Merrill with you to the cave. Find Tamlen if you can, but do it swiftly."

"Take Merrill to the cave and find Tamlen." Theron gave her a reassuring nod. "I understand."

Kallian stepped forward. "I'll accompany you as well."

Marethari looked at her with admiration and concern. "You need not to burden yourself, child. You are not part of this clan and you do not need to burn yourself on our affairs."

"With all due respect, Keeper, Duncan asked me to keep an eye on our friend here." Kallian gestured to Theron. "And while I may not be a Grey Warden yet, I still have a duty to deal with the darkspawn."

Marethari sighed. "Very well, but go quickly, for Tamlen's life hangs in the balance."

"Pray for us, keeper." Theron said, grabbing his bow and quiver.


They were walking around the camp and Theron kept on eyeing Kallian as if she was a new species he discovered.

Kallian turned on him harshly. "Why are you eyeing me like that?"

Theron had once held out his hand in defense. "Sorry, I have very little experience when it comes to flat-ears."

Kallian blinked. "Flat-ears?"

Theron knew at once he said the wrong thing. "You know, elves that live in shemlen cities."

Kallian placed her hands on her hips, chuckling. "Well, try not to say it like it's an insult."

Theron nodded, smiling back. "I will try, but I am curious how you joined the Grey Wardens."

Kallian shrugged. "It was either that or go to prison."

Theron had a feeling there was more to the story than that, but decided not to press on the issue. He was more concerned about Tamlen and nothing else.


Soon Fenarel approached them. "Is the keeper sending you back to that cave to look for Tamlen?"

"Yes, I'm going with Merrill and the flat-ear." Theron said as Kallian narrowed her eyes, making him wince, hoping he had not insulted her.

"I want to go with you. Keeper Marethari probably won't approve, but I can help Tamlen." Fenarel said.

Theron didn't want anyone else to go into that cave. "It's too dangerous, Fenarel."

"Tamlen's my friend too! I want to help him! If Merrill and the flat-ear can risk it, so can I." Fenarel said firmly.

Kallian crossed her arms and gave Fenarel a displeasing look. "The flat-ear has a name, it's Kallian."

"Uh, sorry." Fenarel gave her an apologetic look before he turned to Theron. "So, can I come with?"

"I will not disobey the keeper." Theron said firmly.

"Then ask her! I'll go with you and we'll ask her together. She can't say no to the both of us!" Fenarel pleaded.

Theron sighed. He knew there was no way arguing, Fenarel was stubborn as a mule. "Fine. Come along then."

Fenarel smiled. "Good! Let's go talk to the keeper."

The three of them went over to Marethari and after much persuading, she finally agreed to let Fenarel join them on their search for Tamlen.


They then made their way through the camp, and Theron saw Merrill staring into a fire. He walked towards her, and she turned and gave him a nod. "The Keeper told me I'm to accompany you back to those caves. As her apprentice, I may see something you missed. But our main objective is to find Tamlen, of course." She bit her lip. "We must make haste; he may not have much time."

Theron nodded. "Let's head out now."

Merrill had just noticed that Fenarel and Kallian were with him. "What about Fenarel and the flat-ear? You didn't think I'd notice them?"

"If someone calls me "flat-ear" one more time, I'm going to cut them into pieces." Kallian glared as Merrill shifted uneasily at meeting her eyes.

"We asked. The Keeper has given her leave and the flat—Kallian." Theron said quickly when he saw Kallian's glare. "She insists on coming."

"Then let us make haste while daylight lasts." Merrill said.


Fenarel saw the darkspawn first. Theron drew his bow, firing at the same time as his companion. His shot missed the mark by inches. The second arrow struck the creature, but it took a third for him to drop it. Merrill then caste an ice spell, freezing two in their path and Kallian cut them to pieces with her blades.

Merrill looked terrified at them. "What were those things? We're those darkspawn?"

"That would make sense." Theron nodded.

"They match the descriptions Duncan and Sereda explained to me." Kallian examined, kneeling at their bodies.

"Wait, you've never faced darkspawn until now?" Theron asked, surprised.

Kallian shook her head. "I'm their most recent recruit and I spent most of my time in the Denerim Alienage."

"I've never seen anything like them!" Merrill said, quivering slightly. "You can smell the evil on them. Where did they come from? Where they here before?"

Theron had seen them last time he was here, but the only thing that had changed was the mirror. "Maybe the mirror has something to do with it."

Merrill stared at him blankly. "What would darkspawn have to do with our people? The stories say Arlathan fell long before the darkspawn appeared." She shook her head and looked at the game trial. "Well, we'll find out soon enough. Let's hope we don't find any more these monsters." Theron was about to lead the way, but Merrill grabbed his arm. "Before we go, are you all right? Were you hurt during the fight?"

Theron stared at her and told her reassuringly, "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You… do look quite pale, now that Merrill's mentioned it." Fenarel noted, looking at him concernedly.

Kallian just remained quiet, and Theron had a feeling that she knew what was wrong with him. He then looked at the worried faces of Merrill and Fenarel and looked at them determined. "I'm fine."

Merrill didn't look convinced. "Well, I'll keep an eye on you. You've only just recovered from your illness. But let's not think of that now. We should move on."

They approached a camp as they examined it. "I wonder whose camp it is. Do you remember it being here?" Merrill asked.

"No, this wasn't here. It's fresh." Theron shook his head.

"The Grey Warden said he was returning to the cave." Merrill said but Kallian cut her off.

"No. I don't think this is his camp. I would've noticed." Kallian said, examining the camp.

"And we've seen no sign of Tamlen." Merrill added. They only took a few steps until Merrill gestured for them to stop. "Wait… Do you hear that?"

Theron and Kallian listened, but heard nothing. He had hunted in this forest many times and there was always some noise, but right now it was utter silence. "No forest creatures. It's too quiet."

Merrill nodded. "Exactly. The forest is too… still. Something's in the air..." She then looked around fearfully. "Something unnatural."

"Careful. I don't like this." Theron cautioned.

"It seems whatever you woke up inside that cave has… spread outside." Merrill nodded.

I almost wish I was back in my alienage." Kallian shuddered.

"The sooner we find this cave, and Tamlen, the sooner we can leave." Merrill looked at Theron desperately. "Take us there quickly."


Theron led them up the game trail. The body of another darkspawn was laying just outside the cave entrance, its head nearly severed from its neck. After fighting through some darkspawn, they stepped inside the cave, and looked around.

"So these are the ruins?" Merrill asked. "Interesting." She looked around. "They're definitely of human origin. Yet elven artefacts are scattered amongst them. Nothing explains the monsters though. But we must find Tamlen—or what's left of him. I can't imagine he's still alive with those creatures about."

"Don't talk like that." Theron said, his voice louder than he had intended to sound as he saw her flinch back from the anger in his voice. "You don't know."

Merrill gave him a remorseful look. "You're right. We should explore further before I go on about my fears." She swallowed. "I'm sorry."

Theron opened his mouth, then looked away from her and headed further into the cave. More darkspawn moved towards them. Theron picked his bow and fired arrows but there were too many of them. Theron dropped his bow and rushed at them, drawing his blade, holding back a short, squat darkspawn while Fenarel and Merrill aimed their attacks at the others and Kallian charged in, severing their limbs skillfully.

He spared them only a brief glance before continuing on, stepping over the corpses of some darkspawn that had clearly been killed earlier. All wonder of the place was lost now. Without hesitation, he moved towards the chamber that had held the mirror.


Duncan's senses pinged. He could sense the taint approaching, yet the feeling wasn't quite like that of the darkspawn. He laid a hand on his blade and waited. The figures that came through the door were dressed in Dalish armor.

"So you were the one fighting darkspawn. I thought I heard combat." Duncan thought he had recognized the leader of the small, and then focused his senses. The taint in the young man's blood seemed to pulse and noticed that Kallian was amongst them. "You're the elf I found wandering the forest, aren't you? I'm surprised you have recovered."

The young man gave him gratifying look. "So you're Duncan, the Grey Warden who saved me."

Duncan smiled at the Dalish elf. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. The last time we spoke, you were barely conscious." He then looked towards Kallian. "I see you've accompanied with them, Kallian."

"You told me to keep an eye on him." said Kallian.

"True, but I had no idea he would recover so quickly."

An elven woman gave him a friendly smile and a courteous bow. "Andaran atish'an, Duncan of the Grey Wardens. I am Merrill, the keeper's apprentice."

"And I am Fenarel." The other man said. "Did you..." He looked around, and a note of respect entered his voice. "Come here alone, human? Battling all those creatures?"

"Yes. Though I must admit, you took a great deal of the pressure off me." Duncan gave them a nod of gratitude.

"Where are the others?" Kallian asked.

"I told them to head to the nearest village where we'd meet up later." Duncan said. He then frowned as he looked at the Dalish elves. "Your keeper did not send you after me, did she? I told her I would be in no danger."

The tainted elf looked deeply troubled as he eyed the entire chamber. "We're looking for our brother Tamlen."

Duncan felt a pang of sympathy. "So you and your friend Tamlen both entered this cave? And you saw this mirror?"

The tainted elf turned back towards him hopefully. "You've found some trace of Tamlen?"

"No." Duncan said, giving him a remoresful look. It was best not to let the young man get his hopes up any further. "Nor do I think I will. The Grey Wardens have seen artifacts like this mirror before; it is Tevinter in origin, used for communication. Over time some of them simply… break. They become filled with the same taint as the darkspawn. Tamlen's touch must have released it..." He saw realization dawn on the young man's face, and continued grimly. "It's what made you sick—and Tamlen too, I presume."

"Can we fix it?" Theron asked, looking up at the mirror.

Duncan shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. It will taint all those who come near it, now."

"I do not fear this sickness." Merrill said. "The keeper knows how to cure it."

"She may have weakened it, but she cannot cure it." Duncan corrected before turning to Theron again. "Your recovery is only temporary." In truth he thought the young elf would have lost his senses by now. Clearly, he was quite resistant to the blight, but that resistance was not going to last for long. "I can sense the sickness in you, and it is spreading. Look inside yourself and you will see."

Theron looked away from the mirror and towards him. "Then what should I do?"

Duncan nodded. "First, we deal with the mirror. It is a pestilence and a threat." He stepped towards the mirror, and before the elves could protest, drew his blade and shattered the glass. "It is done. Now, let's leave this cursed place. I must speak to the keeper immediately regarding your cure."

Clearly, the tainted elf did not want to leave just yet. "What about Tamlen?"

"There is nothing we can do." Duncan placed his hand on the young elf's shoulder, looking in sympathy.

The elf closes eyes and lowered his head. "So he's dead, then?" He then looked up into Duncan's eyes his eyes as green as the forest. "Are you sure?"

Duncan watched him for a moment. "Let me be very clear: There is nothing you can do for him. He's been tainted for three days now, unaided. Through your keeper's healing arts and your own willpower, you did not die. But Tamlen has no chance. Trust me when I say that he is gone. Now, we should return."

Kallian looked at the tainted elf sympathetically and looked up at Duncan. "Won't there at least be a body?"

Duncan shook his head. "The darkspawn would have taken it."

"Why would they take his body?" Fenarel questioned as Duncan turned to him. He had almost forgotten the other elf was there. "Not to… eat it, I hope..."

"Darkspawn are evil creatures, and it's best to leave it at that. I'm… sorry." Duncan said, not ungently.

Theron could feel himself deflate. "Can we just leave the cave like this? Is it safe?"

"With the mirror destroyed, I doubt the darkspawn will return." Duncan assured.

"Can we return later and search through the ruins?" Merrill asked. "We could learn many things here besides the mirror."

Duncan shook his head. "The cave is not safe—everything here was exposed to the mirror's taint." He could tell that Merrill would not be swayed so easily. "If your people must come here, they should cleanse it with fire."

Theron nodded. Apparently, there was nothing they could do for Tamlen anymore. If Duncan could have, he would have found him by now. "Very well. Let's go back to the camp."

"I sense no other darkspawn nearby, so it's safe." Duncan assured. He then looked at the elves. "Lead on."

As they walked Duncan could only sense that the only remains of the taint were inside the young man's blood. He wished he had the supplies to do the Joining, but they were all back at Ostagar. He would just have to hope that the young elf will be able to resist the taint long enough to survive the Joining.

He knew the young elf would do anything to continue the search for his missing friend, but that was clearly impossible. If Tamlen wasn't indeed dead, he certainly was as good as dead as well and the only thing they could do was give him a merciful death.