Chapter 28: Don't Get It? Say It Quickly
We packed up camp early in the morning and decided to head west. I say west, but both paths appeared to come around and meet in a circle.
I was waiting for the rest to finish packing, as my tent and my equipping ability gave me a speed bonus, when Kallian found me sitting on a nearby rock, humming to myself and petting Scout, who woke up ready to go.
"That's a nice melody. I think I've heard Leliana singing to it before... I liked how the woman was very sure about what she wanted"
Well, the song was Spice Girls' Wannabe. So, I guess she wasn't wrong.
"You done packing up?" I asked, moving over and patting the place beside me.
"Yeah" She fidgeted in place for a bit before sitting "I wanted to give you something"
I raised my eyebrows "Really? What?"
From behind her, she produced a round, dark ball the size of her palm.
I blinked having expected… well, not that.
For that matter… "I… er, what is it?" I had to ask.
Kallian giggled "It's called a painted skyball. Here, look"
She shoved the thing under my nose, forcing me to take it from her to see it at a reasonable distance. My eyes widened once I realized what I was looking at. The almost perfect black orb had been carefully painted with thousands of little white dots, making it look like the night sky, complete with constellations.
It was so pretty.
"I often see you admiring the sky at night. I thought you might like it" Kallian shrugged, a wry smile on her lips.
I tore my gaze from my gift to the gifter herself. She was fidgeting again, worried about whether I liked her gift. My heart melted.
I leaned over and hugged her "Thank you so much! +10 Approval. Definitely"
Kallian laughed, hugging me back "What?"
"Nothing. I love it"
Scout showed his enthusiasm by bouncing and barking around us. I don't know how aware he was about what was happening, but man was he exited.
When we separated, Kallian was still smiling "Glad to hear it. Why do you like the sky so much, though?"
"In my world, there aren't all that many places left where you can see such a clear sky, with so many stars" I explained "The place I lived in had so much artificial light it was common to have a completely starless night" I leaned closer "Also, the first night I spent in Thedas, seeing the two moons helped to convince me I really wasn't on Earth anymore. See, we only have one moon"
And of course, after that, Kallian wanted to hear all about the 'light cities' that were so bright they outshined the sky. That was actually a nice way of putting it.
One thing I didn't mention was that the twin moons helped to remind me of where I was time and again. It calmed my soul the first time I killed someone, and it continued to do so from then on. I was in Thedas, where the rules were different than in my little, peaceful corner of the Earth.
"Wait, no, I had something else I wanted to ask you" Kallian rolled her eyes "I always get distracted when you talk about your world"
I shrugged; I was fond of that side of Kallian "What is it?"
She bit her lip "You've been acting strange since we entered the forest. Whats wrong?"
Ah. Damn.
I scratched the back of my head, thinking. To tell her or not to tell her?
"I should've known the gift came with strings attached" I said to gain time.
"It doesn't and you know it. Don't change the subject"
Damn.
Screw it "Things are different than what I remember"
"You mean in the story from your world?"
I nodded "The Keeper, Zathrian, should've been at camp to give us the mission of breaking the curse. Instead he is somewhere in the west side of this damn forest"
Kallian mulled it over "This worries you?"
"It does. I'm always afraid my being here will change the future. Some of the important points in history were a miraculous coincidence" The Inquisitor stumbling on Corypheus and unlocking the power of the orb came to mind "If I screw that up…"
Kallian put a hand over my trembling ones. I hadn't even realized I was shaking "You didn't choose to be here. Whatever brought you is at fault for the changes. It's fine if you keep trying to make things right" She gave my hands a squeeze "I for one am glad you're here. Sorry"
I took a deep breath "Why are you sorry?"
"I know you didn't want to be ripped from your life"
I gave her a weak smile and leaned against her, shoulder to shoulder.
"The clan was weird"
Kallian nodded "I know"
I straightened and gave her a look "You know?"
She sighed "The scouts that greeted us were wary. I wasn't happy about it, but it made sense. Then we go to camp and suddenly everyone is fuzzing over us. They're clearly hiding something. Leliana and Zevran agree"
The cunning cunning rogues all noticed something was up. Plus, me who knew another version of reality.
Hmm.
I opened my mouth.
"If you say it's your fault, I'll shove the skyball in your mouth"
I closed it and glared at her. So rude.
"Well, what will you do about it?"
I frowned "I don't know. I guess I could seek Zathrian out. But he is strong. If I have to fight him, I don't want to do it alone"
"Who says you are alone?"
I shook my head "This is a long quest…" I stopped. The quest had Zathrian at its end. That is when the Warden was supposed to choose sides or somehow broker peace between the elves and the werewolves. We would either encounter him anyhow or look for him after speaking to the Lady of the forest. And if he were to continue hiding…
"Shit. Kallian, I need to tell you something"
"What about?"
I gave her a long-suffering sigh "Spoilers"
"So, the curse, all of it, was because of this Zathrian?"
I nodded.
"But why?"
I made a face "He had his reasons"
Leliana glared at me.
Argh "It had something to do with revenge. Or justice, I guess. The first cursed did horrible things. I don't remember what exactly or to whom, but it hurt Zathrian deeply"
"If that happened more than a century ago, those responsible must be dead by now" offered Kallian.
"I think so"
"You say the first werewolf, this Witherfang, is a spirit that was merged with that of a real wolf?" Asked Wynne.
"Yeah, that's how I remember it"
"To trap a spirit and bind it to this plane…" Wynne closed her eyes, pained by the knowledge.
"But Witherfang is the Lady of the Forest, yes?" Said Zevran "Perhaps we could seek an audience? Give them a chance to explain before we swoop in and cut their throats?"
Don't do it "Yeah. Swooping is bad" Hehe.
Alistair turned to me, alarmed "What?"
I look at him "I'm sorry, I've always wanted to try saying that"
"How did you–? Oh, of course. Look who I'm talking to. You know, its really creepy when you do that"
I shrugged "Some phrases are just really iconic"
He gave a look "Any other I should know about?"
"Nope" I turned to hide a smile and coughed "Lamppost in winter"
Alistair spluttered unintelligibly.
"Alright kids, that's enough" said Kallian, a smile playing on her lips "Maya, would Lanaya have known the truth?"
I thought about it "I couldn't say. In the story, she didn't know. Now though? With Zathrian AWOL, I don't know what he told her"
"AWOL?"
"Absent without official leave"
"Mmm… well, as I see it, either Zathrian will meet us after we talk to Witherfang, or we'll have to look for him"
I nodded at Kallian's logic. Still…
"What else is bothering you, Bella?" Asked Zevran from his spot leaning against a tree. That guy leaned against places so often I was beginning to think maybe he had back problems.
"It's just… I don't understand why he would seclude himself like that. His people are dying, and he thinks this is a good time to take off? 'Oh, my clan is facing an evil curse I started centuries ago. Mm… welp, time for a camping trip!'" I made a face "Not bloody likely"
Kallian regarded me for a second before narrowing her eyes, her expression telling me she wasn't seeing me anymore. She was making her serious face.
Oh goody.
Familiar with her quirks, nobody said anything for a minute or two.
"Alright" she said eventually "According to Maya, there are three parts to this mess. We have to find a way to get inside those ruins. Afterwards, we have to battle our way across the ruins. Finally, we confront the werewolves and either kill them or agree to bring Zathrian to them and then again, we have a choice of who to support"
Kallian turned my way for confirmation
"Pretty much"
She nodded to herself "So here is what I think. We finish the first part together. After getting past the barrier, we split up. Maya, you go with Alistair and either Morrigan or Wynne and confront the Keeper. Whatever the conclusion, we meet up again in the ruins"
"And how did you come up with such an arrangement, my dear Warden?" Asked Zevran.
Kallian hit Zev with all the intensity of her emerald green eyes "Zathrian is a powerful mage. If they end up fighting him, I want Alistair and his templar abilities there. And according to Swiftrunner, he is behind a magical barrier. I want an experienced mage there to see if they can do something about it. No offense, Maya"
"None taken" I wasn't nearly as experienced as either of the other two mages in the group.
Zevran inclined his head in acknowledgment. I also thought it was a good plan.
The rest of the party voiced their agreement and we set off once again.
My memory nudged me more and more as we kept walking. Of course, everything looked different with the high definition real life presented as opposed to a 2009 game graphics, but the terrain was familiar enough.
Well, I'd come this far, so I might as well.
"We should meet the Hermit guy soon" I said aloud.
Leliana caught my eye and motioned for me to proceed.
"He is one of the two options we'll have to get to the ruins. The other one is a magic tree"
"I'm sorry, I could've sworn you said a magic tree" said Al.
"I did. Personally, I like the tree better, but I don't really remember why"
Morrigan raised a perfect eyebrow "How very useful"
I ignored her.
"Let's just talk to this guy" said Kallian, diplomatically "Then we'll decide"
But as we walked further down, the one we encountered was Aneirin, Wynne's first disciple.
It was a heartwarming reunion. Wynne humbly asked for forgiveness, to which Aneirin responded favorably. We parted ways after he acquiesced to think about returning to the Circle.
"Did you know we would find Aneirin here?" The old mage asked me as we walked on.
"I didn't before we saw him. The story I read was very long. I remember most general things, but the details escape me unless something jogs my memory. Did you talk to Kallian about him before?"
"I did. Perhaps I should have asked you as well"
I frowned. Somehow, that left a bitter taste in my mouth "Wynne, I'm happy to listen to whatever you want to tell me. And some things from the future I'm happy to share. But remember why you told be you didn't want to know the future in the first place. You still found Aneirin today, even though you didn't ask me"
"Mm. Yes, I suppose I did that, didn't I?" Wynne chuckled "Thank you for reminding me. I must have been a little too shaken up by meeting my old pupil"
"Sure" I smiled at her "I promise, if there is anything very important that you need to know, I will at least bring it up and let you decide weather you want to know"
Wynne smiled benevolently "That sounds wonderful. Thank you for your kindness, child"
"NO! That is not a question! And if it be an answer it be an answer to a question I've not asked! Have you no sense for the rules?"
Kallian groaned and dropped her head on her hands. Thank fudge I didn't have to talk to that guy. After getting scared to death when a Sylvan attacked us out of nowhere -I swear they look exactly like trees, up until the try to run you through with their roots- I was in no mood to talk riddles with anyone. Much less a paranoid dude that wasn't all there.
He was so annoying.
Anyway, the conversation went on for a bit, until we finally got to where we wanted.
"I stole something from an oak tree some time ago and it won't stop pestering me for ti back. Would you be so good as to turn it into firewood or something equally dead?
"What kind of tree?"
"A tree I stole something form. Weren't you listening?"
"Right… I'll think about it"
Behind her back, Kallian gave me a sign with her hand. Okay then, guess I'm up.
I took a step forward "Hey there, do you want to ask me a question?"
"Oh! Someone else wants to play? Do I want to ask her a question? Yes, yes, I think I will. Let's see, what is your name?"
From what I'd been hearing of his talk with Kallian, he wouldn't believe me anyway "You may call me Dixie Normous"
I kept a straight face as I heard a pfft! Of someone holding back their laughter form behind me.
As expected, the Hermit didn't believe me, but told me to ask another question anyway.
"Do you have anything to trade?"
"Oh yes, yes. Let's see… I'll trade you an acorn, a helmet I found, or a book I finished reading years ago. Provided you have something interesting in return"
Whoop, there it is.
"I'd like to trade you for the acorn"
"Oho! And what do you have to trade for the acorn?"
Well, that was the question, wasn't it?
Damn the lack of multiple choice.
Mmm… I knew some stuff from the camp would do the trick, but I personally hadn't looted or traded anything… argh.
Ah, wait!
"Did any of you help a young man back at the Dalish camp get together with a girl he liked?"
"Oh, yes!" Exclaimed Leliana, all starry eyed "Kallian and I did. It was wonderful seeing young love blooming so"
Aww, she was cute "Did they happen to give you something as thanks?"
Kallian was already rummaging through her pack "Cammen gave us this"
She showed me a book. The tittle was in english. It read The Tale of Iloren.
I took it from her and waved it in front of the Hermit "How about it? The acorn for a book of an elven legend"
"Elven legend, you say? Hmmmm. That might make for good reading by the moonlight. Or it'll be better than using leaves. Give me that!"
He snatched it form my hands and all but threw the acorn at me.
I smiled as I cradled the seed the Oak Tree held so precious. I could feel… life, radiate from it. It was a wondrous feeling.
After that, we bid goodbye to the Hermit -really hoping we'll never meet him again- and decided it was time to go back to the west side of the forest.
My map proved useful once again, and we avoided going in circles as we officially left the East Brecilian Forest. Not before fighting a horde of bears first, of course.
Poor bears.
It would take us about a day to reach the part of the forest where shit would go down. So we spent a night in between maps. By that, I mean the area I was seeing with my gamer ability wasn't one that showed in the game. That being the case, it didn't surprise me the map was a little different. As per usual, I couldn't see the area map in detail until I'd walk the area itself, but even then, any area that wasn't in the game was never as detailed. Never as clearly defined. More like I was the cartographer myself.
That raised a theory; what if the system was getting information from my memories? It could be taking its cues from what I knew of the game mechanics. Or what my brain knew, as I myself couldn't quiet remember the details.
Ruminating would do me no good. So I called it a day and went to bed. I would be soon be awoken to keep watch, so I wanted to make the first half of my night count.
I hoped Desire visited tonight too. Between my classes with Wynne and my time in conscious La la land I'd been making some progress. I was this close to figuring out Arcane Bolt.
As always, I went to sleep with the knowledge that I knew nothing at all.
Sorry I'm late. And I know this chapter is on the short side. Next one will be longer.
I've got good news though. Remeber I said waaay back that I was writing a short story based on this fanfic? Well, I finished it. It's longer than a regular chapter, too. There will be spoilers though. Some you can probably guess. Others, I hope, will be a surprise, so read at your own risk. I'll post it right after uploading this chapter.
Thank you all so much for sticking with me this far. I hope you'll continue to enjoy Into the Game :)
