The group was making their way through the forest, searching for any tracks of werewolves, with Theron leading the way due to his hunting skills and familiarity with the woods.
"I think that darkspawn were here. A small pack. The tall ones, manlike." Theron said, examining the footsteps as he knelt down.
"Hurlocks." Sereda nodded.
"We should keep our eyes open." Theron said as they kept following the tracks until they found a wounded hunter, who had been trying to crawl into a shelter.
Daylen knelt down over the hunter, using healing magic and he opened his eyes. "What? Who… wh-who comes?" The wounded man turned to Theron, surprised to see a fellow Dalish
"You're badly wounded. What happened to you?"
"We were sent to find Witherfang… bring his heart… attacked… I..." He passed out again.
Sereda glanced over at Theron as Daylen set to work on the injured Dalish. "Darkspawn in the woods. A camp with no defenders." She noted. "Faren and Sten, take the elf back to the camp and warn them about the darkspawn, so that they can prepare the defenses.
Sten nodded.
Faren looked at her grimly. "And let me guess, if you aren't back by morning, come rescue you?"
Sereda chuckled as Faren smirked.
Theron and Elissa took point as they continued into the woods. Sereda stayed close to the mages, as Kallian and Alistair brought up the rear. Theron held up a fist, bringing the party to a halt just before a footbridge over the small stream they'd been following. He sniffed at the air and gestured for them to be on guard, when werewolves burst out of the woods in front of them.
One of them drew itself up. Dark brown fur covered the beast, which stood nearly seven feet in height. It snarled. "Hrrr… The watch-wolves have spoken truly, my brothers and sisters." It snapped at him. "Another of the Dalish, come to put us in our place, come to make us pay for our attack."
Theron blinked in surprise. "You speak? I thought werewolves were savage beasts."
The werewolf narrowed its eyes at him. "We are beasts, but we are no longer simple and mindless. Let that thought chill your spine. You speak to Swiftrunner. I lead my cursed brothers and sisters. Hrrr. Turn back now, go back to the Dalish and tell them that you have failed. Hrrr. Tell them we will gladly watch them suffer the same curse we have suffered for too long. We will watch them pay!"
Kallian measured the werewolves, eying them as a terrible thought occurred to her and she didn't like it one bit. "You're the werewolves who ambushed the Dalish, then?"
"We are." The werewolf slashed a claw at the air in Theron's direction. "I regret only that we did not inflict every single one of them with the curse that night."
Sereda glanced at Theron, who was just as confused as the rest, perhaps even more. "You sound as if you hate the Dalish a great deal."
"That we do. How dare they send you here against us! Turn and leave, while you still have the chance!" The werewolf snarled.
Theron raised his hands in an attempt to calm the beast down. "I would prefer to talk to you. I mean you no harm."
Swiftrunner growled. "Was it not Zathrian who sent you? Hrrr. He wishes only our destruction, never to talk!"
"You talk of Zathrian as if you know him." Theron narrowed his eyes. The hahren seemed to have left a few things out.
"Hrrr. We have never met, he and I. He would not survive the experience, I swear it."
"Why, exactly? Why do you hate him so much?"
"You know nothing, do you? Nothing of us and even less of those you serve. You are a fool, and we are done talking. Run from the forest while you can. Run to the Dalish and tell them they are doomed."
Theron quickly drew his sword and stabbed one of the werewolves before cutting the head off the another as they fell down but the others were upon the rest almost before he could defend himself. He could not help but notice that these werewolves were more savage in appearance than Swiftrunner and his companions had been.
The wolves with the werewolves circled the combatants, coming in to try to flank the warriors as Daylen and Morrigan tried to fend the animals off with their spells to prevent them from overwhelming the rest of the group
Barkspawn let out a furious bark and Elissa cut the werewolf that came near her. Another wolf attempted to eat Kallian as it lunged at her, pinning her to the ground and was about to get a bite at her face before Morrigan raised her staff, blasting away the werewolf. Kallian recovered and stabbed the werewolf in the throat, killing it as it went limp.
Another werewolf scratched Elissa in the abdomen before her dog Barkspawn bit it in the leg, while Alistair knocked it back with his shield and cut it in the chest as it went down. Daylen threw a fireball, burning most of the pack as it ran off, howling in pain before they burned to death.
Faren and Leliana shot down two werewolves, hitting them in the heads, while Sereda knocked down the last werewolf with her shield before she stabbed it in the head.
"They are no ordinary beasts." Morrigan noted.
Sereda nodded. "They're not as bad as ogres but they certainly are resilient."
Morrigan and Daylen came to the group, tending to their injuries using their magic as they rested for a moment before continuing to walk.
"Their Hahren knows more than he's letting on." Theron said.
"What makes you think that?" Leliana asked before he pointed to a nearby werewolf, who was on its knees.
Before anyone could stop him, he approached towards the werewolf which stayed crouched and sniffed at him. "P-please… help… listen..." It lowered itself a bit more as he came closer. "I am not… the mindless beast I appear to be..."
Theron eyed the werewolf carefully. "What happened to you?"
The werewolf breathed out in pain. "They… I am cursed, turned into this creature. The curse, it… it burns in me!" It gave an agonized cry, panting out. "I… fled into the forest. The werewolves, they… took me in. But I had to return. I had to!" It moved closer to him as Theron was almost about to reach for his dagger, while Leliana came to intervene but Kallian held her back.
"You are… an elf. I was, until my… change. Have you… seen my clan?" It asked, gasping as it spoke.
"Danyla." Kallian realized.
"Yes." The werewolf nodded.
"Your keeper, Zathrian, is the one who sent us here." Kallian explained.
"The keeper sent you? Then..." It drew back slightly. "You seek Witherfang."
"Yes." Theron nodded.
"I know why you seek him. But..." It moved forward again, reaching out and setting it's clawed hand on Kallian's arm. Theron was carefully reaching for his sword. "There is no time to explain. You must listen..." It shook in pain. "The scarf I wear… bring it to Athras. Tell him I love him. Tell him… I am dead and with the gods. I beg you..."
"I spoke to Athras. He worries about you."
"I want him to be at peace… He is a good man. Please do not… let him suffer thinking of me." The werewolf screamed in pain. "The curse… is fire in my blood!"
Kallian stood, and drew her blade. Danyla looked up at her beseechingly. "Yes. Please! End it for me! End it quickly!"
Kallian looked at her in remorse before she pulled a dagger and stabbed the wolf in the heart before pulling away as Danyla slumped to the ground. "Gods… bless you…" She whispered hoarsely before light left her eyes as she drew her last breath, making them all, especially Theron and Kallian feel bad for her.
Elissa began to wonder if Daylen was mad. She watched the mage talking to the hermit, apparently engaging him in some kind of game of riddles. Next to her, Sereda looked just as concerned as she.
She felt Alistair's hand on the small of her back, and turned to see a worried look on his face. "Don't worry about me." Elissa assured him. "No sudden growth of back hair, claws, fangs or anything related."
"What about cravings for undercooked roast?" he asked, trying to keep his voice light.
"I promise, if I get the urge to bite anything, you'll be the first to know."
He gave her a suspicious look. Elissa leaned into him, and watched Daylen trade a book for an acorn before coming back over to them. "He says werewolf lair is to the north, but there are trees enchanted to block the path. He can give us a way to fool the trees so that they will let us pass, but we have to go kill an oak for him first."
Sereda sighed. "Theron, I think there was an oak just before we..."
"That was no oak that was a sylvan."
Sereda frowned. "A what?"
Theron waved around the woods. "This is going to sound crazy but believe it or not, trees can get possessed by demons. This section of forest has a…" He took a breath. "…bloody history. They say that spirits come to the woods through the Veil and they often end up possessing a living tree instead of a living body."
"A… possessed tree. A living tree. You're joking." Faren stared at Theron as if he was crazy.
"They say seeing is believing ,so I'll show you." Theron shrugged.
Daylen saw that Kallian was trying to hide it from the others the infection she got from the werewolves. He hadn't bothered to mention it to the others, because he didn't fancy them thinking she would turn into a ravenous wolf and attacked them out of the blue. He knew the faster they could get to this Witherfang the faster they can get the cure they needed.
"Do the werewolves use camps?" Faren looked around, confused.
"It could belong to some of the Dalish hunters." Sereda suggested.
"It doesn't look Dalish." Theron shook his head.
Barkspawn whined and yawned.
"Look around." Sereda said, staring at the fire as if hypnotized.
Alistair blinked, and then shook his head. "I sense magic at work. The fire is… it's weakening us. Can you feel it? It… it wants us to stay."
Sereda sat down next to the fire, adding a stick. Across from her, Morrigan sat down on one of the bedrolls, smoothing it before laying upon it. Daylen started to walk towards her. No. He blinked.
Alistair took Elissa's hand, and pulled her with him into the tent. Theron sat across from Sereda. Daylen started to take another step. His legs felt leaden. No. He blinked, and shook his head. Get away. Now. Morrigan patted the bedroll next to her and smiled at him invitingly. It's a trap. Can't you feel it? "Why are you making camp?" he asked.
"It's a lucky find. It must have been abandoned not long ago." Theron said. He started to unstrap his armor.
Daylen then sensed that the Veil was weak here. "We need to leave. Now."
Kallian snorted. "Oh, don't be such a spoilsport." She laid down on one of the bedrolls, curling herself into a ball and closing her eyes.
Daylen could see it already, the spirits beyond the Veil. Sereda's eyes were closing, as were Theron's. Daylen saw Morrigan start to nod off. The fatigue was starting to drag at him. To keep them awake it kept on repeating the Warden motto over and over again. He then fired a fireball as the shade appeared.
He heard Sereda's voice call his name. They were waking. He took a moment to compose his face before turning around.
They were looking around, confusion on their faces. He sheathed the sword. "An abandoned camp in the middle of a demon haunted forest full of werewolves, and you all decide to take naps?" He shook his head, and then gestured at the now visible pile of bodies on one end of the camp.
"Someone must have cursed this camp." Daylen noted.
Sereda shook her head and stood up. "What were we doing?"
"I think… we were hunting a talking oak tree… or did I just dream that?" Kallian asked.
Theron shook his head. "No, I think that is actually what we were doing."
Alistair pushed the tattered remnants of the tent off himself and Elissa, and then stood up. He glanced at Daylen. "How come it didn't affect you?"
"Ever since the Circle of Magi, I've been disciplined my mind's eye to prepare for situations like this." Daylen said.
"How do we find the right one?"
Daylen considered the question. "It's probably going to have some residual Fade energy and..."
"Daylen, go with Theron. The rest of us should keep an eye out." Sereda ordered.
Daylen followed Theron towards the grove as somee of the trees seemed to bend and sway in their direction, but none actually moved towards them. An oak with light colored leaves shook as they approached. A voice, sounding almost intrigued, seemed to float from it as it turned to face them. "What manner of beast be thee that comes before this elder tree?"
Daylen blinked. "Can't you see me? I am a human."
"Ahhhh, yes, I remember thy kind. So brief of life and all but blind to the peril you cause, the lives you take, such chaos is sown within they wake." A branch extended, stopping about a foot from her. "Allow me a moment to welcome thee. I am called the Grand Oak, sometimes the Elder tree."
Daylen reached out and took the branch, shaking it as he would a hand. "I am pleased to meet you. I'm Daylen Amell."
"It… rhymes? 'Tis a rhyming tree. One can only imagine what manner of spirit is involved here." Morrigan stared at the tree incredulously
The oak's voice grew hopeful. "And unless thou thinkst it far too soon, might I ask of thee a boon?"
"Why do you speak in rhymes?" Daylen asked.
"I do not know. Why dost thou not? Thy words seem plain, a mundane lot. Perhaps a poet's soul's in me… Does that make me a poet tree?" It laughed, leaves shaking.
Daylen mused, considering. "A poet tree. Yes, I get it."
"It was but a simple jest, a jibe to entertain my guest." The tree seemed to bow.
Daylen nodded. "I have a question, if I could. We met a hermit in the wood."
"That is the thief, the one I seek. It is he who rendered my future bleak."
"Perhaps you could assist us with our plan, we have to save the Dalish clan."
The tree rumbled a little as the leaves fell off its branches. "I have but one desire, to solve a matter very dire: as I slept one early morn, a thief did come and steal an acorn. All I have is my being, my seed. Without it I am alone indeed. I cannot go and seek it out; yet I shall die if left without."
"What you ask is of little cost." Daylen reached into his belt pouch. "Is this the acorn you lost?"
The tendrils took it from the tree in excitement. "My joy soars to new heights indeed! I am reunited with my seed!" Another tendril handed her a staff of knotted wood. "This cannot pass without reward; I shall give what little I can afford. Keep this branch of mine with thee, and pass throughout the forest free."
"I must be going on my way, perhaps we shall speak again one day?"
"I wish thee well, my mortal friend. Thou brought my sadness to an end. May sunlight find you, thy days be long, thy winters kind, and thy roots be strong."
Daylen gave the tree a bow, then turned around to notice that his companions were all just staring at him. "What?"
"Nothing… it's just that it's weird that you're talking to a tree." Alistair said.
"We should… move." Sereda said awkwardly as they saw some ruins and neared them
"We are invaded! Intruders have deceived their way into the forest's heart! Fall back to the ruins! Protect the Lady!"
The group engaged the werewolves. Sereda was about to yell to press the attack when a giant white wolf landed in their midst. Alistair jumped backwards in surprise, and the werewolf he was about to attack, scrambled backwards and ran. The wolf snarled, then ran off after the others.
"That beast 'tis most likely Witherfang." said Morrigan.
"We figured." Kallian nodded dryly
"Alistair, you all right?" Elissa asked.
"Just… caught off-guard, that's all." Alistair stammered.
Daylen looked at Sereda. "He said "protect the Lady". What lady was he talking about?"
"I have no idea." Morrigan said.
"I've never heard stories about any Lady in the woods." Theron said.
"I think we'll see soon enough." Kallian said.
They started forward again. Theron's eyes widened as he walked a bit ahead. "I've seen ruins like these..." He shook his head and looked back at them. "It must be at least a thousand years old, if not more." He turned back. "Everyone stay on guard. The last time I ventured into ruins like this one, I was infected with the blight."
"Oh. What should we expect?" Elissa asked.
Theron shivered, remembering what happened. "Giant spiders and a tainted wolf. Maybe something worse this time."
"Great." Kallian sighed as they entered the ruins.
