CHAPTER 17
..x..
Author's Note: Hi guys! Sorry for taking so long with this one. It's been a crazy few weeks. But here it is. Thank you for your patience and let me know your thoughts. I will be working on the next two chapters and hopefully post 18 by next weekend. 19 the weekend after. And that will complete Blook I (I am splitting this into two books). Wish me luck~
They left Vigil's Keep on horseback, as planned, though not as early as she'd wanted. They were bound to have to camp one extra night out on the field, but at least they had an additional companion to help keep watch, even if he hadn't exactly joined them willingly. She glanced over her shoulder at the man in question. He was staring off to the side, sitting up as stiff and silent as a tree on his saddle. The others hadn't really spoken to him much, aside from a brief welcome, and he hadn't seemed to mind the silence.
Fate had a fascination with throwing surprises into her life, not all of them being pleasant. This man was one of them. He was the son of the one who destroyed her life and her brother's, and yet she had given him a chance to prove he wasn't as conniving and treacherous as his father. A move her husband would have likely disapproved of had he been there to witness her bargain.
"Commander…" Mhairi rode her horse closer to hers, sending wary glances to the stoic Howe. "I am… puzzled by your decision to recruit the man. Why take such a risk?"
"We needed help and he's capable," Everil replied without straying her sight from the road. "Don't worry about him. If he tries anything, I will take care of it myself."
But Mhairi didn't seem convinced, giving Nathaniel a fleeting look. If the queen thought it prudent to bring him with them, then she had no choice but to trust her. But that didn't mean she would trust him.
Night soon fell over the Wardens and they set up their camp in the woods. Their horses graced near their tents, while the group sat by the burning fire, staying close to its warmth while waiting for their dinner to roast. Oghren and Anders had their usual banter, while Mhairi kept quiet beside Everil, her attention still set on their new joinee.
"So you're Rendon Howe's son…" Oghren directed his drunken stare to him, a smirk on his face. "You don't look it."
Nathaniel quirked an eyebrow, sending him a sideways glance. "Is that so?"
"I mean… I only saw him from afar before Evy did him in, but you ain't got that weasel face he had."
"Oghren…" Everil warned from her seat, using a stick to adjust their coals.
"What?" The dwarf looked her way. "I'm just makin' conversation with our buddy here. He's more interesting than blondie."
Anders glared at him. "Hey… I'm plenty interesting."
Oghren waved him off. "Suure... All that whining about mean Templars and the Circle is to die for. At least we can get some new, entertaining shit from the new guy."
"I am not here to entertain you, dwarf." Nathaniel sat up regally, irritated by the conversation. "I am doing my duty as a Warden and that's all you will get out of me."
"Can we even trust you to do that, though?" Mahiri interjected, scrutinizing him from where she sat while their commander glanced her way. "For all we know, you could be following along in hopes to kill my queen over your father's death."
A look of dismay befell him as he met her stare. "Believe what you will. I don't need to prove myself to any of you."
"All of you have to learn to work together," Everil finally spoke in annoyance. "We're comrades in arms now, and as such, we have to cooperate and get along."
Mhairi and Nathaniel glared at each other in silence after her intervention, while Oghren and Anders shrugged, the dwarf returning to his ale. The commander sighed and shook her head before staring at their fire again. Her quest to resolve Ferelden's darkspawn issue would certainly be a difficult one. Made worse by her childish companions and their distrust of one of another.
Hostility at first was to be expected in some groups. She'd seen it during her quest to end the Blight. Personalities clashed and intentions were questioned, putting a strain in the relationships involved. She could only hope they would get past this as some in her party had before.
A huff escaped her, earning her a few looks. She ignored them. I hope Alistair is having better luck than I am…
.x.x.x.x.
Their horses neighed nervously as the tranquil woods turned into a gray, barren wilderness. Leafless trees reached over them with creaking, decrepit fingers, their shadows shifting ominously as if alive. The scent of rot and decay filled their nostrils, emanating from the still waters near their path. Dead carcasses lay upon the side of the road, their bones picked dry by predators and scavengers. And yet there were no animals in sight. No movement. Only silence and darkness as the moon hid behind the hills.
Everil scanned the area, searching for any signs of hostiles. The others behind her did the same, staying close together.
"This place reeks…" Anders muttered, curling his nose at the stench.
Oghren smirked at him. "Sorry… I think that was me."
The mage rolled his eyes. "Ugh…"
"I heard this part of Ferelden was cursed… haunted," Nathaniel said to his companions, riding with a hand upon his thigh. "Everyone in Amaranthine avoids it and with good reason. They say spirits and demons lurk in the shadows… waiting to devour or possess any unsuspecting travelers. None who dare walk into these parts ever return."
"That's reassuring…" Mhairi grumbled, glaring sideways at a particularly creepy tree.
Everil glanced over her shoulder. "Let's keep our guard up. Spirits and demons may no longer be the only things we need to worry about if Kristoff's reports turn out to be accurate."
They stopped their horses by a wooden sign placed by the road, reading, "This area is haunted. Enter at your own risk." A warning to all who dared venture in. They spotted some barely visible structures a mile past it and the Warden-Commander dismounted first, her men following suit. They led their steeds to a patch of trees, where they tied them up to keep them from wandering off.
"Someone will have to stay with them." Everil gazed at Mhairi. "There may be wolves around the parts."
She nodded. "I'll make a torch and guard the area, Commander."
"Thank you." Everil patted her shoulder, then turned to the others. "Let's keep moving.'
The four Wardens continued following the road, walking past more carcasses as the moist dirt and gravel crunched and squelched under their boots. Old huts emerged from behind the trees and the hills, falling apart due to years of neglect and exposure to the elements. They entered through the gates, the desolation palpable as the breeze blew through the abandoned chicken coops and crumbling homes. There was not a soul in sight.
"Maker… What is this place?" Everil whispered, as if afraid that talking too loud would disrupt the dead.
"This used to be a bustling village a long time ago," Nathaniel responded, his voice just as quiet. "They say everyone who lived here perished overnight and that their deaths weakened the veil, releasing evils into these lands and cursing them forever. At least… that's what Amaranthine's records say."
"Did they say what killed them?" she asked.
"No… Nobody knows what happened. Only that they disappeared without explanation."
"Charming…" Anders muttered nervously.
They continued to explore, finding nothing but more ruins as the smell of salt joined the sour stench of death, drifting from the ocean waters bordering the town. The waves rolled in the distance, dragging gently as if the eerie atmosphere weighed it down.
They traveled through the ghost town, following the winding paths and passing a run-down mansion along the way. Possibly the home of whoever used to rule here. It wasn't long before they found something that didn't quite belong in the otherwise still scenery.
"Ah, look! A campsite!" Anders called out and the Wardens hastily approached it.
Everil inspected the area, looking for any clues. Only a piece of paper speaking of darkspawn in the Blackmarsh sat upon an abandoned cot. "I think this may be Kristoff's…"
"But where the sod is he?" Oghren grumbled, searching in the Warden's empty tent.
"We have to keep looking." Everil rose from beside the cot and led them further through the marsh. They passed another pool of swampy waters and kept walking until strange structures began to appear on the rock walls beside them. White, egg-like skin sacks, mounted on mounds of decaying flesh. The stench became almost overwhelming and the voices in their heads turned into a chorus.
Anders gripped his staff anxiously. "Darkspawn nearby…"
"This confirms they're here after all…" Everil narrowed her eyes, drawing her blade.
They took a few more steps and it was then that sickening wet noises and cracking sounds reached their ears. Strange, otherworldly wails followed twisted cries resembling those of pain and yearning. The Wardens looked about, all arming themselves while they watched with a mixture of horror and disgust as creatures resembling human infants crawled out of the sacks. Their bodies were like those of bugs, with legs sharp as claws. In minutes, they surrounded them, crawling from all directions.
"Maker's breath!" Nathaniel exclaimed, backing away from one of them. "Are these darkspawn?"
"I sense they are but… these are like nothing I've ever seen," Everil replied, their appearance making a shiver crawl up her spine.
"Doesn't matter!" Oghren roared, preparing his mighty axe. "They die just like all the others!"
The darkspawn struck, scurrying towards them as they screeched. Everil cried out, swinging downward and slashing across one's body as it pounced on her. It fell with a squeal, then more followed, crawling her way like insects from the Fade itself. She felled three, while the others defeated more, their bodies bleeding black onto the already dead soil.
"All right, I think we've had enough!" Anders called as he summoned a spell, bringing forth a wave of flames that swept over the remaining monsters. Burnt flesh and dirt surrounded them, but now there was silence. They were all dead.
"Kristoff no doubt saw these... We have to hurry and find him," Everil said, quickly sheathing her blade before she and her companions made haste over the mounds of rot in their path.
A fallen form on the way promptly drew her attention, eyes widening upon seeing the silver and blue of their armor. The Warden-Commander slowed to a walk and went on a knee by the body, her eyebrows knitting as she inspected it. "This has to be Kristoff..."
"Looks like he's been dead for a few days…" Anders said, gazing sadly at who would have been another of their peers. He was left here to die. Alone with no one to mourn him except for them, a bunch of strangers.
Everil clenched her jaw. "Bastards… Who would've—"
"So it was as Mother said. Lure one here and the others will come."
The Wardens spun to face that raspy voice, surprise befalling them. Everil closed her hands into fists, glare narrowing at the creature standing a distance from them. It was a darkspawn, a Hurlock to be exact. It wore chain armor over a red tunic, a cowl over his head. Much like the one from the night in which the keep was almost taken.
"So you did this…" Everil's tone was frigid as the cold waters beside them whilst she drew her blade. "Did whoever this Mother is also tell you that you would die by my hand?"
The talking darkspawn cackled hoarsely, its laughter grating over their ears like sand and rock over a wooden plank. Mirth filled it's dark gray eyes, jagged teeth showing in a wicked grin. "The Mother has foreseen many things, but not what you speak. This one is here only to stop you from fulfilling His goal. You die now, Grey Warden."
It drew something from its pocket and raised it, breaking it apart. Flaring lights erupted from the creature's hand, wrapping around them and robbing all warmth from them. The Grey Wardens screamed. They were caught by surprise, and while Everil struggled against that power's iron grip, there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Everything became a blur.
Their cries faded into nothingness.
And they were no longer in the Blackmarsh.