DISCLAIMER: I base my stories on Intellectual Property (IP) owned by BioWare™ and EA™. I pretend to live in their world.
SPOILERS: I refer to information from the games, the novels and the comics. If you have not played or read, please beware.
A SONG IN THE STILLNESS
Chapter 21: Elvhenan Ruins
9:34 Dragon, Guardian === On the Road Northwest of Ansburg
"I'm glad Warden Stroud gave you the Keeper's name," Olivia said, "as they rode west from Ansburg. We can make a formal request to meet with her if clan Lavellan's hunters approach us." She looked at Kai and Lys. "Your fluency in Dalish won't hurt either."
The caravan left Ansburg's west gate early in the morning on a chilly day at the beginning of Guardian. While Olivia met with the Margrave, the rest of the company had used their time in Ansburg to replenish supplies and to bath, sleep, shop, and relax before heading out into the wilderness beyond the farmsteads. Burdened with slow moving carts and pack animals, they made slow progress towards the dry, highlands to the northwest.
Three days after leaving Ansburg, the group set up their tents at the edge of a conifer forest, building a large central fire pit in addition to the small fires that burned outside each tent. The cook began preparations for the Wintersend feast, while six of the guards went into the surrounding forest to hunt. Horses and pack animals, tethered to a picket line, munched the grass just outside the camp, while a tent held their saddles, tack, and loads.
Lys and Kai sat outside the tent they shared with Olivia looking over the campsite where eight other tents provided housing for the guards, university workers, and the cook, the horse master, the carters, and their workers. Lys acted as her aunt's second, recording on parchment the events of each day, and, once they reached the site, documenting the artifacts discovered Kai had taken on the task of making videos and taking still photos to document their travel and findings in more detail for their return to Areth.
Kai sat beside Lys on a log, appreciating the warmth from the small fire. "There are at least two Dalish in the trees," she whispered. "They're well hidden, unless you know where to look and what to look for."
"Only two? They must have sent the other three back to their camp requesting instructions," Lys replied. "Should we, or rather you, ask to speak with Deshanna Istimaethoriel Lavellan?"
"You plan to keep your knowledge of Dalish secret?"
"For the time being, yes. I'll go with you, as your guard. Daggers and bows only?"
"Less threatening that way. We…well, I will look like them." Kai grinned.
"I should have gotten that vallaslin," Lys grumbled and the both laughed. "Let's tell Olivia what we're up to, but no one else."
Olivia resisted at first, but finally relented, acknowledging that asking permission to move into the Dalish hunting grounds, with this particular clan, might prove safer than simply blundering forward. Buckling quivers on their hips, slinging bows over their shoulders, and secreting knives in boots, belts and hidden sheaths the two young women left the tent at dusk, wrapped in their dark cloaks, hoods up, and drifted away from camp until they reached the edge of the forest well beyond the trees where the elves hid. The doubled back, silently, and made no sound until Kai greeted the elves from beneath one of the trees.
"Andaran atish'an." Kai said softly.
The elves started and looked down at the pair of women standing on the ground below them. Both held bows, strung, but without nocked arrows.
"Garas quenathra?" one snapped and when neither answered, added in the Common Tongue, "Why are you here?"
"Greetings," Lys said. "We wish to visit your land, but will not without permission. Can you take us to your Keeper, Deshanna Istimaethoriel Lavellan?"
The elves looked around the area and saw no other guards or companions. The elf in the tree farthest from Kai and Lys dropped silently to the ground and tentatively approached the women. His eyes widened when he saw Kai's vallaslin.
"You are Dalish?"
Kai pushed back her hood, revealing her ears and uncovering her entire vallaslin. "Clan Rasiae, usually traveling in Ferelden."
He frowned and looked up at his companion. "What is the Keeper's name?"
"Lilia Rasiae."
The elf above them said in Dalish, "They are a clan like us, they trade and have some commerce with shems. Anyone could know the Keeper's name."
Kai smiled. "Who do you wish me to name?"
"The mother of her First," the woman said, a smug expression on her face as she dropped to the ground.
"Ariel," Kai said without hesitation, smiling at the surprise on the elves faces.
"Come," the male elf said.
Kai did not follow. "I am Adaia Rasiae. My companion and friend is called Lys."
The elves stopped and grudgingly offered their names. "I am Assan, the arrow," the man said. "My companion is Banal'ras."
"The shadow," Kai replied. "Ma serannas."
"Come."
They followed the silent pair through the wood as darkness fell. Lys resisted the urge to whisper, knowing the elves would hear her. She had seen the third elf, who had remained to watch the camp. She stayed close to Kai, who could see better in the darkness, as their guides moved quickly and silently ahead of them. They're trying to lose us.
As they walked, Lys counted her steps to estimate how far from camp they traveled. She believed they traveled in a straight line, no circling or backtracking. Finally, tiny spots of light appeared marking the fires of the Lavellan clan camp. As they approached, five more elves met them and a conversation in Dalish commenced. The two hunters explained how the women they led had approached them, adding one was Dalish and had asked to speak with the Keeper. At that, a young woman walked forward and stopped in front of Kai and Lys. Tall but slender, with dark ginger hair hanging over her left shoulder in a single braid, her bright blue eyes met Kai's grey-blue ones and then Lys' green. Turning back to Kai, she inspected her vallaslin, before she spoke in Common, looking directly at Lys.
"You are Sari's friend, the one who saved her life? If so, you speak Dalish also."
"And you are?" Lys said, in Dalish, causing the group behind them to mutter in surprise.
"Clan Lavellan's First, AethlynLavellan. Sari and I became friends at the last Arlathvhen. She spoke of you and the flat ears her tribe adopted." She turned to Kai. "Your clan name is Adaia, but you go by Kai in the land of the humans." Turning she said over her shoulder, "Come. I will take you to the Keeper."
Kai and Lys exchanged a look and followed the First. Within moments of their meeting. the Keeper ushered the three young women into her Araval and poured cups of herbal tea from a common pitcher. Aethlyn sipped hers.
Lys, smiling, reached into the scrip buckled onto her belt and removed a package containing round, sugar covered shortbread cookies, filled with walnuts. She unwrapped it, offered it to Aethlyn who picked one. Kai and Lys each took and ate one, thus assuring the elves of the food's safety. Lys placed the remaining cookies on the table.
Speaking in Common, Deshanna said, "Well, now that we know we're not poisoning each other we can speak candidly. Lilia is a friend and she has spoken of both of you. My clan calls me Deshanna. You may do so as well."
"Ma serannas," Lys said, as Kai nodded.
"Now what is it your company plans in these lands?"
"We seek to explore ruins of the ancestral elves, of Elvhenan. Our leader, Master Olivia, has reports of an ancient ruin a day's walk to the west of our camp. We seek to learn from the ruins, and recover what ancestral elven artifacts we find. We would ask that you join us. Seek and learn and help us. Govern what we do."
"What you do?"
"Do we take and preserve an artifact? Leave it in place? Leave it with your clan?"
"Do you destroy them?" Aethlyn asked.
"No! We clean them, determine, if we can, how they were made and how they were used, and store them safely at the University in Markham. We map the site. Try to identify buildings and their use."
"What of graves or bodies?" Deshanna asked.
"We do not rob graves," Lys assured them, "nor do we find many bodies. The trees rooted in elven graves makes digging there impossible, even should we wish to. Any bodies we find, usually bones, we bury with what we find them wearing or holding. We do record what we see. Two of our people sketch the armor, weapons, clothing…whatever we find with them before we bury them. We plant a tree before we leave."
"You do know our practices," Aethlyn said. She looked at the Keeper. "I would like to join them, if it pleases you."
"I think you should," Deshanna agreed. "Take Dara and Myrin. A weaver and a hunter. They will know about fabrics and weapons."
"And Dara's father is a potter, so she knows something of design and quality."
"We thank you for your help. Ma serannas, Keeper."
Aethlyn looked at Kai. "You are the shem's servant?"
Lys bit back her response.
"No, she's just more persuasive than I am." Kai grinned. "With words, anyway."
"Not with weapons?"
"I'm better with a bow. She's better with blades. We both do well with daggers. I'm stealthier, mostly because I see and hear better, altho'" she glanced at Lys, "she sees and hears incredibly well for a human." Kai grinned, but Lys only rolled her eyes. "I speak and read Common, speak Dalish, and some Orlesian, but I didn't get any education until I joined Lys and her family. She's been educated her whole life, so she's better read than I am."
Aethlyn looked at Lys.
"Kai came to us as my companion and yes," Lys said seeing Aethlyn's dubious raised eyebrow, "we paid her. We became friends. I am not her employer, the university is. Unusual I know, but…." Lys shrugged.
Deshanna looked at Aethlyn. "I am satisfied they speak the truth, lethallan. Does their story match what Sari has told you?"
"Yes. They speak truthfully, but I would like to see how gifted they are with their bows." Aethlyn looked at Kai and Lys. "Would you accept our challenge?"
"Happily. We both learned from Fenriel Rasiae."
Deshanna laughed and told Aethlyn that she might regret the challenge, for Fenriel had beaten all competitors at the archery competition during the last Arlathvhen. Another Rasiae had come in second.
Aethlyn took the two women to a tent set up for visitors to the clan. Fortunately, Kai had anticipated an overnight stay and Olivia would not worry overmuch. In the morning, they rose early, ate the porridge a quiet young woman who introduced herself as Dara brought, folded the blankets provided by their hosts, and readied themselves for the archery competition, selecting perfectly fletched arrows and carefully stringing their bows. Moving outside, they leaned their bows and quivers against a log and sat down to watch as the camp went about its morning routine.
"Do you think they'll make us wait all day?" Lys asked.
"No. Aethlyn might, but I think Deshanna will have her begin by mid-morning. Why don't you go look for plants? I know you're itching to find out what grows in this forest." Kai grinned. "I will take pictures of Dalish life with my secret camera."
Chuckling, Lys got up, carrying a cloth sack, and started to walk towards the forest, but before she got more than a few steps away from the tent, Aethlyn called to her.
"I'm an herbalist, Aethlyn. Surely Sari mentioned I studied with her mother?"
"She did. You seek plants?"
"Is that so odd? All peoples use medicinal herbs, not to mention fragrant ones for perfumes, bath oils, and such."
"No." Aethlyn began walking towards the woods. "And I don't mean to escort you, but I, too, enjoy plants. My grandmother served as our herbalist and healer until she passed. Had I no magic, I would have followed her craft."
"It's said herbalists and healers must have some small touch of magic, is it not?"
"It is, but mine is more than a small touch, nor am I proficient at healing. Lightening comes more naturally, along with spirit magics."
"Entropy too, perhaps?"
"How-"
"A friend has those three abilities. She says they tend to go together. She's a powerful mage. An apostate, by Andrastian standards."
"As am I, when I leave the clan to trade."
"To trade? You must shield your magic, when you venture into towns."
"I do. It's not too difficult. The clan has traded for generations with many towns south of the river. Some even look forward to our visits because they value our crafts. Since we all look alike and are familiar to them, the templars pay us little mind. It's only dangerous if we visit a new town or large city, where we are not known."
"That's both fortunate and sad." Lys stopped to pick some elfroot. "Do all humans look alike to you?"
Aethlyn laughed and nodded. "To some extent, yes, excepting hair color or beards or mustaches, of course, and being fat or thin. Humans size, shape, and hair differentiate you more than those qualities do in elves. Our hair color does vary, but few of us are fat and our men have no facial hair. We do dress alike, when we go to a town to trade, so there's some reason for confusion. Beautiful, slender men and women all dressed in long grey cloaks, leather boots, and muted green tunics and hose might seem alike, just like your town guards or templars look alike in their uniforms."
"Point taken," Lys said, chuckling.
The two continued picking the elfroot that grew at the forest's edge, working along it until they reached a stream and boggy area full of blood lotus and spindleweed. In a shaded area, almost hidden behind a boulder Lys found dawn lotus. Surveying the woods beyond the stream on a hunch, she headed to a rise where she found crystal grace.
"You've a good eye and know your plants."
"Ariel taught me well, as did a human healer." She smiled at the First.
"I find…you're a puzzle. Sari never said where you came from when you rescued her, but you had a pony, so not from a poor family. After you visited, the Rasiae could camp without fear of harassment. Who are you?"
"You seem to know much about life in the human lands, Aethlyn." Lys studied the young elf's vallaslin, which swirled around her left eye. "And you have the most simple vallaslin possible. Sylaise, yes? Unusual for a First?"
"Sylaise in honor of my family craft. All the women have been herbalists and healers, until me. My mother died in childbirth when I was two, but she had followed the family path." Aethlyn sighed. "And simple because I spend time in the human lands. It's less threatening, less different. I accompany our traders and observe. Deshanna Istimaethoriel believes knowledge of our ene…adversaries makes us stronger. I speak, and read, your Common Tongue and speak some Antivan. I recognize Orlesian and Tevene, but have yet to learn either. I've traveled as far as Wycome and Markham from our camps south of the river you call Minanter."
"Deshanna is indeed a wise Keeper, Aethlyn, if she gathers information from the wide world to keep her clan safe and prosperous. I can teach you Orlesian, if you travel with us. I don't speak Tevene either."
"That is generous. Yes, I would like that." She looked up at the sun, which had climbed high into the sky during their walk. "Now, we must get back or you will miss the competition." She frowned. "Did Fenriel, in fact, teach you both?"
"Fenriel and human teachers."
"Then it will be a contest."
Lys grinned.
Returning to the camp, Kai greeted Lys with a frown, saying the elves were ready. Aethlyn touched Kai's arm.
"Lys was with me. They will wait," Aethlyn assured Kai.
Kai and Lys grabbed their bows and quivers and followed Aethlyn to the archery butts. Two elves, a man and a woman, stood waiting. The clan formed an arc around the four archers, the low hum of their conversation quieting when Deshanna stepped forward with an older man. She announced the competitors as Dara and Myrin and introduced the older man as the clan's lead hunter and the judge.
"They're the elves accompanying Aethlyn, when she comes with us," Kai whispered, as Deshanna stepped back and clapped her hands, indicating the competition should begin.
Each archer stepped to the first line, twenty-five paces from the targets. Raising their bows and nocking an arrow they waited for the command from the hunter to loose. Kai hit the center of the target, as did the elven man, Myrin. Dara's arrow hit the third circle from the center. Lys' landed on the edge of the center circle. Moving back ten paces they shot again. Kai repeated her bullseye, Lys achieved one this time, Myrin placed his arrow just outside the center, and Dara missed the center entirely again.
Lys looked at the young elven girl, for she was young and very nervous. She's better than this, but unused to so much attention. Surely the have another more experienced archer. I wonder why they picked Aethlyn's companions for this?
Three more times they stepped back and three more times Lys, Kai and Myrin landed arrows in or near the center. After each round the old hunter inspected the targets. Finally, with five arrows in each target, he declared Kai the winner and a tie between Lys and Myrin as the runners up. Listening to the grumbling at that announcement, he laughed.
"I cannot place one before the other," he said, speaking over the crowd. "The human has placed her arrows in almost the same spots as Myrin. If you wish, select another to inspect the targets."
"No, Hariel, we trust you, but how can a shem…" another hunter corrected himself when Deshanna muttered at him irritably, "a human, shoot so well?"
"She is Dalish trained, and a friend of the Rasiae clan. She saved the life of their First," Aethlyn said, speaking clearly. "She speaks our tongue and is worthy of our respect." Aethlin scanned the crowd and then smiled. "But she did not win, our sister did. Congratulations go to Adaia Kailian Rasiae." Walking forward she put a wreath of laurel leaves on Kai's head. "The prize is a quiver and a dozen arrows. Use them well, sister."
Myrin extended his forearm to Kai, who gripped it in friendship. Dara did the same. Lys, disregarding Dalish protocol, hugged her.
"Come," Aethlin said, "a celebratory dinner has been prepared. We will eat and then leave to join your company. Dara, Myrin, and I have packed and are ready."
9:34 Dragon, Guardian through early Cloudreach === Ancient Ruins
Lys looked up from her bowl of venison stew and smiled, watching Kai and Myrin discuss which method of fletching each preferred. Kai's time at the armory in Hiever had made her something of an expert on arrow making, particularly fletching. Poor Myrin. Kai had knowledge he could never acquire about the aerodynamics of flight, the qualities of various feathers, and the precise angle that made an arrow fly straight and true. Some of it he would learn by trial and error or historical clan knowledge, but not pure science.
Kai had taken to science in the same way Lys loved history and culture. Lucky for them, Olivia's expedition combined the two. Kai had the camera now, surreptitiously taking shots and vids of the artifacts and relics in situ. She also had the handheld analyzer, which identified the components of the artifact: the metal, gems, paint, glaze, or textile content and type. Kai did the work well. No one noticed her taking readings. Visibly fitting in as Dalish helped enormously.
Lys kept the books, the written record for the university in Markham. Much of the information duplicated what Kai recorded, but it would remain in Thedas, and only an image of it would be taken back to the Institute in Areth. She had created a grid with columns listing characteristics and categories, which she could move to a spreadsheet or database back in Areth. It barely fit on the parchment sheets, but she had fine pointed pens from Areth, made to look like quills, which let her write minute script with no blotches. Liv complained that she needed a magnifying glass to read Lys' entries.
Olivia had chosen the site well. The ruin lay at the base of a cliff. Liv guessed that a landslide had buried the village and, probably, many of its inhabitants. Over the years, the land had eroded, allowing debris to poke above ground. Satellite images showed a maze of walls, probably stone, beneath the surface. For this year's effort, Liv had selected one promising area. Once the top layer of dirt and debris had been removed from the ten by ten-foot plot, they had found the walls of an ancient room. All efforts now focused on this room.
To the extent that Olivia and her Arethian colleagues could, they imposed the strict, careful excavation techniques of the Institute. The workers used small trowels and brushes rather than shovels and picks. The excavated soil went into large frames whose bottoms were formed by cloth made from thick thread, woven loosely to form a mesh. The cloth sieved out the dirt and left any artifacts behind. Lys recorded each find on a diagram of the site, numbered it and wrote a description. Kai both took pictures and vids. Later Kai would take a reading. The human workers grumbled at the painstaking care required, but the Clan Lavellan elves appreciated the respect Liv demanded for their ancestors' relics. Dara and Aethlyn worked as hard as any member of the company, exclaiming over finds and studying symbols, trying to decipher meanings.
As they excavated, incomplete sections of faded murals appeared on the walls. The location, higher and farther north than the Dalish camp, had a drier climate. They had left the forest behind as they climbed to the site. Olivia grew excited hoping that the floor might be covered in mosaics. She assigned pair of university workers to dig a trench down to the floor. They wouldn't get the entire room excavated in three months, but at least they could determine if it was worth returning to, either later in Justinian or the next year. Aethlyn suggested the clan could continue working, using Olivia's methods and, seeing how proficient and diligent the three elves had become, she was considering it. Besides, she had said to Lys, I can't stop them. I'd rather they work with me and we share what we learn.
As the weeks passed, and the months changed from Guardian to Drakonis to Cloudreach, the workers did find a mosaic floor, which Liv had them cover, leaving that excavation for a future expedition. By then, they had a more exciting find. While digging near the edge of the plot, Myrin's trowel broke through the dirt into a hole. He shouted and the company gathered round to watch the earth crumble into what must be a large open space. Myrin lowered a lantern into the hole, but reported seeing only more dirt. He asked Liv if he could go into the space, offering to create a rope harness which would let the others pull him out.
"This is where we wish for a light and a snake with eyes," Lys whispered to Kai.
"A what? Oh, one of those optic cables with a camera on the end. I have one." She looked at the crowd around the ragged opening. "But they'll all have to go elsewhere before I can use it."
"They have to eat sometime," Lys replied, grinning.
While she appreciated Myrin's offer, Liv suggested a lantern be lowered instead of a human or elf. We need to know what's down there before we go in.
"Yeah, could be giant spiders," Kai whispered to Lys, as she ran her fingers up her friend's spine.
Lys jumped back. "Or 'spawn," Lys snapped. "And stay away from me."
They both turned hearing Aethlyn chuckle behind them. "I take it you dislike spiders, Lys?"
"The five-foot-high, spitting poison kind, yes. Yes, I do. Not terribly fond of the smaller ones either."
"Meaning she runs screaming away asking me to save her," Kai added.
"You two truly are friends," Aethlyn said.
"You doubted it?" Kai asked.
"I wondered. It is unusual, yes?"
Kai nodded. "So, me threatening her with a spidery demise convinced you?"
"Only good friends could joke in such a manner, I think." She frowned. "Do you really believe there could be danger?"
"Are we in Thedas?" Lys asked, with a wry grin. "In our experience, dark holes usually hold some sort of critter we have to fight. This is not Ferelden and the Blight's over so we may be over-reacting."
"I hope so."
With no further explorations allowed, the crowd returned to their tasks, leaving Myrin, Kai, and Lys near the opening.
"Can't you convince Master Olivia to let me go in?" he asked Kai. "The others could easily pull me out if there's a danger."
"One danger would be a cave-in," Lys replied. "The entrance needs to be shored up so that won't happen. We can't pull you out if you're buried."
"Ah. I hadn't thought of that, obviously," Myrin muttered. He walked off to help Dara with her tasks.
With everyone occupied elsewhere, Kai pulled out the snake and eased the long cable into the hole, while Lys watched to warn of any approaching Thedosians. She itched to look at the small screen Kai held, but refrained. There would be time to review the vid in their tent. Finally, Kai said done and they returned to their tent.
"Look at that." Kai pointed to a ragged opening in the far wall of the room. That's not a doorway."
"No, the mural should continue across that space. Dwarves or darkspawn? And when?"
The vid showed a square room, with a painted mural on two walls. A third wall had a stone bench running along it. In the corner, a skeleton huddled, holding a smaller skeleton.
"So sad," Lys said. "They must have suffocated or starved to death after the landslide buried them. We need to tell Liv. The bodies should be buried, and that tunnel should be explored."
"They should have that opening shored up safely enough within a day," Liv said, after Lys and Kai showed her the vid. "Use tomorrow to work with Myrin on harnesses. I won't have anyone go in without one. He should go in and help us remove the bodies. Aethlyn can tell us the proper ritual for their burial.
"Once the bodies are retrieved, we can explore the room and look into the tunnel. If it's dwarven, it will have proper supports; if not…."
"If not, we need to take great care. It could have been dug last year or five ages ago, but either way, it may still be in use."
Liv nodded. "You think the hole Myrin found was an exit from the room?"
Lys nodded. "Either whoever made it filled it in, or it collapsed. It could have been dwarves looting the ruins-"
"-or 'spawn." Kai added. "We should make a plan on how to deal with an attack and alert the Lavellan clan of the possible danger."
Liv sighed. "Can I leave that to you two? My expertise does not extend to the strategy and tactics of fighting darkspawn."
Her niece nodded, grimly adding, "Ours does."
"Yes, but how do we know about the tunnel? No one's been into the room," Kai asked. "We can't go to the guard captain and say we had a vision."
"It worked for Leliana," Lys said, eyes open wide. "Sort of."
Kai giggled. "I missed Lothering, remember?"
"Oh right. She was more Sister Stabbity-stab-stab-stab when you met her." She stared at Kai. "Did you ever think we would laugh about this stuff?"
"Well, yeah, Zev told me we would, and I believed him."
Lys opened her mouth, but stopped before a word came out. The ring still hung around Kai's neck, but now was not the time to re-open that conversation.
"We'll just have to convince them that we think the hole Myrin discovered was dug by someone or something and caved in again. That should be enough of a threat."
Liv and Kai nodded. "Or we become hysterical Fereldan's fearing a second Blight."
"Overkill, Kai." Lys said, adding that they should include Aethlyn in their conversation with the guard captain.
The two Fereldans, found Aethlyn and the three women walked over to the guards' tent to speak with the captain and his lieutenant, Joscelin, explaining their concerns and what their experience during the Blight had taught them. The two men and Aethlyn agreed that planning for the worst would make sense.
Noting that they had two archers, a light fighter, and a mage, in addition to the eighteen guards, Lys suggested using a square to defend the workers. "Kai, Aethlyn, Myrin, and I can climb to that overlook above the camp," she said, pointing upward to a wide ledge. "I can defend them, while your guards form three sides of square against the cliff. The workers can gather inside. We'll use magic and arrows to take out any archers or mages."
"Mages?"
"If its Carta, there won't be mages, unless they've hired humans or elves, which they sometimes do. If it's darkspawn, there may be emissaries, darkspawn mages. Both will have archers."
The captain shook his head. "I've never fought either, only humans."
"We have," Kai said. "More times than we care to remember."
"It's a sound plan," Joscelin said to his captain. "Lys has told me of fighting the different types of darkspawn. We should gather the guards, explain our plan, and the type of enemy they may face."
Agreeing, the captain added that patrols and pickets should be increased. "We can hope all this effort is for nought, but, whether it's Carta or darkspawn, we need to be ready."
That evening, for half the guards, and the next morning for the other half, Kai and Lys explained the plan. Aethlyn joined them, adding that she would send Dara and one of the guards to Keeper Deshanna in the morning. "The trek downhill to the Lavellan camp will take less than a day. They will return with hunters, who will provide more arrows against our enemies."
Work continued until the hole into the buried room was shored up, allowing Myrin, Kai, Lys, and one of the Arethian experts to enter the room. Aethlin remained at the entrance to advise Kai and Myrin on retrieval of the bodies, while Lys and, Amy, the Arethian, explored the room. A gasp from Amy made Lys turn to join her. The hole in the wall seemed far larger than it had appeared on the vid. Ripped through the bricks that formed the wall of the building, it extended up to the edge of the ten-foot-high ceiling. The breach led into another buried room with another rough opening. Lys suspected it went on through the ancestral elven village to a branch of the Deep Roads. It would make exploring the extent of the ruins easier, once the workers shored up the route, except for the risk of attack.
Looking around, Lys neither saw, nor smelled any evidence of recent occupation by Carta or darkspawn. She did see artifacts, rotting wooden furniture, a collapsed loom and other tools, but no more bodies. That did not prove no Carta had been here. They might be selective in their looting, taking only valuables and leaving the rest. Returning to the first room, she found Kai and Myrin lifting the remains up to Aethlyn. She joined Amy and the others as they followed the remains to the surface.
"The tunnel appears to cut through the entire village," Lys reported. "It shows no sign of recent occupation, but I couldn't tell what created it or when."
After supper, Aethlyn came to sit by Lys. The guard and Dara had taken two horses to ride back to the Lavellan camp, Aethlyn reported. The two-day journey on foot, uphill, with carts, would take only a day for the riders. The hunters could return in a day and half and she felt sure they would leave soon after Dara arrived. The guard and Dara would follow, after some rest, catching up easily on horseback.
The next day proved uneventful. Several workers, including Kai and Myrin, returned to the room to gather artifacts and record descriptions of the mural and mosaic floor. Kai had gone down alone the previous night, with Lys guarding the entrance, to take a vid and still photos. The other workers returned to the original plot to continue their excavations, while Aethlyn prepared the bodies, the skeletons of what appeared to be a mother and child, for burial. One of the guards, an elf from Wycome, dug the grave and Lys found a pinon pine sapling which she dug up and brought back to plant on the burial mound. Aethlyn would perform the rituals at dusk to inter the two bodies together.
After the burial, attended by everyone in the camp, Lys and Aethlyn sat by the fire in the late afternoon chill.
"It affected you more than some of the others," Aethlyn said.
"I can't imagine being buried with your child, knowing you would both die. It's horrific." She wiped her cheeks again. "I know, I've seen so much death, but this…it affected me deeply." She sniffed and looked over at Kai and Myrin, heads together, talking.
"They get along well," Aethlyn said. "I've never seen him so relaxed with a woman."
"I hope they're only friends," Lys replied. "Kai can do as she wants, but I don't think she's ready to settle down with a clan. She could have stayed with the Rasiae and didn't."
"Don't worry. Myrin is not ready to settle. That's the problem. I think Kai's attraction is that she won't stay."
"He's of an age to marry?"
"Yes, but he's a man. He can wait a few years yet and still father children."
"Ah, yes. A benefit of maleness."
They both laughed softly.
"You do not ask." Aethlyn said.
Lys cocked her head, eyebrow raised. "You mean why you aren't married?" She shrugged. "Or are you asking me?"
Aethlyn laughed. "Both."
"I was bonded to my lover in a Dalish ceremony during the Blight. He died. I had his son. He's with his grandfather while Kai and I are here."
"Oh, I am sorry," Aethlyn reached out to take Lys' hand. "You look so young I thought…and that's why the woman and her child affected you so."
Lys nodded in agreement, but changed the subject. "We were young, but you grow up quickly fighting darkspawn every day and watching those around you die."
"Yes, I suppose you would."
"You?" Lys asked.
"I have not met a man I wanted or who would have me. It's difficult for a First. There's a man in another clan who may come and join us, but the decision to change clans is not easy. I will know if he will have me before the summer ends."
"You like him? You met him at the last Arlathvhen?"
Aethlyn nodded. "I am young, only seventeen, so I have time." She started at a strange noise and as she and Lys rose a guard ran into the camp. "
Darkspawn!" he yelled. Six other guards, who had been patrolling the camp's perimeter converged on the center of the camp. The other guards joined them. They formed the square, using the cliff as one side and called for the workers to get inside.
"Darkspawn can die just like any living creature," Lys yelled. "Kill any mages first, then the archers. Kai and Myrin get your bows. Aethlyn and I will join you. Joscelin send one of your guards with me. We must defend the archers and the mage."
Kai and Myrin had already scouted the ledge overlooking the camp. As the five companions reached the height, a band of genlocks came across the open area beyond the camp. Kai nocked an arrow and loosed. Soon she and Myrin had maimed or killed a half dozen, while Aethlyn's lightening wounded or killed a few more. Only four made it to the square and the guards made quick work of them.
Kai heard Lys murmuring don't let there be an ogre, don't let there be an ogre, as two emissaries appeared with a larger horde of hurlocks and genlocks. Next to her, Myrin growled that the fight had begun.
Both archers and Aethlyn targeted the emissaries, disturbing their casting, and killing one. The other scuttled behind a hurlock, still able to target part of the square, but inaccessible to the archers' arrows. Two guards fell to those arrows and were quickly dragged inside the square, as their fellow soldiers filled the gaps. Aethlyn cast a paralyze spell affecting both the hurlock and the emissary, and then, as Lys watched, roots grew from the ground to encase them. She had heard of earth magic when with the Rasiae, Kai had seen it use by a Dalish mage in the Brecilian, but she had never witnessed it firsthand. Added to Aethlyn's other skills, it made her a powerful mage, indeed. The hurlock broke free from the woody cage, which freed the roots to tighten around the emissary preventing him from casting. She turned her attention back to the battle seeing Kai and Myrin targeting the hurlock approaching the square. Their arrows caught the attention of another hurlock and his genlock companions who rushed up the narrow path along the cliff. The guard and Lys, blocking the path, took on the attackers, while Myrin and Kai kept shooting and Aethlyn cast.
Lys raised her blades to parry the hurlock's first strike. I'm slow. It's been too long since I fought a real battle. She ignored the commands popping into her head, knowing she could depend on muscle memory and instinct. Focus. You've done this before. She parried again, taking the hurlock's measure. She had to stay beyond the long reach of his great sword and attack when he drew it back. On such a narrow path, she had no room to roll under his blade, but, using a great sword, he moved slowly too. The next time he pulled back to ready an attack, she ducked under his blade and sliced his ankles with one of her own. He howled as she cut the tendons and then pushed. He fell and rolled off the cliff path. She jumped to her feet just as a genlock plunged a dagger into the spot where she had crouched a moment before. Behind him, Kai plunged her two daggers into the genlocks back. The guard had killed the other hurlock and the last genlock lay writhing on the ground, held by another Earth magic spell Aethlyn had cast. Lys slid one of her blades across his throat.
Myrin had continued to loose arrow after arrow beyond the square below, as the fight swirled around him. The second emissary lay dead, still encased in his wooden cage. Aethlyn had entrapped the injured hurlock at the bottom of the hill and killed him. Kai retrieved her bow and the three elves resumed loosing and casting as the guards killed the last of the marauding darkspawn attacking the square. Silence settled on the little camp.
Lys looked at Kai who smiled and shook her head. "Did you truly believe we'd meet no darkspawn. It is Thedas."
Lys took a deep breath and began to laugh. "Do we attract them?"
Myrin, Joscelin, and Aethlyn looked at the two women, perplexed.
"It's just, we venture out on an expedition for the first time since the Blight in Ferelden and," Lys shrugged, "we meet this." She spread her arms to encompass the area. "Let's go. We should get a patrol together and make sure no more are lurking about."
"And see if we can find where they came from," Kai added. "They did not come up from the ruins.
"And that is disturbing, although perhaps we should wait for dawn." Thankfully everyone's been taking the Blight meds Olivia brought. "Anyone injured?" Lys asked as they approached the square.
"Two hit by the darkspawn mage's lightening and a few scratches from blades," one of the guards said, but Maker be praised, they had no archers and their mages did little other damage under your attacks.
"Good. Make sure you clean up and remove all blood, particularly in the wounds. We'll need to gather the bodies and burn them, but don't touch them. Collect sturdy branches. We'll use them to roll the bodies into a pile and create the pyre."
"Burning is best," Aethlyn agreed. "We do the same when we encounter them. It rids the area of taint." She turned to Lys. "I would go with you when you patrol. A darkspawn nest near here also threatens the clan."
"Let's gather branches first and get the pyre started tonight. At dawn, six guards can go with me, you, and Myrin. Kai can stay here in case any more attack. We'll patrol in a circle moving outward. Hopefully, that will keep any others away from camp." We'll keep careful watch through the night, as the pyre burns."
"Should we withdraw to the camp by Clan Lavellan tomorrow," Olivia asked.
"No. We're an easy target while on the move. Let's make sure the way is clear first."
"Our hunters should arrive tomorrow," Aethlin added, "with Dara and the guard. They can help patrol. I think the others should keep on working, but stay out of the buried room."
"I've already placed guards at the tunnel entrance," the guard captain said. "With no serious injuries, half our company can keep watch, away from the pyre's light, all night. Once the pyre is lit, the others will get some rest."
"The good news is darkspawn don't employ stealth," Kai said. "You'll hear them coming."
"Unless they erupt from the ground," Lys noted.
"What?" Joscelin and the captain looked confused. "We're guarding the hole."
"No, not from the hole. They can tunnel and come up through the ground. It's not stealth, but it's just as effective. Just be ready for the unexpected. We've proven we can fight them. Usually attacks like this come from small-ish patrols of one or two score. There are twenty-six dead here."
"This may be all?"
"We can hope, but don't let down your guard." The group broke up to gather large sticks and retrieve bodies for the pyre.
Setting out as the sky lightened in the east, Lys led the patrol along the path the darkspawn had followed to attack the camp. Crushed bushes, broken tree branches, and disturbed earth marked the route, leading to another cliff face and the entrance to a cave. Edging along the cave's walls towards another opening at its rear, Lys entered and found herself in an expansive cavern. Remains of a darkspawn camp littered the ground, but no spawn emerged from the shadows to defend their space.
The patrol split, sidling along the cavern's walls looking for other tunnels. Kai's group found one. Warily, the group proceeded through the narrow, low ceilinged space. As they rounded a bend, light appeared, and they peered out onto a section of the Deep Roads. Kai heard Aethlyn gasp. Seeing the Roads for the first time did impress. The paved road, robust columns and towering space below the twenty-foot ceiling. She looked at Lys who shrugged and shook her head. No 'spawn in sight, no fires indicating camps, nothing but empty Road. Lys motioned for the group to return to the cavern, wishing they had a warden with them who could sense if any darkspawn lurked in the depths of the Roads nearby.
"That's what the dwarves built throughout Thedas," Aethlyn asked.
"What's left of the Roads, anyway." Lys confirmed. "I saw and smelled nothing there to indicate a darkspawn presence. It seems our attackers were a small patrol. More may come, if these do not return to their base, but there's no imminent threat.
"We should send a message to the wardens in Ansburg. They can patrol far better than we can and close the entrance to the Roads. I suspect that tunnel in our ruins leads to the Deep Roads as well, if it hasn't caved in. The wardens can explore that too. There are dwarven wardens who can help ensure it's closed." She looked at Aethlyn. "You should help the wardens when they come. They can clear it all much more quickly if your clan guides them."
"We will. Deshanna believes in assisting the wardens."
When they returned to camp, they found Dara had returned with a dozen hunters. With darkspawn threatening Deshanna had wanted a strong force capable of withstanding an attack. Many were adept with both bow and blades.
Olivia called the entire camp together after their mid-day meal to announce they would finish up and close the explorations for this season. While they did so, Lys, with Joscelin and two guards, would return to Ansburg to report the attack to the wardens. With the Lavellan clan camped so close, the need to block Deep Roads access was critical.
x==========x
Lys, with Joscelin and the two guards, rode to the Lavellan camp at dawn the next day, accompanied by Aethlyn, leaving Kai and Myrin behind at the Ruins camp with the clan hunters and Dara to help the University group close the site. The two young women spoke with Keeper Deshanna for a long time, relating what had happened and what the expedition had discovered. Lys left with her companions early the next morning, carrying more food and drink than they needed, as well as the thanks of the clan. They covered the distance to Ansburg in three days, stopping each night to rest their mounts and sleep. Lys, Joscelin and the guards rode into Ansburg a week after the darkspawn attack on the camp. They headed directly for the Grey Warden compound.
A/N: Thanks to my wonderful betas Kira Tamarion and Elyssa Cousland, whose efforts make this a better story. Any errors are mine. Appreciate all who favorited, followed, and gave kudos. I hope you continue to read and enjoy.