A/N: New chapter a day early! Enjoy!
We saw the others off as they headed towards Highever to meet the ship. Ellana seemed nervous about being separated from me, but I was glad to be away from her and the others for the time being. Ellana and I needed to sort our problems privately, without the others - particularly Solas and Varric - sticking their noses in. Cullen had rounded up the group of seasoned soldiers from among the local recruits and directed them to accompany us. I could hear them murmuring amongst themselves behind Cullen and I as I mulled things over.
"Are you worried about your sister?" Cullen probed as we entered a tunnel at the far end of the village leading out to the King's Highway.
"No, she'll be fine," I sighed, "I just hope she finds solutions and not a cathedral full of Chancellors." Thinking back to Ellana, Cullen and Roderick's standoff before we left.
"The stuff of nightmares," Cullen mocked.
I barked a laugh, but a scowl quickly took its place.
"Are you upset?" he inquired.
"No, she and I...we just need to sort our problems privately," I spoke in annoyance.
"I didn't mean to pry," Cullen muttered.
I turned my head to offer an apology, but it died in my throat as I studied his profile in the dim light of the tunnel. He'd grown into a strong jaw and nose; his face ridiculously handsome even with the constant presence of stubble. His eyes were warm and kind. There was still the haunted look in them at times, but no longer the anger or hatred he'd had after Uldred.
Those eyes were like liquid gold in the light of the torches as they scanned ahead of us for danger. His gloved hands rested on his longsword's pommel, a shield strapped across his chest. The man beside me was not the boy I had watched be tortured and broken in Kinloch Hold. He was strong and confident; kind and warm.
My heart fluttered as I watched him from under my lashes. My cheeks heated as I studied his full lips, the strong column of his neck as it sloped into his broad shoulders. His eyes shifted to me, as if sensing my perusal, and I looked at him a split second too long. He smirked mischievously when he caught my stare, but his own cheeks turned a little pink. I quickly looked away, but blood pounded in my face as I wallowed in my embarrassment. Friends, Meira. Friends do not stare longingly at their male companions. We said nothing as we continued through the tunnel, the tension palpable.
It quickly evaporated as we exited the tunnel. I gasped when I saw the destruction before us. House after house had been burned to the ground, smoke still curling off their charred remains. Then I saw what had made the rest of the party go completely silent: bodies were strewn across the road before us. Mages, templars, townsfolk, animals and worst of all - agents of the Inquisition.
I looked away from the bloody scene, noticing that a few of the Inquisition's people had been strung up in nooses, their faces disgustingly contorted. Behind the burned houses, I could see a mass of moving bodies. The sound of fighting was nearly deafening as armor glinted and magic flashed along the battleground. The smoking remains of a huge fort served as the backdrop of the chaos.
"You there," Cullen pointed at a soldier towards the back, "Return to Vale and tell him to come collect our people. They need to be put to rest with honor; have him pen their names down and send them to Sister Nightingale. Tell him to put the other bodies on pyres as well."
The soldier nodded and headed back through the tunnel.
"We need to be cautious," Cullen murmured, unstrapping his shield and placing it on his left arm.
He nodded towards a path to our right that led into the trees. The rest of us followed suit in unsheathing weapons before we crept along behind Cullen, nearly pressing into each other. We stayed silent, Cullen directing with nods and hand gestures. Once further inside the woods, we realized we may have put ourselves in more danger. The woods were filled with wards, hanging or frozen bodies and the sound of footfalls.
As we hid behind brush and trees when some of those footfalls came nearer to us, we caught a glimpse of its occupants. Circle robes and staffs lit with magic decorated the two that walked by our hiding spot. My eyes shifted to Cullen for a moment: he was barely breathing, his body taut but rapt with attention to the conversation taking place.
"Have we located the templars' camp?" a man's voice asked.
"No, but we have narrowed it down," a woman's voice responded, "I doubt they would be far. Besides if they tried to attack the cave, we'd be warned by these wards."
"Regardless, we need to find them. Observe them and strike when they're weakest before they even have a chance to find us."
"I agree -" the rest was indistinguishable as they moved on, the woman occasionally stopping to cast a ward upon the ground.
We quickly snuck onward, giving them a wide berth and skirting the path we had watched them take to avoid setting off the wards. I barely breathed as we crept our way along. Cullen pulled out a map from within the folds of his mantle, studying it briefly before guiding us on.
...
Hours later, we broke through the trees into a rocky pass. I thanked the Maker that we had not run into any more trouble. We saw no signs of mages or templars along the pass we'd entered, so we hurried along while we were in the clear.
When we were feet away from a ravine, howls erupted around us. I whipped around and locked eyes with an huge wolf. I knew wolves were bigger than the average mabari, but this beast was massive. Saliva hung in ropes from its open maw; it was skeletal and had a crazed look in its glowing, green eyes. From the shadows, more beasts stalked out that were identical to it.
Our group tightened ranks, backs to each other, blades in front. Then I heard it: the inhuman shriek of a terror demon. The ground beneath us glowed.
"MOVE!" I screamed, Minaeve and I's discussion about how it seemed to trap it's foes by attacking from underneath in my head.
We ran forward, but the wolves lunged and snapped, corralling us within the demon's reach. The demon erupted from the ground, the force knocking us down. I wasn't prepared for what came following the demon's appearance.
It was like my insides hurt. The wail it emitted tore at me like the arrow before had torn into my muscle. I was thankful that the pain, while aching, was not unbearable. I rolled to my belly, pushing myself up, but froze when I was level with the maw of a wolf. It was staring me down.
We stared at each other and I waited for it to attack. It didn't, instead it fixed it's eyes on the demon. Hatred glinted in the green of its irises, if hatred was an emotion animals could feel. Cautiously, I looked around and noticed the other wolves were attacking us.
This wolf, however, was shaking and I realized it was resisting - resisting the demon. Each time the terror demon shrieked, the wolf flinched. I turned towards the demon, flinching as well as it shrieked again.
"Meira, behind you!" Cullen shouted.
"Kill the demon, it's controlling the wolves!" I yelled back.
A wolf launched itself at Cullen. He knocked it away with his shield, but it kept lunging at him, not giving him time to swing at it with his sword. Then the demon started stalking towards him, ignoring the rest of the soldiers, as if sensing Cullen was the one in command. My heart began pounding with fear. I knew what would happen - either the demon or the wolf would take him down, he could not defend himself adequately from both. I didn't hesitate as I launched into action.
Dagger in hand, I ran towards Cullen. I lunged at the demon, sinking my dagger into its lower spine. A horrid wail tore from it before it whipped around to face me, one of its gangly arms hitting me with such force that I flew backwards. The contact was like fire, but I willed the pain down. The demon's full attention was on me now as it limped in my direction. My dagger was still stuck in its spine, so I tried to summon magic. I felt my mana flutter, but nothing came.
Strong emotions, that's what Solas had said. I watched the demon as it stalked towards me, my heart pounding in my chest. If ever I was going to set aside the walls I had built within my mind and my heart it was now. The pain could be endured and overcome; death could not be and I was not ready to die.
I closed my eyes and forced myself to open the scars in my heart. The memories of Ma and Da, of Ellana and I, of the clan were what came to me. I remembered the strength of Da's arms as he held me, of Ma's gentle touch as she tucked me in at night. A faint hum played in her voice, a lullaby long forgotten. I remembered Ellana and I dancing, playing and getting into trouble together. I remembered the clan, our bond of family that had made me feel so loved and safe as a child.
Joy and despair flooded through me as the happy memories were tinged with the pain of what followed, causing my mana to sing in my veins. It sang louder than I had ever heard it. The demon shrieked above me and my eyes snapped open in time to see its taloned hand swinging down to gut me.
I bellowed in defiance, flinging my hand out. An huge spear of ice shot out of my palm and sliced through the demon's chest. It's arm still swung towards me, but I conjured a shield of ice in my left hand and blocked it. It howled with rage, but I howled back as I conjured a sword of ice in my other hand and thrust it up to the hilt into the demon's side. Black blood spurt from the wound, but the demon hit me again. I slammed to the ground, keeping my shield above me.
As the demon swung again, the wolf that had resisted it's possession jumped over me and fastened its jaws on its arm. The demon was distracted, trying to beat the wolf off of it. The wolf whimpered, but did not let go even as blood gushed from its wounds. Conjuring a pair of ice swords as I stood, I charged the demon. I swept the blades at it's legs, chopping them clean off at the knees. The demon shrieked as it fell backwards.
The wolf was flung to the side as the demon fell. Not giving it a chance to react, I raised my swords high before bringing them down to cleave the demon's head from it's body, causing its poisonous blood to gush around its twitching form. I panted for a few minutes, my body shaking.
Willing the ice swords to melt, I yanked the dagger out of the demon's spine, cleaning it off quickly. With some effort, I set the carcass ablaze. Seeing that the others had killed the other wolves, I looked to the one that had helped me. I thought it dead until I saw it's chest expand.
I rushed to it, summoning healing magic to close its wounds as I kneeled beside it. The magic pumped from me in powerful waves, the emotions I had let out still raw. The blood stopped flowing quickly, the muscles and sinew knitting back together under the new skin that was weaving over top. Midnight fur even sprouted. The wolf began breathing easier and slowly opened its eyes.
They were silver now, like the moon was held in them. The wolf looked at me for a moment before sitting up. We looked into each other's eyes. I nodded my thanks to the beast. I waited for it to run off, but instead it leaned forward and licked under my chin. Hesitantly, I removed a glove before putting a hand out. The wolf closed its eyes and leaned its head into my hand. I petted it affectionately.
"Meira?" Cullen murmured from behind me.
The wolf jerked away from me and bared its teeth, it's eyes boring into Cullen. Cullen raised his sword.
"Don't!" I demanded, putting myself between him and the wolf.
Cullen looked at me in confusion. The wolf continued to growl behind me. Slowly, I stood before grasping Cullen's sword arm and lowered it.
"It saved my life," I murmured as I sheathed his sword and turned to look back at the animal.
I put a hand out towards it. The wolf still growled, but approached. I took Cullen's free hand, removed his glove and stretched it towards the wolf. The beast growled again, but sniffed in Cullen's direction. It walked closer, still watching Cullen intently, but smelled the offered hand.
I watched as the wolf relaxed, licking Cullen's palm before sitting once more. I smiled at the beast and grasped Cullen's hand tightly. I felt him squeeze my fingers, his callouses rough against my skin, sending a shudder through me. I dropped his hand quickly. The wolf turned and trotted off.
"How did we fare?" I asked, looking back to the others.
"No casualties, but a few minor injuries - thankfully nothing serious," Cullen informed me, "The horsemaster shouldn't be too much farther. We'll make a camp when we get closer and I'll have you look over their wounds then."
We collected the injured, helping those that were limping, before continuing on.
...
We made our way through the shallow water at the bottom of the ravine, though I had turned to appreciate the roar of a waterfall that fed the stream now wetting my boots. With a little effort, we worked our way up a grassy incline. Farmland sprawled in a small valley before us as we crested the hill. Several houses dotted the area, fanning out from the largest house that had large stables nestled next to it.
Most of the homes looked abandoned - doors swinging on hinges, fences broken, livestock gone or dead, crops pulled or trampled - but we could hear the neighing of horses in the distance. We worked our way down the other side of the hill, following a worn path that opened to some flatland and a clear creek.
"Set up camp here," Cullen commanded the recruits when we stepped off the path, "Meira, with me."
Cullen had me check wounds, healing what needed to be healed before heading off. We worked our way to the main path that connected all the houses and led up to the main farmhouse. We saw no one outside as we walked along, but noticed more and more signs that something had happened here.
"I saw you fighting the demon," Cullen commended, "How long have you been able to conjure magical weapons? I don't think I've ever seen a mage do that. Enchant weapons to have elemental powers, but not conjure ones out of thin air."
"Since today," I snorted, "The dagger you gave me was sunk in its spine, and weapons were the first thing that came to mind - I guess because of training with the recruits."
"How?" his dark brows had shot up in surprise at my first comment.
"Solas said my mana may be tied to strong emotions," I shrugged, "So, I let myself feel some strong emotions."
"I see, so you did talk with him?" Cullen questioned.
I nodded in answer, but revealed no more of what Solas and I discussed.
"I will ask later," Cullen promised, "it seems we have arrived."
He leaned forward to knock on the door, resting his hands on his sword's pommel as he stood back. There was no answer. Cullen knocked on the door again. Still no answer. He knocked once more.
"Master Dennet?" Cullen called when silence met him, "This is Commander Cullen Rutherford of the Inquisition. Are you home?"
Footsteps could be heard on the other side of the door then. Creaking open a crack, a dark eye peered at us.
"Ya came?" a male voice asked.
"Yes," Cullen gave a nod, "I feared something had happened after I didn't receive any word from you. What happened here?"
"Bandits, possessed wolves and a bloody war on our doorstep, that's what," the man growled before stepping back.
The door opened completely and before us stood a burly man with a balding head, silver beard and a clenched jaw. Behind him were several families, their bedrolls spread all along the main hall of his home.
"How'd you get past the wolves?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.
"We killed them and the demon that had possessed them," I answered.
The man's sharp eyes settled on me, "An' who might ya be?"
"I-uh," I stuttered at his sharp tone that matched his sharp eyes.
"This is Meira. The Inquisition's second to our chief researcher, demonologist and beastologist. She is also second to our chief healer," Cullen introduced me, making me sound much more important than I was.
"I meant no o'fense, Commander. I am Master Dennet, please come inside," Dennet said as he waved us in.
As we walked inside, a hush fell over the room. All the families turned their eyes on us. This farming community looked utterly defeated. My heart went out to them as I observed frightened children, pregnant women and injured men. They all looked gaunt, dirty and one blink away from falling asleep.
"Healer, you said?" Dennet barked at us.
"Aye," Cullen nodded to me.
"We've got a few that need healin'," Dennet gestured to the bedrolls in the back.
I followed his gesture, observing a few bandaged up men being tended to by an elderly woman with her silvered hair tied up in a bun.
"Elaina, dear, the Inquisition put an end to the wolves," Dennet called to the woman, his tone softer as he addressed her, "The elf here is a' healer."
The woman turned her intelligent eyes on me as we approached. Her face was pale with exhaustion, her lips pressed firmly in anger. She wiped her wrinkled brow, tanned from working in the sun, before standing to greet us. I noticed that she did not wear a dress like most of the women in her home, instead opting for leather pants, a linen tunic, and a fur-lined vest.
"I've done what I can, but wolf bites seem beyond my ability to heal," she sighed bitterly as she wiped her hands on a cloth.
"What have you been using?" I asked, removing my gloves as I lowered myself to the man Elaina had been tending.
"I was just about to go and get some more elfroot. I've been applying poultices, but they don't seem to be working," Elaina's voice was worried.
I unwrapped one of the wounds. My brow furrowed as I took in what was obviously infection, but it was unusual. The man was in a lot of pain, a sheen of sweat on his brow, despite the elfroot poultices. Elfroot should have at the very least provided some pain relief.
"Do you have royal elfroot, embrium or spindleweed?" I asked Elaina, as I unwrapped more of the wounds, "Or on the off chance, prophet's laurel?"
"I have royal elfroot and embrium," Elaina replied.
"Good," I breathed a sigh of relief, "Get what you have, crush the whole plant into a bowl and bring some boiling water."
"It takes hours to boil water," Elaina pointed out.
"Put some in a pot and bring it to me." Good thing Solas was right about the emotions thing.
"Is there anything you need me to do?" Cullen asked, quietly, when Elaina walked away.
"No, do what you need to," I shook my head, "This will take awhile, but I should be able to clear this infection up."
"I will verify with Dennet if he's amenable to our setting up a post on his land. If so, I will go help the soldiers finish," Cullen placed a hand on my shoulder, "I am glad you came," he smiled.
"As am I," I smiled back.
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