Chapter 7: Unexpected Delays

Solas now joined Lavellan in the mornings to spar. First they warmed up with stretching and practice sets, but Lavellan insisted that they try real sparring, to help her ease into a wider range of movement with the enchanted arm. Movements that were more reactionary worked surprisingly well, which was good for defensive capabilities, but the arm itself was still quite clunky and awkward when it came to trying to replicate a move requiring exceptional dexterity or forethought.

"I miss being able to do this with both hands," she complained one day, spinning her staff overhead before striking it down upon the ground.

"Practice will help," he reminded her, not for the first time, lunging forward with an overhead strike for her to block.

She did, wincing a little as she deflected the blow. "Then stop going easy on me," she said with a coy half-grin.

He smirked in response and delivered a series of blows, all of which she deflected, dodged, or redirected.

"You can do better than that," she taunted.

"Yes, I can. I simply don't need to," he replied simply, egging her on with that clever smile of his.

She lunged forward and he met the blow, blocking it and then returning a swing that forced her to leap back several paces. "Afraid to get too close?" he teased, flashing her a grin.

She cracked her neck as she readjusted her stance. She was going to enjoy this. Springing forward, she went for a feinting move to his left and then came in close for an overhead blow.

"Not quite, vhenan."

"Sure about that?" she replied cheekily. Fast as a whip, she grabbed his shirt and pulled herself to him, capturing his lips in a kiss.

He grunted in surprise and staggered back a few steps, disengaging their staves. He let out a groan when his back hit a tree.

She broke away, grinning up at him. "You shouldn't underestimate me, vhenan." Then she leaned in to kiss him again, but he stopped her.

"Vhenan-"

"No, let me have just one more moment with your lips. I've missed them terribly. They tease me all day long-"

"-Vhenan," he said, more firmly this time, flicking his eyes up over her shoulder.

Repressing a groan she turned around to see one of the Sentinels standing there, a somewhat astonished expression on his face which he wiped away quickly enough. "Elgar, good to see you. Do you have news or some other place to be?" she hinted, plastering a grin on her face even though she was positively mortified.

"Ser, Ambassador," he said with a small bow of the head. "Breakfast is ready to be served. I was told to come and fetch you."

"Thank you, Elgar, but we can find our way to breakfast. You may go," she smiled at him through gritted teeth.

Elgar did not move, though he gave her a look that clearly expressed a touch of distaste at his commander's choice in a Dalish partner. Then he turned and spoke directly to Solas.

"Ser, if you do not come, the Dalish will suspect-"

"-Yes, Elgar, thank you. We will be there in a moment."

Elgar frowned slightly, but nodded and returned down the slope of the hill.

She sighed, but then Solas put a hand on her cheek and brought her face back to his, kissing her deeply. When he pulled away she blinked up at him in surprise. "I had to, vhenan. I could not resist."

"Now you know how I feel every time you roll up your sleeves," she muttered under her breath, taking his hand as they went down to breakfast together.

Later that day, when the sun began to set and the heat radiated through the trees, she kept glancing around at their surroundings. Noticing that she was holding herself with a peculiar stiffness, Solas asked if she was alright. She smiled at him and nodded, though she pulled her hart back to ask something of Ri'vai. A short moment later she laughed and said rather loudly, "That is the funniest thing I've heard all week. Tell Elgar, I'm sure he'd love to hear it."

Ri'vai nodded, his face surprisingly serious as he pulled back on the reins and redirected his hart to join beside Elgar and Hamin.

She urged her uncle forward until he was sandwiched between her and Solas. "Well, what is it my dear?" Alarion grumbled sourly, shifting in the saddle. She turned to them both and said in a low voice, still wearing an unnaturally cheery smile, "We're being followed. Pretend like you don't know. Ri'vai and Elgar will inform the rest so we're prepared for an attack. Now pretend to laugh like I told you something funny."

Alarion managed a false chuckle, but Solas immediately scanned the trees behind her. "What makes you think that?" Alarion asked, careful to keep his voice low.

"If you listen carefully, you might hear it if they haven't caught on yet. I wasn't entirely certain earlier, but I thought it was strange to hear a red-crested marsh wren in this climate. Keeper, stay close to us."

Alarion dipped his head and glanced about. "What should we do? Send out scouts? Stand and fight? Who even are they? Is it bandits?" he asked, his voice becoming spluttery as nerves caught up with him.

"I know as much as you do, Keeper. Take a breath. Solas and I have faced worse than whoever is out there in the forest. Trust me. When they make their move, we'll be ready."

And so they waited, listening and watching from the corners of their eyes with growing tension for some sign of an attack.

It came fast and swift, but they were not caught unaware.

A whistling sound cut through the air. Lavellan pulled back on the reins of her hart, but the beast had been struck with an arrow in its haunches and it reared back in pain, throwing her off. Shouts came from all around and smoke filled the area as everything erupted into chaos. Coughing, fighting for breath, she rolled over and forced herself to her feet as commotion broke out nearby. The sound of metal clashing, a cry of pain, frantic hooves, a man's scream, and a horse's whiney drew her attention in different directions.

Then a blade came flying at her out of the darkness. A gloved hand followed and the man threw his whole weight down onto her, crushing her back to the ground. The enchanted arm held his wrist in a solid grip and then, in a move she had learned from Cole, she tucked her leg behind his and sent a fearsome shock of electricity through his body to stun him and rolled them both. Snatching up the dagger he dropped, she buried it in his throat.

Back on her feet, she reached for her staff. A cry came from her left and she charged forward, sending a ball of fire at an enemy who had cornered a Sentinel. The enemy burst into flame and with a ripping motion she pulled the Sentinel back with a spell, out of harm's way as another assailant came in, slashing a sword.

An arrow barely missed her, landing in the dirt at her feet and she rolled to the side.

"Help!"

She whirled around, springing to her feet and running out at full speed through the smoke. Shoving her hand out, her spell blew everything back with the force of a small tornado, clearing a path of smoke and revealing a hooded figure armed with two swords hacking and slashing at Ri'vai, who was holding him off with only a spear. Freezing the ground ahead of her, she dropped and slid, knocking the assailant's feet out from under him. He landed on the hard ice and jagged icicles shot up through his body.

"Ambassador!" Ri'vai cried out, running to help her. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one who heard the cry.

All at once the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she felt suddenly exposed outside the smoke.

Two men leapt down from the trees above. Throwing herself aside, she rolled and struck them both with a chain lightning spell. A third leapt down just as Ri'vai reached her. Ri'vai parried a blow aimed for her. With a yell he kicked at the third attacker, sending him staggering back. Reaching into his pocket, the attacker flung several knives out, straight at Ri'vai's chest. The knives bounced off him as a magical shield appeared before him. Lunging quickly, he speared the attacker through the chest.

When he turned back to thank Lavellan for the shield charm though, his eyes widened in horror. Two of the knives that had missed him had hit her. "No!" he cried out.

Another two attackers came from the smoke, one came for him and the other grabbed Lavellan from behind. He slashed at the attacker, letting out a war cry, but as his spear's tip made contact with flesh, it scraped against solid stone. A gust of wind blew away the smoke and Ri'vai stared, horrified, at the stone figure before him, frozen in time.

Lavellan grit her teeth as the attacker pulled on her hair, pressing his dagger against her throat. She wondered briefly if the knife was poisoned, as she was feeling rather queasy. She glanced up to see Solas standing before them, a terrifying mask of determined focus on his face. He gripped his staff in a white-knuckled fist. Behind him, becoming more and more visible as the smoke cleared, were several former assailants turned to stone.

"Lay down your staff, Dread Wolf, or the Inquisitor dies." The voice from behind her had a thick Antivan accent.

Solas tilted his head, but let the staff fall to the ground. "Release her, unharmed, and I will give you a quick death."

The Antivan laughed. "Your illusions do not scare me, Dread Wolf. Drop to your knees or I'll bleed her dry. Not that I need to. Poison works wonders. Just a pinprick is all I need." He pressed the blade close enough to her skin to draw blood.

Solas eyed the man, but did not kneel. "Antivan Crows, I take it? Who sent you?"

"Does it matter? There's a whole slew of contracts out for your head, wolf. Killing the Inquisitor… well… that's just for glory, I reckon."

"Hardly," she muttered, concentrating very hard on controlling her body as her vision blurred before her.

"Vhenan?" Solas looked at her and a silent exchange passed between them with a glance.

"I've heard enough," she said. Focusing with all her might, the wooden hand clenched around the wrist holding a blade to her throat snapped the man's wrist, flicking the dagger away. It fell to the dirt and the man howled in pain, ripping her hair back. She cried out, but her real hand gripped his other wrist and she sent a shock of static electricity up through his body and he released her. Staggering back, he fell and when he opened his eyes again, seven sharp spears pointed down at his chest.

Solas swept down to his beloved, fear pooling in his stomach as she slumped in his arms. "Hamin, search and get answers from him. I need to know what poisons were used. If he has the antidote, give it here." His voice came out much more calm and measured than he felt.

"It'll be the silver capped bottle…" Lavellan said, her eyelids drooping.

Solas pulled out the throwing knife embedded in her shoulder and the one in her thigh, thankful they were non-lethal hits. Passing a hand over the wounds, he closed them with a spell.

"Ser! Here, four vials," Hamin pulled them from the man's pockets. The Sentinel passed him four vials all with a different colored cap: gold, silver, black, and copper. There were no other distinguishing factors or labels on Solas popped the cap on the silver one. Cradling her limp body in his arms, he tilted her head back and poured the foul smelling potion down her throat, praying.

"Ser! Are you sure that's right?" Hamin asked frantically.

"No, but I trust her."

He held his breath and watched her carefully. An eternity passed in the moment as he searched her face for signs the antidote had worked. A flood of fear welled in his stomach. Had he chosen the wrong potion? Had he given her a poison instead?

"Please, vhenan, please," he prayed, holding her tightly in his arms.

"Well if you're going to beg," she said with a groan, opening her eyes and blinking slowly up at him.

The rush of relief that hit him overtook his sense and he kissed her forehead, cradling her close to his body.

She chuckled, but enjoyed the warmth of his embrace all the same. "Careful, vhenan. We have an audience."

Solas glanced up at the faces of their guards, all with varying expressions as they tried to make sense of the scene. But Solas did not care. All he cared about was the fact that she was alright.

"Was anyone else injured?" she asked, glancing around at the stone figures.

"A few minor injuries. No serious wounds. Your warning helped. Everyone was prepared for a fight."

"Is my uncle okay? He's not much of a fighter."

"I'm still standing," he said, approaching the group, holding the reins of two harts in his hands. Alarion studied the two of them with a peculiar expression on his face. "You really do love her," he commented, looking at Solas.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Keeper," Lavellan said with a slight grin.

He passed a hand over his face, rubbing at the lines there. "And you really love him. It isn't a trick? He hasn't corrupted your mind?"

She shook her head. "It's not a trick. I'm still me. I'm just a fool in love."

"Yes, it certainly seems that way," he said dryly as she gazed up at Solas and reached up to touch his cheek. Clearing his throat he turned away. "Several of the harts and horses ran off with our supplies. We might be able to recover some, but we may need to cut our losses and keep moving. I'm not sure if there are more Crows watching us. A few tried to flee, but… they did not get far," Alarion gestured with a shaking hand to the stone statues in the trees. Noticing the shaking, he pulled his hand back against his chest, rubbing over the gnarled knuckles. "I've never seen anything like it…" he admitted, a note of fear in his voice. "He really is a god…"

The Dalish in particular were also rattled by this revelation. Trissa's eyes were as round as saucers. The others looked at their weapons, suddenly feeling very outmatched.

"Are they… Are they dead?" Ri'vai asked uneasily, eyeing the statue his speartip had sparked against only moments ago.

"They are no longer alive," Solas said simply, rising with Lavellan, supporting her as she leaned against him.

"How did you know about the caps?" came a curious voice from behind them.

They all turned to the Antivan, momentarily forgotten, who was tilting his head curiously at Lavellan.

"Played a lot of cards with my Antivan ambassador. Apparently she had a fling with one of your Crows who told her about common poisons they use. It was something like:

Black for a quick death, just a few drops in wine,

Gold is much slower, if you need to buy time,

Copper will drop a victim like a stone,

But silver will save those wishing to atone."

She shrugged. "Worth a shot, I guess. Could've been wrong. Glad I wasn't. Would've been a boring end."

"You are lucky in your friends, Inquisitor," the Antivan said with a grin.

"Luckier than you in yours, I suspect. The Crows send out their own to kill off anyone who fails to carry out a contract. Seeing as how you've failed on 'several' I think you had best consider where you put your loyalties. You may find you live a longer life if you cooperate with us."

The Antivan narrowed his eyes at her. "You are a strange person, Inquisitor. I threaten to cut your throat and you offer to help me? Either I am a fool or you are. And I am not a fool."

"Are you sure? Because I'm offering you a lifeline. Look around. You can die like the rest of the Crows. Or you can join us, tell us what you know, and do your part to protect our party the rest of the way to our destination."

He laughed. "You would trust me not to kill you?"

"Well, I could break your other hand too, which would make killing difficult. Or I could trust you not to hurt me. Because if you do, well," she glanced over her shoulder at the bodies on the ground and the stone statues, "You won't get very far."

The Antivan's eyes followed her gaze and he turned his attention back to her. "I see your point. Fine. My name is Zarrak. We had several contracts out for the Dread Wolf. Three from Dalish clans, two from Tevinter, one from Orlais, and one from a party who did not reveal their identity, but did pay rather handsomely up front. You have many enemies, wolf. More will come. You would be wise to keep me around. I could be of use."

"I am not the one making the offer. She is. If it is for me to decide, you can die like the others," Solas said coldly.

"Right," Zarrak quickly turned to Lavellan, who pasted a smile on her face. "I would prefer to serve you however I can."

She reached out and touched his wrist, healing the bone and mending the damage from the break. "Good. Welcome to the party, Zarrak. I look forward to getting to know you better. Now, I know it isn't the best of manners, but seeing as you just tried to kill me, we're going to bind your hands together for the time being. I'm sure you won't object."

"Not at all," he said, clasping his hands together as if in prayer.

"Excellent. Trissa, do you mind?"

"Not at all," the elf said darkly, unraveling a rope at her hip.

Once she had finished tying his hands together on a lead, Lavellan tapped the rope with her finger. "There. That should make it a bit more comfortable for the journey. Let me know if your wrists chaff too much. The spell wears off after a few hours. Don't try to slip away in the night though. Trissa is also the best hunter in her clan. And she's a very good shot."

Trissa yanked on the ropes. "He's not going anywhere."

"Good. Now, Zarrak, right? Yes, tell me, are any more of your Antivan Crows out there in the forest, hanging back?"

He glanced around and shook his head. "The plan was to ambush you all. But your shields forced us to take a more direct approach. Are… They're all dead then?"

"Yes. Now we must move on, I'm afraid."

They traveled on through the night. Most of their mounts were found a little ways away, huddling in a small pack. Lavellan told Trissa to use her hart to carry Zarrak. Trissa protested, but Lavellan refused to hear it, saying that it would only slow them down to have someone trailing behind on foot. She joined Solas on his hart, settling in between his arms as they continued on through the night, leaving the dead behind them.

When they stopped in the early morning, exhausted and sore from battle still, no one raised any objections when the two of them disappeared into the same tent together.

"It would have been better to kill him," Solas said, pulling off his shirt.

"Maybe. He may prove to be useful. I'm only glad there weren't any losses on our side."

"You were hurt. You could have died. This shouldn't have happened!" he snapped.

She paused in unbuttoning her shirt. "Why are you angry at me? I've been injured before."

"Where is the necklace I gave you? It should have protected you from poison. Why weren't you wearing it?"

She suddenly grew sheepish and pulled it from an inner pocket of her vest. "I wasn't sure who was out there. I thought if it was bandits it was better to not be seen wearing jewelry. I'm sorry. I didn't realize."

He covered her hand with his own and cupped the back of her head, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Never take it off. Please. I made it to protect you and keep you safe." Unclasping it, he placed it back around her neck. His fingers lightly trailed along the delicate chain to the pendant, and then he rested his hand over her heart. He inhaled slowly, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. Then he slipped his hands around her and pulled her to him, clutching her tightly and breathing in the scent of her. "You have to stay safe, vhenan. I love you too much. I cannot lose you."

Wiggling slightly to get her prosthesis out of the way, she wrapped her arms around him as well. "You too. I know you're strong, but when I lost you in the smoke, I was afraid."

He held her close. "I love you, vhenan."

She smiled up at him. "I love you too. But I really want to change out of these clothes and sleep. I'm exhausted and my arm hurts."

Solas pulled back and helped finish off the remaining buttons, slipping the shirt over her body. He passed his hand over the lingering bruises and once she removed the arm he helped ease the pain, massaging the area and healing the raw skin where the prosthesis pinched or rubbed in places. She sighed and rested her head against his chest. "Can I stay and sleep with you?"

"Of course, vhenan."

"I mean to rest. Not the fun kind."

He chuckled and motioned for her to join him on his bedroll. She did, snuggling against him and letting out a pleasant little moan as she rested her head against his arm. "Oh, I've missed this. You feel so good."

"You're going to give the guards the wrong idea if you say that any louder," he commented.

"That's not true. It would definitely be the right idea. You're very good in bed. You're just also so wonderful to cuddle with."

"So are you," he said, running his hand up her leg and over her torso to cup her breast as he breathed in the orange blossom scent of her hair. He sighed, relishing in the pleasant warmth of her and comfort of her body against his.

She let out a contented sigh and snuggled closer to him, thankful to have him so close.