Nike felt Tahja's arms tighten around her waist and silently kicked herself for a fool. She should at least have let the elf off the horse.

There was no helping it now. She didn't dare stop. Oddly eager, the grullo lunged into the shade of the trees, pushing swiftly through the underbrush without hesitation. As Nike turned his head in the direction of Cutter's Gully she felt that aching tug in her gut grow a little more.

"Where are we going?" Tahja asked breathlessly.

"Just hang on," Nike told her. She had a decent sense of direction but they had come at the Gully from an entirely different way, and it was easy to become disoriented in the woods. As the ground grew rockier she slowed the grullo to a safer trot. The ache became a throb. Holly, who had naturally followed her mistress, paced at the horse's side and began to growl.

Nike hauled the horse to a halt, taking out her bow and setting to stringing it, her eyes fixed on every flutter of leaf or flit of shadow.

"I am going to dismount," she said. "When I do, take the horse and- "

"I will not," Tahja said, and though there was a faint tremor in her voice it was remarkably stern.

"I beg your pardon?" Nike asked, more surprised than anything else.

"Mistress, I know that I was in the charge of your family, and I loved them- and you! - like my own. I still do. But all things considered I'm not a servant any more. You cannot order me."

"I didn't-" Nike was so taken aback that she barely knew how to respond. "I wasn't- "

"The darkspawn are close?" Tahja asked.

"Yes, very close. I don't want you to get hurt, Tahja. This isn't your fight."

"I'm not leaving you," the elf replied matter-of-factly. "If you mean to fight the darkspawn you'll do it with me here."

"I'm not here to fight them, I'm here because-…" She shook her head sternly. Now was not the time to discuss this, not with her gut aching more and more as each second passed. "Never mind. You are not my servant but you are still my friend, and the only skill you have with a knife is around butter and cheese, am I wrong?"

"No," Tahja said meekly, her voice still a quaver. "But- "

"But nothing. I will fight the darkspawn as they come. If I am overwhelmed, you will take the horse and go back to Alistair and the Sister at once. Putting yourself at risk will not help me, do you understand?"

Perhaps surprised at herself for her bravado, Tahja didn't seem to have the confidence to argue further. Or else she saw that argument would serve her nothing. Regardless, she just nodded. "Yes, of course."

She probably would not have far to go if she did have to flee. Behind them in the trees, she could hear that Alistair and the Sister were both following them.

"Hold tight then," Nike said, and bow in hand, spurred the grullo forward with her knees. He moved forward into a trot again.

She had not come an ill way. Only a few moments later she saw the path moving down toward the Gully in front of her, and as they joined it they were able to move more swiftly. Nike heard Tahja's faint gasp as they rode into the gully, and she saw the cage with the Qunari.

Sten of the Beresaad was sitting now, instead of standing, but his gaze was as unreadable as it had ever been as he watched her slide off the horse. She handed Tahja the reins and gave Holly a stern look. "Stay with her, keep her safe."

The hound gave an impatient stamp of her feet but did not follow Nike as she hurried toward the cages. When she did not stop to stare at Sten or even address him, he got slowly to his feet and watched her.

She reached the far wall of the gully and lifted her bow, just as the head of a genlock appeared over the rocky ridge. The arrow sang into his throat and he choked, pawing at it as his knees gave way and he tumbled down almost right at her feet.

Four more darkspawn appeared over the edge of the ridge. Three immediately jumped down, their pitted and knicked axes glimmering. One stood still up top, making an odd honking sound and pumping his fist in the air. Afraid that he was trying to signal others yet unseen behind him, she took aim and loosed again.

The arrow hit him high in his chest and he recoiled. She could not afford to stay in one place as the other three now in the Gully came on.

The nearest swung at her just as her back came up against one of the empty cages. She ducked the swing, and the rusted cage rang like bells, the axe breaking through the old iron. Metal squealed on metal as he wrenched it back again.

Holly was barking madly, lips skinned up to show her wicked teeth to the gums, but she made no move to leave Tahja's side.

The hindmost of the three darkspawn had noticed the Qunari. It was stupidly trying to wedge its axe in between the bars, and the Qunari stepped forward, closing his large hand around the hurlock's neck. Nike took advantage of the suddenly stationary target to put an arrow into its temple. Black blood spilled down as the thing snarled and slapped at its own cheek, legs already crumpling. Sten pulled his hand back before the foul blood had a chance to touch his skin.

What are you doing? What are you doing? The thought chanted in Nike's head. Her stomach was a riot of taut pain, and the gully floor wasn't the most maneuverable place. Gritting her teeth she sent another shaft toward the nearest one, who had gotten his axe free and was gearing up to swing it. Though the arrow sank into his chest he did not react to it, sending the blade thundering right toward her face.

Half in fear, half in reflex, Nike fell back to the ground, listening as the blade whistled past and watching a small lock or two of hair drifting down idly in front of her face. Holly was bellowing frantically, and despite her training lunged forward a bound or two, intent on Nike's attacker. Nike did not see Tahja drop from the horse and grab at the mabari's collar, keeping her back; her eyes were on something far more horrible.

Nike screamed, scrambling back, the bow in her hand all but forgotten for a moment. A gigantic spider, larger than Holly, sprang down from the ridge wall and knocked the genlock to the ground. A wicked stinger, some six inches in length and glimmering with poison, stabbed again and again into its gut.

Nike dropped several arrows as she tried to claw one out of the quiver, her shaking hands finally setting it to the bow as she jumped back up to her feet. As she started to draw it, however, the monster spider turned a little.

It had yellow eyes.

It abandoned the dying hurlock at its feet and ran toward the last of the darkspawn as Nike's heart restarted with a bone-jarring thud.

Swords clashed just out of sight and as the last genlock went down under the spider's nasty stinger, Leliana galloped into the gully. Her neat little mare all but skidded to a halt under a riot of feathers and indignant cries made by the crows in their cages.

The Sister had a bow in her hand as well, and seeing her stretch it toward the spider Nike shouted.

"No! No, don't shoot her!"

She rushed over in front of Leliana, her hands held up. She still had her bow in one, an arrow in the other, as she put herself between the woman and her prey.

"Don't shoot her!" she said again. "She's with us!"

The Sister slid off her horse, lowering her bow. "There are one or two on the ridge," she said.

"Sounds like Alistair is taking care of those. Can you get this man's cage open?"

"I can certainly try," she said, but Nike was already rushing up on a path that would take her to the top of the gully.

Two more darkspawn were on the ground, one wearing the arrow she'd shot at it earlier. Alistair was sword to axe with another, a very large Hurlock, and behind him Nike could see at least two others rushing through the trees. She snapped a pair of arrows toward them, and one fell with a screaming cry. The other kept on with a dragging limp, the shaft she'd placed sunk deep in the crease of his thigh. She let fly, and again. The second arrow dropped the thing to its knees, the third finally sending it dead to the ground. A moment later, and the head of the last was tumbling into the underbrush as Alistair beheaded it.

Black spits of ichor sprayed toward her from the severed head, and she threw an arm up against it. As she slowly lowered it, Alistair stalked over to her. His face was pale, his voice high pitched with his fear and anger.

"What were you thinking?" he asked. "By Andraste's own good hand, what possessed you to take off like that? Are…are you all right?"

She was looking at her sleeve, where a few pats of the dark blood had landed, and she nodded slowly. "Yes, I think so. None got on my skin, I don't think. Let's get back down to the others."

She didn't give him a chance to respond, or to repeat his questions. Hurrying down the gully again, she arrived just as the Sister got the Qunari's cage open.

Nike passed Tahja, still on her feet and holding Angry Horse's reins, and headed over to the pair. When Sten made no move to step out of the cage she made an impatient sound.

"Are you coming out or not?"

"Why have you done this?" he asked.

"An odd question," she said, her brows knitting.

"One I would like an answer to."

"So would I," Alistair said, getting to her side. "Isn't he a murderer?"

"I don't think it's just or civil to leave you locked up here to be torn apart," Nike said. "Whatever your crimes."

"Think about this, Nike. If he kills again, it'll be blood on our hands, for letting him out," Alistair said.

"And his blood on our hands if I don't," she replied. "I can't stop thinking about this. I cannot in good conscience allow this to happen, whatever he's done. It's not right."

She set an arrow to the string of her bow, then looked at the Qunari. "So, here's the deal. You come with us, and you help us stop the Blight. This is not optional. If you don't, if you think you should still die, I'll oblige and put this arrow through your eye right now. That's a more just death than being helpless and torn apart. You harm anyone else, any other innocent, and I will do the same. Help us stop the Blight, save lives."

"You're a Sister," Alistair said to Leliana. "Do you think this is wise?"

"Hardly anything about our venture is wise," she said. "If he feels that helping to save lives will square his balance with the Maker, that is between him and the Maker. I know the Revered Mother left him in the cage to be taken by the darkspawn, but I disagreed then and I do so now. He wasn't put there because it was a just end; he was put there because there was no time for a trial and she had no desire to dirty her hands."

Nike blanched. "I thought he at least had a trial! Are you saying he was locked up in here and they hadn't even proven his guilt?"

"He confessed it," Leliana said. "I suppose the Revered Mother thought that enough. Either way, for our purposes, it is no more or less wise than having an apostate in the group."

When Nike looked at her, she shrugged a little. "It is not every day that giant spiders turn into ravens."

Nike looked around at the trees for any sign of Morrigan, but she couldn't be seen. She hoped this wasn't going to be an issue now- having a Sister of the Chantry in the same camp as an apostate mage- but now was not the time to worry about it.

Nike's gut had improved with every darkspawn they had killed, but the cramping sensation had not vanished completely. There were more coming, and they could not stand here and debate this further.

"Sten?" she said. "Do you agree or do you not? If not, I'll put you down right now and we'll have the end of it. If so, then you need to step out of there so that we can go. More darkspawn are on their way."

"I will come," he said simply, and stepped out of the cage.

She removed the arrow from her string and put it back in her quiver. "Then we need to move."

"We don't have a horse for him," Alistair pointed out. "He could ride the mabari…"

Holly gave him a baleful look and a faint growl; clearly, she didn't find this funny.

"I can run," Sten said calmly.

"It'll do for now," Nike said, swinging up again on Angry Horse and helping Tahja back up behind her. She looked toward Lothering and tried not to worry. Adaon and her family knew the danger, and had warned the town and the refugees. She would have to trust that was enough to get them out of harm's way before more darkspawn appeared.

This may have only been a scouting party, but the bulk of the horde was not far away.

They rode back through the trees, Sten trotting behind them. Nike hoped she hadn't made a bad decision just to quiet the prick of her conscience. If anyone got hurt because she had let him out, she didn't know how she was going to live with it.

There was a bright glimmer in all this worry, however. The Chantry would have no reason to suspect that he had escaped rather than being killed by darkspawn, so this wouldn't bring any additional bounties on their heads- she didn't think.

Out of the side of her eye she regarding Leliana again. If she saw fit to report to the Chantry about letting Sten out, or about them travelling with an apostate-

-but no. Nike couldn't keep second guessing herself. The entire situation was a nightmare, and had been from the word 'go'. By coming with them, Leliana at least was putting herself at risk of facing death if bounty hunters caught up with them, and Nike still could see no benefit to the Sister for joining them. Sten was risking execution if he was caught, and Morrigan faced being killed or being held in the Tower as an apostate. The very security of the group hinged on there being severe mutual fall out if things went badly.

Right now, she couldn't think about it. Right now, they had to put as much distance between themselves and the darkspawn as they could. Get to Redcliffe and Arl Eamon. That was all she could focus on, all she could think about.

Around her throat, that noose of time seemed to draw another centimeter or so tighter.