Chapter 85: A Tainted Road
The sky was only just beginning to lighten when Alim awoke. The sun was only just beginning to rise, turning the world in his tent to a uniform dark gray color.
The elf stretched and shook his head, trying to will away the last remnants of his nightmares.
The group had been making its way east across the old imperial highway. Had Alim not intended to stop back at Ostagar, they could have kept to Lake Calenhad, and from there headed east across the north road to Denerim, they had done it before on the way to soldier's peak. Unfortunately, all the traders and refugees they had encountered along the way had mentioned that the civil war was flaring up across the coastlands. Loghain's men were clashing with the other nobles armies. Skirmishes quickly grew into bloody routs as the war intensified with the return of warm weather.
The wardens recognized that taking this path would likely be too dangerous, not that the road that remained open to them was much safer.
The reports and rumors they had heard all suggested that the horde had moved north out of the hinterlands and was now pushing into the central bannorn. Small raiding parties followed behind it, but these could be avoided if one was careful and had a little luck.
The group had rested an extra day before taking up the road in earnest. Once they had stepped firmly into the path behind the horde, rest would likely not be easy to attain.
Alim had turned in early that night, hoping to get some much needed sleep. The darkspawn dreams had fallen upon him like a hungry predator. He had dozed during the night, but every time he closed his eyes, the darkspawn were waiting for him.
So much for getting a good night's sleep.
The elf sat up and shook his head. It felt as if the claws of the Archdemon were still reaching out for him, its roar still echoing in his ears. The taint in his blood pulsed as he tried to will his heart to slow down; the rapid beat pulsed in his elven ears.
The beast isn't here, he reminded himself, it might be able to reach out through the taint, but it isn't here. Remember where you are, remember.
Alim took a deep breath.
The spring air should have helped clear his senses, but…unfortunately it did nothing of the sort. The farther the group drew to the east, the closer they came to the path cut through Ferelden by the darkspawn horde…
The world around him seemed to radiate with the taint.
It was growing thicker in the air by the day. It was not as bad as the deep roads perhaps, but it was still quite strong.
He reached out with his warden senses, tuning them as he had during the search for Branka, making sure that the monsters had not picked up their scent.
Alim did not sense any darkspawn nearby, just the mark of their passing. The very air seemed sick the closer they pushed on along the old imperial highway. The days seemed unnaturally warm, the nights shifted from hot to extreme cold.
It was as if the very world was reeling from the presence of the Blight, dying under the darkspawns' very touch.
Perhaps…it was.
The diffused light of the coming day gave him just enough brightness to see the beautiful woman who had come to share a bedroll with him. Leliana murmured softly in her sleep. She lay on her stomach, her face almost hidden by her mussed red hair, the pale skin of her bare back so clear to Alim's elven eyes.
He smiled at the sight, taking a small bit of comfort knowing that in the midst of the darkness, there was still hope and beauty in this world. Leli would call that evidence of the Maker's love, Alim preferred something more tangible himself.
The love a beautiful woman, the chance at a future.
He was not risking his neck for some absentee god, whether the Maker or one of the elven pantheon. He was fighting for the future, both his own and Leli's, if left unchecked the Blight would destroy Ferelden and move on to become the scourge of all of Thedas.
He would not let that happen.
He would not die easily, but if he did, he would make sure that Leliana did not. After everything she had endured in her life, she deserved a chance at happiness.
He would see that she found it.
His finger drifted down barely touching the sleeping bard's back, she sighed softly. Her back arched like a sleepy cat's.
He gently pushed back the bedroll, exposing more bare skin. His eyes fell on the scars left by the men who had tortured her years ago. He remembered the fury he had felt the first time he had seen that back in Orzammar, even before he had fallen for her he recognized the cruelty in those marks.
They did not disturb him as they once had. They were proof that she had suffered yes, but they were also a badge of her great strength. She had not just survived that ordeal, but had come out a much stronger woman because of it.
The elf's brow furrowed slightly.
Leliana believed that Marjolaine was likely still waiting for them in Denerim. The woman had to know by now that her plan to assassinate her former student had failed. When Alim suggested that Marjolaine might flee before they arrived, Leliana had dismissed that.
She knew Marjolaine, the way she played the game.
No, her old master would stay in Denerim.
She was waiting for them.
Leliana murmured in her sleep. She rolled onto her side, giving Alim a better view of her body. He ran a finger from her red lips down her throat between her breasts. His passions starting to stir from the sight her, the sounds she was making not to mention the delicious scent of her.
The lovely smell of dried wildflowers, the scent of his beloved, his dear Leliana…
He leaned in kissing her nose, then her sweet lips.
Her blue eyes fluttered open; she smiled at him, a smile that washed away all the darkness.
"Good morning," he whispered, brushing his fingers lightly over her cheek.
"Good morning," she moaned softly, enjoying his touch.
She took his hand in hers, bringing to her lips, she lightly licked the pads of his fingers.
The elf shivered under her attention. The little shocks of pleasure that went shooting up his arm.
She was teasing him, but he did not mind.
Leliana knew more than a few ways to please a man.
She sat up in their bedroll and kissed him, he responded fiercely. She drew away licking his ears while he nibbled on her neck and shoulders.
She arched her back, wanting this, wanting more attention.
Still she tried to rein it in.
"Wait," she gasped.
"Why," he almost growled, he wanted her quite badly.
She smiled fiercely at him.
"We should not start what we cannot finish," she chided, "The others are no doubt rising, we…we…
Alim's hand dipped inside the bedroll.
"Lim…I…OH MAKER!"
Leliana gasped and fell back.
The elf smiled as he crawled on top of her.
"I will try to be quick he promised."
Leliana stared at him with eyes darkened by lust.
"Not…not too quickly," she groaned in a husky voice.
He ran his tongue down her neck, she sighed responding to his caresses.
The bard surrendered, she spread her legs and…
"Lim?"
Alim buried his head in Leliana's shoulder, he growled in frustration. Leliana made a sound between a groan and a laugh.
"Warned you," she chided.
He grumbled into her shoulder.
"Lim," Alistair repeated, "Can we speak for a moment."
The elf almost snarled.
"Now," he mumbled into Leliana's shoulder, "he wants to talk now. Could he not have waited ten minutes or at least until we left the tent?"
Though she was likely as frustrated as he, the bard giggled.
"It seems we will have to pick this up later, my dearest."
The elf grumbled as he threw off left the bedroll hunting for his trousers.
"Damn it all to the void!" he said shaking his head.
"Don't be too hard on him," Leliana murmured, "He sounded worried."
Alim wanted to tell her that he should be, but held his tongue.
Berating Alistair in front of Leliana did no good.
When he stormed out of the tent he was not in the best of moods.
Whatever Alistair wanted, it had better be good.
IOI
An hour later, he found himself sitting next to Morrigan's tiny fire, trying very hard to digest what both his fellow warden and the witch had just told him, what they had just asked him to do.
Alim looked at his two comrades. Morrigan sat curled near the fire, the grimoire they had liberated from the circle tower clutched in her hands. The elf had almost not recognized her, with her hair down and dressed in one of Alistair's shirts. His fellow warden stood behind her, a nervous look on his face, no doubt expecting Alim to say no.
The elf pursed his lips.
It seemed that the two of them had rekindled their…whatever it was. The elf did not see it as a relationship per se, but it was clearly more than just physical pleasure at this point, at least for Alistair anyway. If Morrigan felt anything more…she hid it well.
Whatever was going on, it at had turned serious.
It had to be considering what both Alistair and Morrigan was asking of him.
His ears lowered slightly.
"Kill Flemeth?"
The two of them nodded.
"You want me to kill the woman who saved us from Ostagar?"
Morrigan snorted.
"Twas no act of charity on her part warden," she said, "Flemeth never does anything that does not benefit her first."
The elf glanced at his fellow warden; there had been a time that Alistair would not have jumped so quickly to the witch's aid. Clearly that time had passed. He looked extremely concerned for her welfare.
"Lim, Morrigan is in danger." The former Templar chimed in, "We cannot let Flemeth just…just steal her body."
The elf nodded. The revelation about Flemeth's long life span had apparently been the topic of Alistair and Morrigan's bedroll conversation last night. She had passed those concerns on to Alistair who was now passing them on to Alim.
Lucky me.
The elf had been surprised to hear what Morrigan had found in her mother's grimoire, the book was, in itself, not a grimoire at all, but a ledger containing the names and detailing the training of Flemeth's many daughters over the centuries. As the young witch had explained it, Flemeth had perfected the magical art of essence transfer. By using its power she had managed to claim the bodies of her daughters one by one as they had come of age. The more powerful the body, the easier it was for Flemeth to settle in to her new form. Once the transfer was complete, the soul of the younger witch would simply cease to exist, destroyed by the ancient power wielded by their mother.
Morrigan now feared that it would be her turn to end this way, and quite soon.
The witch's eyes narrowed in anger.
"I will not simply sit like an empty sack waiting to be filled," she growled, "Flemeth must be slain, and I need both your help to do it."
Alim's ears twitched as he considered Morrigan's proposal. He looked up at Alistair.
"If I say no," he said to his friend, "You will go ahead and help her anyway, won't you?"
The knight stood a little straighter.
"You would do no less for Leliana," he said, "You are going to help her deal with her old mentor in Denerim are you not?"
He wanted to say that it was different, that Marjolaine had already attacked their group once, and that they could not risk another such attack.
Marjolaine had become a threat to their mission, removing her made sense.
The elf recognized that Alistair would not see it that way. He might even see Alim as owing him one on this. The death of Connor, still weighed on both their consciences.
Alim wrinkled his nose in distaste.
He did not like being baited into anything.
"We're going to Ostagar anyway," Alistair reminded him, "It would be only a slight detour."
The elf gave his friend an acidic smile.
"I doubt that killing Flemeth would be a slight detour," he said, "She has survived for centuries."
He gave Morrigan a hard look.
"Can it be done? Can she be slain?"
Morrigan's brow furrowed.
"Not permanently no," she responded, "But it will take her time to return to life and recover her power. Time I can use to learn how to better defend myself."
The witch frowned.
"This is why I cannot be with you when you face her, I cannot say for certain that she would not be able to possess me right then and there. Confront her and kill her quickly, once she is dead, I shall require her true grimoire, and with it I can learn how to defend myself in the future."
Alim's ears twitched.
Flemeth had not tried to harm them. If not for her, they would likely not have made it this far, but at the same time, he could not let Alistair go off on his own.
The elf sighed.
"Fine," he said, "but this is no small favor you ask of me Morrigan. I expect that your mother will not take kindly to this attempt should we fail."
The witch smiled.
"I have seen you beat the impossible before, Alim. You shall not fail, the sooner this is done. It shall put my mind at ease, and make me much more useful to you."
Alim grumbled under his breath.
He always had to play the soddening hero it seemed, especially when a beautiful woman was involved. He felt nothing for Morrigan, and Alistair would not approve even if he did.
He thought back to all those times in the circle tower, all the times that beautiful women had made him first their pawn, and then a fool.
He hoped that this was not one of those times.
IOI
They found themselves on the old imperial highway again, marching towards the road to Ostagar and the Korcari wilds.
Alim tried to ignore the utter destruction around them, the rotting corpses and dark colored sand where once beautiful green rolling hills had stood.
The elf glanced up at the sky. The skeletons of refugees that had failed to escape the darkspawn dotted the landscape, but no carrion eaters circled in the sky overhead, no flies, and no worms. Nothing seemed to have touched the bodies.
Alim shivered, he could sense the taint within them, so thick even this long after death.
Would Ferelden recover from this? Even if the darkspawn were driven back and the Archdemon slain, would their country recover from what had happened these last few months?
He could not say for certain.
Leliana walked quickly, trying not to stare at the bodies, perhaps fearing that she would see someone she knew, someone from the village of Lothering who had failed to escape in time.
He felt sorry for her, for all of them.
Lothering had not been his home for many years, and he still ached when he thought about what had happened to it.
They pushed on farther. Finally they came to the first of the charred ruins, what had once been a windmill lay burned and broken around them.
Leliana gasped.
They had reached the village of Lothering, or what was left of it.
The burned out husks of several buildings dotted the ruins. The barricade that had shielded it from bandits lay broken in several places. Piles of corpses dotted the landscape, arranged and profaned, in ways that Alim was familiar with.
The darkspawn had been busy.
He saw darkspawn dead as well, but these were few, when the horde hit this place it had been fast, likely no one had gotten a chance to raise the alarm.
He heard someone stumble behind him. He turned to see Leliana on her knees.
He started to go to her, but paused when Kally and Wynne beat him to it. His lover was on her knees sobbing, her hands rose in prayer for the people she had lived with.
The elf's ears lowered in shame. There had been nothing they could have done to save this place, but still…
"Alim!"
Theron's warning snapped him back to the present; the elf drew his staff and sword.
A figure staggered out of the ruins of Dane's Refuge, it blinked its eyes in the dull yellow light of the sun.
The warden mage's mouth twisted into a snarl.
It had been human once. It was wearing the remains of a peasant's garb. Its pale tainted skin was pulled tight against its skull; dark weeping sores covered its face and hands. Mucus ran from its nose and in wet globs down the front of its shirt, milky dead eyes regarded the warden with pure malice.
A ghoul, he realized.
Clearly the creature was in the last stage of its life, it was basically a walking skeleton now, how it had not died of starvation or sickness before long was beyond him.
The creature slouched forward raising a pitchfork. It hissed as it staggered forward and…
An arrow struck it in the eye.
It fell to the ground, dead for real this time.
Alim glanced at his Dalish brother.
Theron nodded.
Alim walked up to Leliana, she still had tears in her eyes, but seemed better.
He gave her an apologetic look.
"Perhaps you should have stayed behind with Bodahn," he said.
Leliana sniffled and looked at him, her sorrow faded as she wiped her eyes.
It was replaced with fury.
"I had to see," she said rising, she glared at the remains of the village that had been her home.
She dried her eyes and drew her weapons.
"The Archdemon will pay for this," she growled.
Alim nodded, it was one thing to fight for something you believed in. It was something else when the thing you fought took something that you cared about.
It made it personal, it made fighting more than just a promise.
It made it an obligation.
Alim knew how she felt.
Lothering was gone; this place he had been raised was gone.
His hands clenched into fists.
The darkspawn would pay for this.
IOI
They left Lothering behind, pushing farther south. They encountered several more ghouls, but these were too weak or too injured to do anything to stop them.
They had not been strong enough to keep up with the horde, so they were left behind.
Alim happily put them out of their misery.
As they drew closer to the wilds they did see some signs of life, trees, moss, even the cry of a bird amidst the trees.
The wardens shivered. The wilds had been spared total destruction, but it had not escaped the darkspawn untouched. What had been strong enough to survive had been touched by the taint, changed by it.
The wilds had always been dangerous, but now…now it would be something worse, something much darker.
It would likely never recover.
Near the tree line they found a strange sight, the ground scorched, the tainted sand turned to glass by extreme heat, that and the bodies of at least forty darkspawn clustered around the skeleton of an ogre.
Alim's ears twitched with curiosity.
Had the Archdemon done this, but why, why would it burn its own darkspawn?
He would likely never know.
Near the site of the battle they came across two graves, the bodies had been burned and were almost unrecognizable now.
Alistair leaned over; a familiar looking chest plate could be seen in the ash.
"This man was a Templar," he murmured, "What was a Templar doing behind the horde?"
Morrigan shivered.
"Does it matter?" she demanded, "Tis not something we need to investigate right now. Let us complete our work and be gone from this place."
Alim gave Morrigan a compassionate look. The wilds had been her home.
How did she feel seeing it like this?
Not that it mattered.
He stood up a little straighter. He looked out over his allies.
"Morrigan is right," he called out, "What we have seen here…it is bad, but it nothing compared to what will happen if we fail."
He looked at the dark forest before them, his features becoming grimmer.
"We get this done."
The elf led the way, Morrigan and Alistair following in his wake, the others following behind them.
For the first time in months the wardens were back in the Korcari Wilds.
Maker save all who stood in their way.