After being slammed into the rocks again for the eighth time, Sili wondered what had possessed her to say yes to the Iron Bull. They had defeated the Kaltenzahn dragon and Iron Bull had begged to get the last one, Highland Ravager. Even though the Inquisition was asked to hunt them, she didn't figure on taking on the last two at once. Unlike the others, which were cold dragons, this one was the opposite, dealing fire.
It was a massive dragon and often called on dragonlings to its aid. Sili had no idea how long they had been battling, but nearly all potions were out. She had only one regenerating and there was only one health amongst them. The damn thing had to be dead soon, she prayed and by the Creators, she was granted her wish. With one final scream, the dragon swirled about as it died.
The scream had disorientated Sili and she, along with her companions, missed the flailing tail which sent them all into the walls. She felt her head slam with a sickening crack against some boulders as she heard the others crying out. They ended up on the opposite side of the dragon's body.
"Hey Tiny, give me one good reason I shouldn't knock your ass out?" Varric growled, slowly standing.
"Then you would have to carry my ass back to Skyhold. It's wasn't that bad." the Tal-Vashoth laughed, looting the dragon of anything valuable.
Dorian gave Varric the healing potion, to which the dwarf took only a swig before handing it back. The Tevinter mage also took a swig before heading towards Bull.
"I think we would just leave you here to recover and you can come back when you're ready. We are pretty much out of potions, barely any of us can walk..." Dorian bit back, letting Bull have a drink of the potion, "I care for you Bull, but you owe me when we get back."
The two men shared a smile, but Varric was looking around, slowly making his way back to the dragon, "Where is the Inquisitor, where is Sili?" Varric asked suddenly, a sinking feeling in his gut.
The three of them exchanged worried looks before all of them scattered to find their missing leader. It didn't help that some dragonlings still lingered, but the Iron Bull decided to deal with them, letting the other two find Sili.
"Shit! Tiny, Sparkler, get here now!" Varric's voice echoed, fear evident.
The Tevinter and Tal-Vashoth ran faster than either of them thought they could. They saw Varric first before seeing their leader, the Inquisitor and friend sitting on a pile of rubble. Her head was down and she was breathing hard. A small relief washed over the men as they gathered.
"Bull, do you still have that healing potion?" Dorian asked.
"Not much left, but that won't help her. We need to get her back to Skyhold, fast." Bull said, walking towards Sili.
"Why is that, Bull?" Varric asked, looking her over.
"Hey Boss, we need to get your helmet off." Bull stated, "You can have the potion after that unless you have some."
"Just… just a regenerating…" Sili huffed, "I don't want to take off my helmet. Means I will have to have Harritt craft another."
"Come on, I can help get it off, not up for debate, Boss." Iron Bull stated, walking over to the Inquisitor and slowly taking off her helm.
"Bull?" "What's going on?" Both Dorian and Varric asked.
Both were silenced as the Tal-Vashoth turned, her helm in his hands, and with the back dented inwards by several inches. As they turned to Sili, she looked up to them and they could see she was in pain, her eyes were cloudy and unfocused.
"Bottoms up, Boss." Bull smiled, holding her head as she leaned back to drink the last of the healing draught, "Crap." He grounded long and out.
"What is it, now?" Varric asked, gathering their stuff so they could make the hike back to Skyhold, but as he turned, "Shit."
"Well, that complicates things, doesn't it?" Dorian sighed at the blood on Bull's hand, "If Cullen or Leliana ask, we blame him, Varric."
"No argument here." Varric sighed, "How are we going to get her back to Skyhold on a timely manner?"
"If we are all good, we can make a run. I think we can get there by nightfall, but I think the camp across the river has mounts." Iron Bull replied, moving so that he could pull the Inquisitor onto his back.
"No, if we all take another swig from her regeneration potion, we should be good." Varric replied, "If we go to a camp, then word will spread. We need to get her back to Skyhold."
"I agree, you caused this so you can be the beast of burden. Varric and I can cover the two of you." Dorrian nodded, going through Sili's sachet.
The three of them took swigs before carefully giving some to Sili, who was drifting out of consciousness. Once the group had made their way up from the dragon's nest, they sprinted off towards Skyhold. They had stay close to known paths, but not enough that anyone could see them.
It was noon when they started traveling through heavy snow. Iron Bull had no problem with the Dalish elf, she hardly weighed anything, but what reminded him she was there was the growing trail of liquid down his backside.
"Dorian, how is she doing?" He asked through gritted teeth.
"Don't worry about it, just keep up your pace." Dorian replied.
"We're nearly to Skyhold, just another few hours. We can find the main trail and be faster. Maybe one of Leliana's scouts can give them the heads up." Varric replied, turning slightly to give his trademark grins.
Iron Bull nodded, only able to give a slight smile. He was actually worried about Boss, as he often called her. Not in part of getting in trouble, he was used and liked that, but it was the fact that she had become part of his family. In a way, she had become part of his Chargers. Though he didn't outright show it, like Krem had stated, the Iron Bull did have a soft spot.
Three hours later, much to their relief, they found the main road used to travel to Skyhold. A few scouts came from their hiding spots and Varric explained the situation quickly with one scout running off. The other offered to provide extra cover so that the weary travelers could focus on running. Offering his thanks, Varric put Bianca away and turned to the other two.
They both nodded back and at once, the three of them sprinted that last half an hour to Skyhold. Iron Bull was forced to lean down a bit as he felt Sili's head begin to rolled and bounce as he moved. She was now completely unconscious which was not good with a head injury and something told him Cassandra was going to give him a good beating if they sparred.
"We're nearly there." Varric nearly cried, seeing the crumbling towers in the setting sun's rays, "I can see a welcoming party as well." He added, seeing another scout.
"Spymaster Nightingale says to take her to her room, do not stop for anything. Doors will be opened." The returning scout replied, "You are safe from here, as we are to return to our posts." Without letting any of the men thank them, the two scouts disappeared in a blink of an eye.
The men stayed quiet, as they raced over the stone bridge connecting Skyhold to the world of Thedas. Without a word, Varric and Dorian headed towards the makeshift infirmary while Iron Bull raced towards Sili's private room. Ignoring the stares from nobles and all, he was grateful to the scouts who were waiting.
They closed the doors soon enough behind him so that no unwanted visitors would be tempted to follow. He nearly vaulted the few flights of stairs to her room where another scout was waiting. He was one Iron Bull had seen around Leliana before, one of her more trusted ones, which put Bull more at ease.
The scout helped ease Sili off Iron Bull's back and onto the floor where a makeshift cot of blankets had been set up. The scout bowed before heading off to find Leliana and a healer, leaving Iron Bull in an disturbing silence. The Tal-Valshoth sighed, sitting next to the little elf, not sure what to do. Something felt weird, but looking around, all he saw were the sun beams from the noon sun.
"Lost, not hiding, but is. She can't find her way, but she doesn't mind." Cole said from the balcony, causing Bull to jump a little, "She's in the Fade, but something is wrong." He added, coming into the room and standing by the desk.
"Come here, kid." Iron Bull stated, "What do you mean?"
"She is in the Fade, like she is sleeping, the Iron Bull. Though, something is wrong." Cole stated again, "She isn't right in the Fade."
Iron Bull visible paled, he screwed up big time, "They're all gonna have my ass for this. I was the one that begged to get the last dragon."
"No, the problem was there." Cole supplied, "You just tugged at the right time."
Iron Bull had to smile at that as Cole was trying to help in his own way. Then something hit him. If the problem had been there all this time, how long had she been suffering or hiding it? Part of his pride was hurt as he was, had been Ben-Hassrah, he should have seen the sign unless she didn't know.
"Did you know about it, Cole?" Iron Bull asked.
"No, it wasn't a hurt she remembered. She is lost so I can see a lot now... It kind of hurts." Cole admitted, but didn't want to leave her.
"Help her by getting Solas. He knows about the Fade and probably can help her there. I am going to find something to wash the blood away." Iron Bull replied, but watched as Cole pointed to the fireplace.
Looking over, Bull could see a large basin of water and a pile of cloths. Turning back to Sili, he noticed Cole had disappeared and decided to work on removing her light armor. He was extremely careful, working from her feet up to her chest plate. Once that was removed, he took a moment to check over her entire body.
Bull thought about the dragon fight, the images coming back into his mind. He tried to see through Sili's eyes and what had happened. Where she was, how she had landed, and could see her entire body being slammed into the rock wall. Taking a quick moment, he gently prodded up her spine and muscles to make sure nothing there was badly injured as well.
Luckily, there seemed to be nothing wrong that the potions didn't already cure, but he noticed her starting to shiver. Using the blankets she was laying on, Iron Bull pulled her towards the fireplace and went to find another blanket to throw over her. Once she was safely by the fire and covered, he positioned himself so that he could address her head wound.
Slowly, he placed her head on the crook of his knee, over the basin of water. He let the water first run over the wound, getting the dried blood out of her hair. After he was satisfied with that, he began to wash the blood out of everywhere. Thankfully, the majority had run on her armor, which made everything easier. The major problem was that she was still shivering and hadn't stopped.
"Why is this happening. Cold, lost, hurt... Everyone's gone, no bodies, but can't find anyone." Cole's voice caused Iron Bull to jump a little. The little entity was sitting on her bed, swinging his legs, which made him look all the more like a child than a confused spirit, "Solas will be up soon."
"Good." Iron Bull sighed, drying Sili off a little before placing her back onto the floor and tucking the blankets around her. He cleaned up the rags and threw them and the water into the fireplace before adding a number of logs.
He could hear someone quietly entering from the stairway and the sound of bare feet hitting stone... Solas. The elf was up the stairs quickly and surveyed the others. Nodding once to the Iron Bull. He made himself comfortable on her couch and prepared himself to enter the Fade.
"Wake me if either of us show a lot of discomfort."
