A/N: OTL i'm not very proud of this chapter so i'll probably come back to edit it.

Cael smelled the room before he saw it. The scent of pine trees, days old mud, and freshly wet grass wafted through the air, accompanied by what he could only identify as some sort of ungodly alchemical concoction. He sniffed a bit more and realized with bemusement that the pungent smell was originating from him.

When his heavy eyelids slipped open, he was met with the sight of a large tent. He was laying down in an uncomfortably short cot surrounded by various salves and potions in all shapes and sizes. He surveyed the tent, finding it thankfully empty, and guessed that it was herbalist's tent. There were a few more cots across and beside his own. One of the cots even holding what appeared to be corpse, judging by the tarp over the body and the lack of breathing. It could've been a vampire, but Cael somehow doubted that.

Someone had retrieved him from whatever ruin or cave he had passed out in. He glanced down at his bare torso to see that it was covered in a thick layer of a pungent healing salve. Whoever this person was had also taken the time to ease his pain. The strange, feverish feeling was still present, but Cael was glad to note that his muscles did not cry in agony each time he moved.

Cael then thought of the man he had fought. Where was he? He couldn't have been the corpse in the other cot; the corpse was far too short and thin to be the soldier. Had his rescuer not rescued the other man?

He didn't really care. What he did care about was that he was now technically in debt to whoever this rescuer was. He loathed being indebted to anyone. Could this strange trip get any worse?

He swung his legs off the cot and was pulling on his nearby shirt when the faintest of murmuring reached his ears. Voices, multiple voices, talking in grave tones about something Cael couldn't quite make out. They were quickly approaching the tent, so he didn't bother to pretend he was still sleeping. He sat on the cot, calmly awaiting their arrival.

The tent flap soon parted, specks of sunlight filtering in through the gap, and in walked an elegant old lady adorned in a feathery set of ceremonial robes. His eyebrow quirked in curiosity at the sight of the woman's skyward and undeniably elven ears, yet aside from her ears, she looked entirely human. Was this woman a half elf like him? Breton and bosmer perhaps, judging by her short height, but it was strange, elves never looked this human-like.

He thought no more of it when the tent flap parted once more and entered the very same man Cael had been fighting, the very same man he had poisoned. Cael didn't let the surprise show on his face. Instead, he laughed.

"I didn't think we'd reunite," Cael teased though his eyes were narrowed. Unless he had found an antidote, the man should've been paralyzed, completely paralyzed. Cael then glanced at his empty potion belt. Oh. He resisted the urge to scoff. They'd found the antidote and judging by the man's lack of discomfort, the antidote had been administered early.

"I, truthfully, was hoping we would." The soldier said in a disarmingly pleasant tone. He didn't seem hostile. In fact, he looked utterly at ease, as if they hadn't just tried to murder each other just hours or days before. How long had Cael been out? Cael didn't ask and simply went with the flow.

"Strange. With a first date like that, not many would be interested in a second." Cael replied sardonically with a small twitch to his brow. He turned to the elderly woman who had been watching their interaction closely. "Is it you, ma'am, whom I should be thanking for our little rescue?"

The woman's voice soft voice and pleasant accent immediately reminded him of the Bosmeri accent. So, she was a bosmer? "Please, child, ma'am is not necessary. I am Keeper Marethari of the Sabrae Clan and I was not the one who found you. It was our hunters who happened upon you and brought you to me. I merely healed yours and Duncan here's wounds as best as my abilities could."

"Then, I owe you a thank you anyway." Cael bowed his head in a nod of gratitude. "Thank you, Keeper Marethari. Allow me to reimburse you for the supplies you must've lost." The least he could do was pay the woman who had lessened that godawful pain. He didn't want to part with any money, but social protocol demanded that he at least offer reimbursement.

"Thank you for the offer, but there's no need for that." Thank Auriel. "There is something else though…" Clearly, he had spoke too soon.

The man, Duncan, stepped up at this curiously enough. Now that Cael could see clearly, he could see Duncan's facial features and identify him as an Imperial.

"Before that, I must ask, how long was I out and where are we currently?" He suspected he was in Valenwood with a Bosmer hunting clan, though the use of wood in the tent was rather unheard of for the Bosmer.

"You were out a for a day, quite a quick recovery. As for where we are, we are currently in my clan's camp in the outskirts of the Brecilian Forest," Marethari said.

Cael blinked. The loss of time was annoying but the mention of this forest threw him in for a loop. He knew most major forests in Valenwood (geography lessons from his childhood had been boring yet useful) and had never heard of the Brecilian. Perhaps, it was a local name or just a minor forest. Was he even in Valenwood?

"Are we in Valenwood?" He asked. He didn't expect the look of utter confusion on their faces.

"...Valenwood?" Keeper Marethari asked slowly, as if she had never heard of the place in all her life. What kind of Bosmer, or anyone really, didn't know Valenwood? "I'm sorry to say, I've never heard of the place."

"..." Cael stared at them silently, trying to gauge whether they were simply messing with him. "You've . . . never heard of Valenwood. Okay then." He stated flatly. He spoke slowly on purpose in a manner that conveyed his mockery more than words could. "What country are we currently in then?" Now, the two of them, Marethari and Duncan looked at him as if he were the crazy one.

"Ferelden, child." Marethari shot him a concerned glance before turning to Duncan. "Is the taint causing this?"

The what? And the word "Ferelden" itself sounded vaguely familiar, but he had never heard of such a country.

"I've never heard of such a thing, but I suppose it's possible," Duncan answered solemnly.

Cael didn't quite appreciate them talking about him like he wasn't there, nor did he like not knowing what this taint was. Nothing with the name "taint" could possibly be pleasant.

"I have no idea what you're referring to." He shrugged. "And prior to today, I'd never even heard of Ferel-" Cael abruptly stopped mid-sentence. His eyes widened in a rare display of genuine shock, as he finally had a moment of recognition. He did know the country of Ferelden, though not because he'd actually been there, but because he'd read about it in that damn book that brought him here in the first place.

"By Auriel…" he murmured under his breath. This Thedas was real; this whole other realm. The woman he had naively believed to be a Bosmer-Breton mix was an indeed an elf, but certainly not a Tamrielic elf. He tried to recall if the Taint had been mentioned in the book, but all he could recollect was a devastating plague of sorts that poisoned the ground itself. It sounded like something Peryite would've loved.

"Are you alright, child?" Came the concerned voice of Marethari. Cael was shaken from his thoughts.

"Quite fine, surprisingly, considering the situation. Most people would be panicking by now, I believe."

"The situation? What do you mean?" Duncan inquired curiously, looking like he knew something. Cael didn't question that look in his eyes; as he was about to drop a metaphorical fire ball on them.

"Oh you know, being in a completely different continent or world or universe, I'm not really sure yet." He said in a blase manner. To his disappointment, they didn't show as much shock as he would've liked.

Marethari blinked. "You're from another land?"

"This is Thedas, isn't it? I am from Tamriel, another continent. It seems that mirror I interacted with was a portal of sorts and it brought me here." Either that or it was all an extraordinarily detailed fever dream.

"The mirror… of course, you did step out of it." Duncan mused aloud. Marethari looked between the two, a distinct furrow between her brows.

"And after I stepped out, you proceeded to threaten to attack me." Cael smiled crookedly. "Care to explain why? Surely, I didn't scare you that much."

Duncan shook his head 'no' unruffled by Cael's goading.

"You did surprise me. I initially thought you were a demon or a ghoul."

Cael tilted his head as he tried to remember what demons in Thedas were. Ghouls, he had absolutely no clue. And he was drawing a blank with demons too. Whatever they were, they were from that Fade place and weren't exactly well-loved.

"Was I really that unattractive? A pity." As usual, his teasing had no effect on the soldier.

"I apologize for assuming you were one of those things. Had you not attacked me so suddenly, I would've realized the truth of the matter."

Cael cocked an eyebrow, smirk firmly in place. "I see, so it's my fault then. I'm sorry. Sorry about the poison too. Must've hurt, hm?"

Marethari interrupted their little back and forth with her gentle, but firm voice. "So this mirror, presumably an elven artifact from the days of Arlathan, is a portal device. And it's capable of bringing over people from other continents or possibly… other worlds, as you said."

"I believe that's the gist of it. I'm guessing jumping back into it would bring me home. Where is it by the way?" Cael absolutely did not like the way their faces darkened at his question and had a sneaking suspicion he knew their answer.

"It was shattered." Cael . . . wasn't really surprised, so he just sighed. He didn't bother to ask why. Things like this just happened far too often to him.

"So I suppose I'm stuck here for a while . . ." he mused. It didn't seem that bad of a prospect really. It was a whole new world which meant it was a whole new challenge. Cael did like challenges, the dragon soul of his made sure of that.

"You are surprisingly calm about it." Duncan noted. Cael shrugged uncaringly.

"I wasn't doing much back home anyway. Merely passing time. And I don't mind exploring a new world for a while before trying to find another one of those mirrors."

"I see." Duncan and Marethari shared a look, a grave one. Cael leaned in a bit, curious. "Tell me, does your homeland have a thing called the taint?"

Here again with this taint. What exactly about it was so important? Was there a taint going on in this country or something? If so, he'd just hop onto the next ship for another country, preferably a rich one with lots of thing to steal and plunder.

"By taint, if you mean disease and famine, then yes. Why?"

"The taint… is something more than your average disease. It is a corruption, an evil, spread by foul creatures known as the Darkspawn. It poisons all in its path, men, plants, all living things. It is a plague, a slow death, that ends with the victim losing their mind and eventually hearing the call of the Old Gods."

Wow. That sounded wonderful.

"The Old Gods?" He asked instead.

"Tainted dragons who were once worshiped as gods." Cael heard the word "dragon" and nearly groaned. He had enough of dragons for a hundred or so lifetimes. But then a thought occurred to him.

"And you're telling me this because…?" He had a bad feeling about this.

"I'm sorry, you… are infected with the taint."

Cael resisted the violent urge to bash his head against the closest wall. He put on a carefully blank face.

"How? I've never encountered these darkspawn." At least, he didn't believe he ever had.

"The mirror was tainted. When you traveled through it, I'm afraid you were corrupted by it." And that's why he had been in so much pain and why the mirror had been shattered.

Cael took a deep breathe and asked a question. He knew he wouldn't like the answer, but no matter what, there was always Peryite or Namira he could deal with. "Is there a cure?"

Duncan's eyes hardened and Cael found that odd. His answer was just as ominous.

"There is one, but…"

"Let me guess. It comes with a price?"

The expression on Duncan's face was enough of an answer for Cael.

a/n: thanks for all the kind reviews! i really appreciate it. once again, thanks for reading and let me know if there are any mistakes .