As it turned out, they worked surprisingly well together. Rose never would have guessed it. There were so many reasons for them to fear or distrust one another, but from the wolves to the endless groups of darkspawn they cut down, they stood strong. Their talents were at least balanced- two rogues, a mage, and two warriors. Alistair and Jory would rush in, covered by Daveth's arrows. Rina would strike from the side, meshing blades and magic. And Rose came from the back, almost one with the few shadows the Wilds provided, as silent as a snake sliding through grass. Their progress was quick.
As Rina was collecting the final vial of blood from the darkspawn corpses, she shuddered and looked up. Her eyes unfocused even as she looked deeper into the Wilds past the old, stone ruins that stood over them. "There's something down there," she said. "A mage, I think."
"A mage?" Rose said sharply. She turned to Alistair. "Darkspawn have mages?"
"Yes. I hoped we wouldn't come across any of them."
His words unnerved her. Mage humans and elves were bad enough. She'd seen firsthand what they could do. A darkspawn? It seemed that the Chantry had directed it's hatred at the wrong targets. Surely a darkspawn with magic would be considered the greater threat.
Rina tucked the vial away and wrapped her fingers around the hilt of her blade, rising fluidly even as her gaze stayed locked ahead of them. "Right, well. Leave the mage to me and take care of the others."
Rose nodded silently, trying to ignore the foreboding that had creeped up on her. They advanced carefully, Jory looking especially nervous. They were approaching a large, crumbling archway when electricity crackled around them and exploded beneath their feet, tossing them away from the structure.
Rose coughed on the smoke rising around her. The damp swamp grass had absorbed most of the fire. She struggled to her feet, weapons in hand. She yanked Daveth to his feet, ignoring how he cringed. He suddenly noticed his armor was burning, and ran to the water's edge to extinguish it.
With an ice spell burning her fingers and her armor on fire, Rina rolled to her feet and took off running, still intent on her prey. Her lithe body wound a quick path around the darkspawn that tried to lurch into her way and engage her, but it was the Emissary she sought. She didn't even seem to hear the sound of Jory calling for her to stop as he clashed with the darkspawn that she evaded.
Rose sighed, eyes narrowing to slits as she watched the rogue darkspawn close behind her double. She ran forward, evading the carelessly laid traps just as easily. An arrow narrowly missed her arm; she rolled to the left, right into a grinning genlock. Bile rose in her throat when the rot-smell hit her, oily and cloying. She struck the darkspawn in the thigh, taking an axe to her side for the effort.
She kicked it, and the monster fell back with an ear-piercing squeal. Rose checked her wound. The armor had saved her. With a relieved sigh, she sprang up, ignoring the sharp ache. Rina was facing the emissary, alone. She had to hurry.
The Emissary leered at Rina as she got closer and then turned tail and ran for a clearing off the main path of the wilds. There was never a moment of hesitation as she followed it, her sword already crackling with the lightning of her spell. Rose was close behind, ignoring the shouts of the humans behind her. Their prey stopped suddenly and turned, it's roughly hewn staff raised above it's head. Rose pulled a smaller dagger from her belt and threw it, aiming for the exposed blade sliced through the air to land solidly in the creature's barrier, exploding into a cloud of ash. Then Rina was moving again, closing and circling, spells lighting her hands and blades.
Rose swallowed the feral growl that rumbled in her throat. They had managed to leave most of the darkspawn behind them, but a few had taken notice of the elves' combined attack. With a glance at Rina, she went to the left, hoping that the mage could distract it long enough for her to get a clear shot. It couldn't hold it's barrier forever, especially with Rina throwing spells around.
With her whole attention focused on breaking the shield, Rina never heard or noticed the darkspawn that appeared behind her from the shadows. He sank his blades into her shoulder and sliced into her hip. A strangled scream escaped her as the blades were stripped out of her skin. She spun and beheaded the grinning genlock with the sword as she flicked the dagger towards Rose. The gurgle behind her said that the mage had saved Rose's life.
The Emissary cackled at Rina's distraction and hit her with a crushing prison spell, cutting off her scream as she was lifted off her feet. Back arched, magic crackling around her, she hung there like a limp doll. Three others had broken from the main group, seeing Rina incapacitated. Rose was forced to leave Rina trapped for a few seconds as she dispatched the first hurlock that approached. Others were now swarming the clearing; it was impossible to see Alistair or the other recruits now.
She began to panic. There were at least a dozen breathing and moving, far more than Alistair said would be out here. She ducked and rolled, very nearly losing her head to a genlock's sword. She sunk her daggers into another of the creatures, considering her options. There were far less than she liked.
The next few minutes were a blur as Rose was engaged in a deadly dance, avoiding fatality more times than she could count. Thankfully, the Emissary had all of it's energy focused on Rina. Jory, Daveth and Alistair were still nowhere to be seen. Rose felt sick with worry. At this rate, she'd be dead soon, and her fellow recruits would follow.
There was no choice, yet her hands still trembled as she abandoned her blades, moving back from her current opponent. Rose glanced at Rina one last time, hoping that the darkspawn would free her. Several precious seconds ticked by, and her prayers were unanswered. Time seemed to slow as she reached inward, grasping at the threads of mana she had ignored for almost two years. Her fingertips twitched, matching the grin she gave the things surrounding her before shards of ice burst from the mud below.
She gave them no time to recover. Those who survived were knocked back by gale-force winds and the bite of sleet. Then she gave her attention the the Emissary. Lightning danced between her fingers, ripping at the barrier it held. Her legs nearly gave out on her. She tried to remember if she had any lyrium in her pouches- probably not. Rose had sworn never to touch her magic again as long as her Master drew breath.
There was a strange crackling sound just before the barrier fell. Rina hit the ground. The emissary gave Rose his full attention just as her magic failed, leaving her with shaking legs and a spinning head.
Rina gathered her feet under her and launched herself at the darkspawn mage. She caught it in a parody of a hug and let the lightning flow from her fingers. When it shrieked, the sound was inhuman and made the elven mage recoil, but she held on until it was a roasted corpse. Then, she released it and blinked, looking around at the silent battlefield and the wild eyed Warden and other recruits staring at her.
Rose glanced at her comrades, somewhere between laughing and crying. She settled with giving Rina a shaky but genuine smile before she fell to her knees. Her stomach churned violently and she clamped her lips shut. She would not give into fear. She would not think about the miles between here and Tevinter- a number that seemed to shrink substantially in that moment.
"There's a price for everything, my dear. You will never live a day without depending on my gift- and you will never be able to abandon it. Mark my words."
Distantly, she heard Rina unshoulder her pack and set it down. "Last time I go without these," she muttered.
Rose was pulled from her dark thoughts when a small bundle landed by her leg with a muted clink. She stared at it for a moment, frozen between the past and present. "Come on, patch yourselves up. We're likely to run into more darkspawn along the way," Rina said sharply. "Use two health potions and change out your armor if you need to. I've extra boots, gloves, and helmets. The chainmail is mine."
Slowly, she took the cloth in fingers still frosted with ice and unwrapped the bundle. Rose inhaled sharply and shot Rina a look. The other elf was too busy exchanging armor to notice. What had Rina seen? Was this a mistake? Regardless, she quickly swallowed the potion, concealing the cool blue liquid with her hands. Energy returned to her, and she also swallowed one of the two health potions before examining her own state. The splint mail she'd bought from the quartermaster (after making it very clear to him how servants should be treated) had fared better than Ser Jory's.
"How far to the Warden outpost?" She asked. Alistair didn't reply right away. He was staring at the melting ice with a strange look on his face that Rose couldn't quite identify. She repeated herself a bit louder.
Rina was helping Jory peel off the armor that had managed to fuse with his arm. He flinched as a particularly raw piece of flesh peeled away with the last of the armor and she tossed it aside, slapping a couple of elfroot leaves against the oozing wound before he could pass out at the sight of it. "That was the worst of it," she said, examining the rest of the armor he had taken off. "I've no extra leathers, but this should do. You'll need to favor that arm, but I don't think there are any more Emissaries near us."
"Let's just get out of here as fast as we can." Daveth said uneasily. "Another group like that and we might not make it back to camp." Rose noticed with grudging respect that he and Alistair had taken the least amount of damage. The weasel could fight, she'd give him that.
Alistair got to his feet, frowning for a moment as he examined a scorch mark on his shield. Shrugging, he walked over to Rose and offered her his hand. "Think you can make it?" He teased.
She hesitated just long enough for it to be awkward before she let him help her. She'd be a teamplayer for survival's sake, but that didn't mean she'd let this human treat her like she was weaker than him. "I didn't see you over here with the bulk of the ambush." she pointed out.
Jory shot a hard look at Rina who was digging by a log. "Well, we certainly had our own share of darkspawn to deal with even after that pack broke off to follow Rina."
Pulling several jewels from a hidden, buried box, Rina tucked them and the other items away before she glanced idly at the knight. "It certainly worked out, didn't it?"
Daveth glanced around the clearing. "I had no idea a darkspawn mage could be that powerful," he mused. "That couldn't have been all him, right?"
Rose sheathed her daggers with a bit more force than was necessary, resisting the urge to bury one of them in the rogue's eye. "I don't think anyone here can claim to be an expert just yet." She snapped. She glanced behind her at the others. "Well? Coming?"
The Wilds, they called it. Leagues of swampland, infested with wolves, ghosts, the Chaisnd tribes... And, of course, the Witches. It was amusing to watch the fools who ventured here, white-faced and nervous as rabbits. It was even more amusing when the darkspawn came, slaying these foolish men quickly and without mercy. Morrigan felt no kinship with the others of her kind, and made no move to help them. It was only when they tried to take the women that she intervened, saving them from a death that she had no desire to contemplate.
But all things lose their charm in time, and after weeks of her Wilds being infested with darkspawn and soldiers she was eager to see them leave. They would be gone soon enough, Flemeth had said, but when she had asked if she meant the darkspawn or the men, her mother only laughed. She continued her patrols, using the subtle tricks taught to her to keep all manner of creatures from their humble hut. Morrigan was just wondering how angry Flemeth would be if she played a few harmless pranks when the wind from the east picked up, practically reeking of magic and blood.
Blood was nothing unusual, here. Blood was the result of war, or a hunt, or a number of other things that were, as a rule, unpleasant and that did not require her attention. It was the magic that drew her curiosity. She began to run, and before she had gone five strides her paws were beating on the cold ground, the wind combing through her dark fur. The Wilds were laid bare to her in this form, every scent telling her more than sight or sound ever could. It was the scent that she missed in her clumsy human form, but nothing could compare to her magic.
Morrigan found the corpses first. She stepped over them delicately, careful to avoid the thick, pasty blood that was already seeping into the earth, killing it. She smelled sulphur, and the sight of the Emissary left her disappointed. It was nothing new. Then she slipped on the ice. Morrigan searched the area, intrigued. There was no way that this came from one darkspawn mage. It was far too spread out, and most emissaries had a small amount of mana to begin with. Perhaps today was going to be interesting after all.
"You're lost, aren't you?"
North. She almost flew, following the paths invisible to human eyes. Her ears strained to pick out the response.
"What? No! I just got... side-tracked."
The fluttering of wings drowned out the response. She was being careless, startling the creatures. The humans didn't seem to notice. Morrigan could smell them now, sweat and blood and metal.
"-is side-tracked. Even two miles is side-tracked." Morrigan almost ran into the speaker, an elven woman with daggers strapped to her back and the smell of ozone on her fingers. "Four miles? You're lost."
"And you've been keeping track?" another red headed elf sighed. "And here I was thinking you might be just a little bit smarter than the average knight. Come on, I know how to track the way back."
"He-ey!" The man- the stupid one- was glaring at the sisters- for what else could they be?- with his arms crossed. Morrigan's ears pricked up when she saw the emblem on his armor- a griffon. Could he be-? "I'm smart!" he objected.
The first elf-sister shook her head. "All evidence to the contrary."
"Can we just get moving?" Another man asked- much better looking, surely, but thin.
"I'm really not lost." the Warden sighed. "I'm sure that we just- wait. It's over there!"
"That's what you said last time," the second elven female sighed.
Morrigan huffed softly. If they were Wardens, they sought the ruined tower. She left them, moving south. Once she was a safe distance away, she howled as loudly as she could. Then she ran east, stopped, and howled again. Perhaps, with a bit of help, she could lead them there before they got themselves hopelessly lost.
Three hours of fruitless wandering had finally borne fruit when they had stumbled across the skeleton of the old tower despite Alistair's claims of knowing where it was the entire time. "You got us lost," Rina replied calmly to his claims of having led them to the correct location. After a pause she added, "Again."
"I- well-" He glanced at her and sighed. "Well, maybe I missed a left turn somewhere."
"Or six."
"I'd call it six lefts and three rights. Not counting the backtracking," Rina snorted.
The Warden glared at her, which was a bit difficult with him between the elves. "Right, right. Pick on the escort. I see how it is."
"Escort being a bit of a stretch," Rina retorted. "More like a bodyguard turned babysitter."
Jory turned a snort into a cough and returned the grin that she shot him. Suddenly, becoming a Warden didn't quite seem so burdensome if these were the comrades he would serve with.
"I was trying not to think of it like that."
"You could have ended up with worse," Daveth comforted him from the back of the group. "Imagine having to escort one o' them Dalish. I hear they don't mix with humans well."
Rose's voice was decidedly unpleasant. "The Dalish are not uncivilized." She replied. "In fact, I'd say even the worst of them have more honor than shem like you."
Jory had heard only the beginning of the disagreement and decided he'd had enough when Rina slipped ahead of the pair and peered at a particularly broken box or crate. His interest must have been noticeable, because she smiled grimly at him. "There are traces of magic on this thing. The documents may have been kept here...at one point in time."
"Well, that was a waste of time. Can we go now?" Rose muttered.
Alistair joined Rina. "That's... not right. The magic should have held. Only a Warden can break that seal- unless very powerful magic was used."
The mage fixed him with an amused sidelong look. "Magic doesn't last forever. Spells need to be renewed or strengthened from time to time to remain potent unless they're anchored, which it looks like this chest wasn't."
"I do know something about magic, you know." He replied, sounding irritated. "And I also know that this chest contained important documents- treaties that obligate several groups to help the Wardens during a Blight. They would have taken all precautions to keep them safe."
Jory blinked at the sharp look of suspicion that she threw their guide, but neither made a comment as she rose from the chest. "Either way, they aren't here. Without knowing the Wilds or having some idea of who took them, we're wasting time here," she said, glancing at Rose and grinning.
"Well, well. What have we here?" The group turned as one, hands reaching for weapons, prepared for almost anything. The woman looking down at them was young, clad (if only just) in strange clothing. The staff strapped to her back was what caught Jory's attention. She descended down the crumbling stairs slowly, never taking her eyes off of Rina. "Are you a vulture, I wonder? A scavenger poking at a corpse long-since cleaned? Or merely an intruder, come into these Darkspawn filled Wilds of mine in search of easy prey?" She stopped a few yards away, arms crossed. "What say you? Scavenger or intruder?" she demanded.
"Perhaps both," Rina answered. Jory could only stare at her spreading grin and wonder if perhaps she was a little off.
The woman looked at each of them in turn, her amber eyes glittering. "Perhaps you are," she conceded. "You are certainly a... unique group, 'tis certain."
"Almost as unique as you." Rose commented.
At that, she smiled. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Though there are others, I'm told."
"Careful, she looks Chaisnd." Alistair muttered. His stance had not relaxed. "That means there may be others nearby."
"Oh, you fear barbarians will swoop down upon you?" the woman mocked.
"Yes. Swooping is bad."
Rina blinked at the comment and glanced at him, then looked back to the other mage. "Who are you?"
"Tell me your names and I shall tell you mine." she returned.
"I am Rina," she answered.
There was an awkward silence as the others elected not to answer. "Come now, surely a simple name can do no harm?"
"Then tell us yours." Rose shot back.
The woman's eyebrow rose. "'Tis you who are intruding, is it not?"
"...My name is Rose. That's Alistair, Jory and Daveth. Now tell us who you are."
"You may call me Morrigan, if you wish."
"As interesting as this is, unless you know what it is we're looking for, there are other places we need to be," Rina said, blunt enough that Jory raised an eyebrow.
Morrigan seemed unfazed. "Your treaties are no longer here, yes? I happen to know what became of them."
Jory almost spoke then, but help his tongue under the cold smile that Rina flashed the Witch. "If you know something, then say it. Otherwise, we're leaving this game here with you."
"Someone came for them, to protect them." Morrigan's eyes narrowed. "And so you would do well to listen, and show some respect."
"Any respect I would show would be mocking, so I'll settle for being truthful," Rina shot back. "Who was it that took the scrolls?"
Jory almost didn't hear her for the whispered argument that he was having with Daveth over Witches and cooking pots, but he did and he blinked between the two of them. Didn't all mages get along on principal? After all, weren't they all cut from the same cloth? Instability and rough edges seemed to be Rina's dominating features, but she was the only mage that he had ever been in the company of for more than an hour.
Alistair raised his arm, his signal clear. He addressed the woman himself. "Those documents are Gray Warden property, and I suggest you return them."
"I will not, for 'twas not I who removed them."
"I'll remove your head if you don't answer her question." Rose snapped, drawing her dagger.
Morrigan examined the city elf closely. "Ah, I see. While I have not my mother's gift of intuition, I can see blood on your hands. Tell me, are you used to getting what you want, with eyes as cold as yours?"
"It's hard to argue with a blade through your throat."
Her lips twitched. "You wish to know? I will tell you, without the need for blood. 'Twas my mother who took them, years ago."
"I'd ask why, but I don't really care. Will you take us to her?" Rina asked.
"Finally, a sensible request. Follow me, then, if it pleases you."
The path she led them on was invisible to the eye. Morrigan wove through trees and around patches of moss and mud with practiced steps. There were no darkspawn about, and hardly any wildlife. She offered no further words after their conversation.
There was a moment when Rina couldn't see the other mage, when the forest seemed to swallow her whole and then they stood in the middle of a clearing that hummed with protective magic. It was enough to set her skin to crawling and make her hair frizz. "I think we're here," she said, shivering and glancing around.
"Hmm. And 'twould seem my mother is not."
"Well, that's convenient." Daveth's mutter was ignored.
Morrigan sighed. "I assume you are in a hurry, correct? We may have no choice but to seek her out."
Magic sizzled through her like a warning, making itself visible for one vibrant moment. Rina looked around, her wrist flicking to bring a hidden dagger into her hand. "Something else is here," she said, eyes darting about.
"No doubt." Morrigan chuckled. "The power for protection does not come from nothing. Flemeth employs others to keep her secrets secure."
There was another shiver of magic and Rina's stomach curled. It wasn't the same, not by a long shot, but it was similar. She let her power shiver in response, projecting it at the same frequency as the other. A shape moved, a log that wasn't a log, and an emerald eye blinked sleepily at her. The green scales rippled in the sunlight as it lifted its head.
It surveyed her critically and growled low in its throat. A warning or a greeting she couldn't tell, but she laughed all the same and that sound held an edge of hysteria. "Hello, Wild One," she said softly and the dagger vanished from her hand as she approached the dragon. "Not all of you were killed beside your sentient brethren. I am glad." Kneeling at its side, she slid a hand down it's head and scratched its eye ridge. The dragon hummed it's pleasure and settled back down to sleep.
Light footsteps approached. "Not only you, I think. There is another who understands, almost better than you. What an interesting group, to stumble upon my Morrigan."
Rina's eyes slid to the old witch, but she didn't move to rise. "We were led to believe that you have the Grey Warden treaties of old," she said.
"A Warden? My, but that must be enlightening for them, assuming you carry any knowledge of the Dragon's history. As it is, I am more than willing to help you, since Carada is so fond of you."
There was a tight coiling of muscles in her back as she turned slightly to face the older woman. Green eyes flashed with anger and the dragon stirred beneath her hands. Willing herself to relax as she stroked Carada's neck, she said, "Of course I hold their history. It would be appreciated if we were able to leave with the treaties."
Morrigan's mother reached into the pouch at her side, pulling out a sheaf of aged parchment. "Fascinating reading. I doubt anyone even remembers some of these cultures."
"As far as I know, only the elves, mages and dwarves are under treaty." Alistair shifted uncomfortably, looking from Morrigan to Flemeth uneasily.
The tone of the woman's voice made her hold out her hand for the treaties, the other hand still on the dragon. "There are likely treaties between more than just those three and the Warden,"she said absently and stroked Carada's scales one last time before she stepped away to take the offered papers. The dragon stirred slightly and cracked an eyelid, but otherwise stayed in place. On an impulse, she flicked through some of them.
There were, in fact, seven of them. "The Lanshae will be reluctant to offer assistance even if they had the numbers to do so."
"Lanshae?" Jory asked, leaning over her shoulder.
"Blood sucking creatures with a strong aversion to the sun," Rina supplied succinctly. "Very strong, good reflexes, but mostly extinct these days."
"Mostly," the elder woman agreed. Her amused grin might have suggested otherwise.
Rina's eyes flicked to the wizened Witch and glittered with something that was almost satisfaction. "The faction that was most openly dangerous, at any rate," she said.
"Right," Jory said, taking a nervous step back.
She hummed absently at him, a noncommittal sound that meant she hadn't registered his tone. Flipping that treaty to the side, her breath caught in her throat as her eyes glided over the page and traced the neat scrawling words that pledged the support in times of need to "...eradicate the creatures that threaten all of us. To this end, we will provide the strength of arms such that we do not endanger the overall numbers of our race. In such a case that..."
Swallowing against the bile and guilt that rose to her throat, she said, "There will be no commitment from the Dragons. Their numbers are too few and scattered." Memories of long dead friends, of their dried blood, and the broken bodies of comrades crowded before her eyes and she had to roll the treaty up and hide Jeremy's tidy scrawl from herself. She almost swayed on the spot as she tried to repress the images of a time when he had not been a banished prince, an heir in his own right and not the last resort.
"Thank you for the assistance. We'll be going now," she said finally.
"I will be positively distraught at your leaving," Morrigan muttered dryly.
"Don't be ridiculous girl, these are your guests."
"What?" One look at Flemeth and Morrigan's face fell. "Oh. Right." she sighed heavily. "Very well, then, I will show you out of the woods. Follow me."