Soon after the meal, the skies had lightened up in streaks of orange and pink, warmth of what sunlight could pass through the leaves brushing against the skin. Five of the Wardens continued their investigation, leaving Sigrun and Caena behind to watch over their horses. As they moved further into the forest. Elisa walked ahead of the group between Loghain and Oghren while Anders and Nathaniel were at the back, awkwardly silent after that incident in the tent.
Along the way, they encountered a few more Sylvan; some were similar to the one they had fought yesterday while the others were like those she encountered in the Brecilian Forest. Either way, they already knew how to deal with such creatures so it was a lot easier to dispatch them now. Finally, the path they took led them to a rickety bridge. "Hmmm, there's definitely magic at work here," Anders commented as he gazed at the other side, his lips tightening, "and quite recently."
"Best if we find another route Elisa," Nathaniel added, eyeing at the bridge first before the deep chasm underneath. He suppressed his shudder at the thought of the bridge breaking while they crossed.
"We'll be wasting time looking for another way," Elisa replied as she was about to continue forward but stopped as a agitated man came running down from the other side towards their direction.
"Out of my way!" He shouted as he tried to push the Commander aside but her Second gripped his shoulder tightly. The man struggled to free himself but all his efforts were futile. "I need to get out of here! She's after me!"
"Calm down," Elisa said but the man continued to panic. "Who's after you?"
The man's gaze flickered from side to side. "The elf! She's after me! If I had known… I wouldn't have…"
Loghain shook him to snap him out. "Speak some sense! What did you do!?"
"Heard about the caravans and… and I just wanted easy money," the man sputtered then heard the snapping of twigs and rustling of leaves. Struggling free, he bolted away from the group. Loghain was about to chase him but he stilled at the sound of falling rocks from the cliff on the other side.
All of them turned their attention to a blonde female elf who had just emerged from a pod of root clusters. Elisa noticed the subtle distinct tattoos on her delicate face, thus presuming her to be part of the Dalish clans – most likely the Keeper due to the staff and skimpy robes she was wearing. Almost like Morrigan, she thought. Then again the scowl on the elf's lips would put Morrigan's to shame.
"Another scavenger to prey on the misfortunes of others?" The elf glared down at each and every one of them through narrowed eyes. "No, you're too well-armed. You're here for me then. Doesn't matter. As what I've told to your kind human, release my sister or more of your men will die."
Elisa raised a hand that signaled her companions to stay their hand while she reasoned with the other woman. "We are Grey Wardens, Dalish. We-"
The elf interrupted, her shoulders easing slightly. "So you're here for the darkspawn then. I hold no ill will to your Order so go, deal with your darkspawn and out of my way." She began casting a spell and as the roots enveloped her, she told them, "consider this a warning."
"Wait!" Elisa called out and dashed across the bridge but the elf quickly disappeared.
"Wow… Are all Dalish women crazy and appealing at the same time?" Anders commented, earning a glare from Nathaniel and Loghain. "What? Don't tell me you didn't even notice those…" He made circular gestures at his chest.
"I didn't," Loghain muttered dryly, his lips forming a deep scowl. He wasn't in the mood to entertain the mage's idiocy.
Nathaniel coughed and looked away, though his lightly flushed cheeks spoke his thoughts.
Oghren grinned. "Well, can't complain about the view, though doesn't look like she has a great rack. Er, what was she saying again?"
"Not the proper time." Elisa groaned as her thumb and forefinger massaged her brows. I should have brought Sigrun along instead, she thought as she let out a deep sigh before leading the group further.
The group continued following the path, passing by a deserted campsite surrounded by landships. Upon inspection of the abandoned area, they found scattered swords everywhere. "I've seen Dalish swords," Elisa muttered as she picked one up and examined it. "These clearly aren't."
"Then the soldiers did ambush the elves," Anders concluded.
"I highly doubt that. It lacks sense to just leave a weapon after a battle," Loghain replied as his narrowed eyes glanced around. The tingling sensation in his blood was getting stronger. His gaze landed on his Commander who was also warily looking around before her gaze met his.
Elisa gave a quick nod to her Second then faced the rest of her companions. "Let's keep moving. The darkspawn are not far."
"What about the elf?" Nathaniel asked, following behind her as she and her Second continued walking down the path.
"Leave her be for now," Elisa replied. "We'll deal with her later." Suddenly, she halted as they had gotten close to some sort of depression in the ground near a rocky area. The stench of burnt and rotting corpses assailed their senses, and all of them covered their noses and mouths with their hands and tried to breathe the air around them as little as possible.
"Oh, Maker! That's just… ugh!" Anders gagged as he backed away from the pit of charred and decomposing bodies.
Nathaniel willed his stomach to stop churning as his Commander's hand gestured him to come over so they could inspect the bodies. "Looks like they've been here for a while," he stated, his words muffled by his hand. "Two weeks or probably more…"
"Over here," Loghain called as he crouched down beside a small pool of blood.
Nathaniel squatted beside the older Warden and took off his glove before rubbing the sticky crimson fluid between his fingers. "Still fresh." His gaze followed Loghain's which spotted scattered blood ahead along with footprints and drag marks.
Elisa warily walked ahead, following the trail with the other Wardens in tow. It led them to a makeshift camp where a man lay under a pool of blood. They needn't sense if he was tainted or not, for it was painfully obvious in the man's features. It was a miracle that he still breathes at that moment.
The man flinched at the sight of them and attempted to back away when their leader took a tentative step. "Please…" he begged in his raspy voice as his head turned away from them. "D-don't look…"
"At ease, good ser," Elisa spoke softly as she showed him that she was unarmed while taking another step. "We mean you no harm." When the man didn't move away, she continued with a few more steps before kneeling beside him. "You are part of the militia sent here to drive out the Dalish, yes?" When the man tried to speak but all that came out of his mouth were sounds of strangled groans. "Anders," she called the blonde mage and asked him to cast some spell to ease the man's pain.
As the blue glow on the healer's hands momentarily soothed his agonizing pain, the man tried to reply once again. "Y-yes… we came to drive… away the elves, but… darkspawn came… biting claws and teeth… I… crawled away…" He gasped as one hand clenched onto his chest tightly while the other grabbed Elisa arm and gripped it tightly.
Loghain and Nathaniel instinctively stepped forward, thinking the man would harm their Commander. However, the latter raised her free hand, signaling them to halt. Between ragged breaths, the man continued, "then… then I woke." He began to sob which made it more difficult for him to breath. "O-others … dead…!"
Elisa stroke the man's hair to calm him down. Seeing his state, she wanted to put him out of his misery at that moment, but she needed more information so she steeled herself and continued with her interrogation once he stopped weeping. "What about the Dalish? Were you and your fellow soldiers responsible for their deaths?"
The man weakly shook his head. "No… darkspawn came first. Took our steel… brought it to the elven camp… tricked the elf. Now… she thinks we are to blame… hunts us in her rage while they watch."
Anders brows furrowed as he looked over to his Commander. "So, all these people died… over a misunderstanding!?" His mouth opened and closed, uncertain how to describe his anger over the elven mage's carelessness. That kind of stupidity is what gives templars reason to lock all mages up. "Commander, we have to stop her," he said urgently, "we have to tell her she's wrong."
Elisa nodded. "We will." She then looked around warily as the tingle in their blood heightened. She could sense the darkspawn coming closer and growing in number. First five, then seven… ten… fifteen… They all just kept inching closer and closer. Her gaze shifted to Loghain and Nathaniel who nodded in response before readying their weapons with Oghren and Anders following suit. Glancing back to the man, she hurried with her question. "What about the elf's sister? Did you take her?"
"Elf-sister?" The man shook his head. "No… we did not… probably dead… or eaten."
Or worse... Elisa grimaced as hissing sounds from the darkspawn were audible enough for everyone to hear. She took out her dagger to grant the man the mercy he deserves. "I'll make this quick and painless, I promise." As the dagger neared his throat, he grasped her wrist."
"The dark ones… they are curious about the Wardens… specifically you…" The man used what little strength he had to whisper his warning. "They are watching… waiting…" He groaned as he shut his eyes tight. "Ah! M-make it end…"
Elisa wanted to ask what he meant but with the darkspawn pressing in closer and the agony he was in, she didn't deny him his plea and quickly slit his throat. She stood up and turned with her bow unslung just as a group of twenty darkspawn came into view, surrounding their party.
The Emissary went down first as four arrows pierced its shoulders before two struck its forehead. Then the two male warriors charged towards the drones, trying to dispatch them quickly for the Hurlock Alpha was rushing towards them. As it swung its battleaxe in a wide arc, Loghain moved in front the dwarf and raised his shield in defense, wincing as he felt it shook from the monster's powerful swing. He was not fond of the dwarf but he wasn't going to let him die and leave him to deal with the rest of the creatures surrounding them.
"Didn't need your help, old man," Oghren muttered as he moved past him and swung his own battleaxe at the Alpha who was just raising his weapon for another strike. Blood spilled in its gut and with a few more wild swings the pale creature fell lifelessly on the ground.
Loghain scoffed before moving to the rest of the darkspawn.
Meanwhile, Anders, while positioned between Nathaniel and Elisa who aimed at the darkspawn archers and incoming grunts, muttered a chant before thumping his staff on the ground. It resulted to inscribing multiple defensive glyphs on the area where they stood, sending the darkspawn closing in flying. With no one to lead them now, their attacks were disorganized and soon all of them were dealt with.
Elisa exhaled as she wiped the sweat from her forehead before following Nathaniel so they could pick up the arrows they could reuse. When she neared the Emissary, she noticed a satchel that looked out of place. Crouching down, she rummaged through the pack and found an interesting trinket. It was made from ironbark with runes engraved on it that looked…
"Dalish," Nathaniel muttered as he pulled one arrow from the Emissary shoulder before staring at the pendant. "Perhaps the elf owns it…"
"Perhaps…" She mused before standing up and returning to her Second's side.
"The darkspawn are indeed the cause of all this," Loghain stated with a scowl as he gave a brief glance over to the area where they found the pit of corpses. "But to what end?"
"The man said that the darkspawn were curious about us." Elisa paused and considered whether she should tell him that it was her they were specifically curious about but decided against it. She sighed and changed the subject. "In any event, let's find the elf before she causes more havoc."
He snorted, walking beside her as they followed the path leading back to the campsite. "And you think she'll listen?"
"If she's beyond seeing reason, then we'll kill her."
As they rounded a corner near an abandoned building, the branches around them began to rustle. Elisa looked around warily then tilted her head up and found root clusters rising from the edge above. The blond elf stepped out of it, wide-eyed as she stared at their group. "What are you still doing here!?" She shouted angrily. "I told you to stay away!"
"We just want to talk," Elisa said calmly yet the other women turned deaf to her words as magic began crackling on her hands.
"I have nothing to say to you shemlen! Leave me be!"
The rest of the Wardens quickly drew their weapons as the trees around them that began to sway. The elf was about to send the Sylvan after them but froze at the sight of the necklace the group's leader took out and showed her.
"That's Seranni's… She would never willingly part with that," she muttered with eyes wide before they narrowed and glared at the other woman. "Where did you find it!? Did you loot it from her-"
"A darkspawn had it," Elisa interrupted before the elf could make further accusations. "They had your clan and the soldiers pit against one another."
"What? Don't be ridiculous." The elf scoffed. "The darkspawn are mindless creatures."
"They were, but I assure you that those creatures have become more cunning," Elisa replied grimly before her Second stepped forward and pointed a finger towards the Dalish campsite.
"Look at those swords! Do you think that those soldiers would just leave them behind after killing you people, elf!?" Loghain felt his Commander press her hand on his breastplate in an attempt to move him back; but he stood his ground, glaring sharply at the elf who held his gaze for a moment before shifting from his unsettling blue eyes to the woman beside him.
"He has a point," Elisa added. "The darkspawn left those intentionally, tricking you to believe that it was the humans who attacked your clan."
"If the darkspawn planted them, then that would mean they're the ones who took my sister." The elf knitted her brows together. "But why would they do this?"
Elisa's features darkened. For several reasons, all of which are fate worse than death, she thought with deep scowl. "It's best if we find her immediately." The last thing she wanted was face another broodmother.
The elf watched the female Warden turn her back to speak with her companions. She stood there dumbfounded expecting to die and rejoin her clanmates. Yet, not only were they letting her go but they intend to find her sister. As their group began to move, she called out, "Warden, let me come with you!"
The Wardens turned to stare at the elf dubiously as she ran down the path towards them. When she stood in front of her Commander, she added, "I know you have no reason to trust me, but I need to find my sister."
"Not that I'm complaining or anything," Anders whispered as he stood behind his Commander, "but wouldn't someone as crazy as her join us be a bad thing?" He stiffened slightly at the glare the elf gave him. Clearly, she heard it. "What? You did murder innocent people before checking your facts." He held his hands out defensively when her hands began to sizzle. "I'm just saying!"
"Is this wise?" Loghain gave his Commander a disapproving look. She didn't respond but that calculating expression on her face meant that she was considering. He didn't like anything magic or Dalish – to put it mildly – and having both was just worse. But, he didn't protest any further, knowing that if she decided to accept the elf's offer, there's no stopping her. Stubborn woman…
After a few seconds of contemplating, Elisa nodded. "I accept, on one condition."
The elf eyed her suspiciously. "What?"
"We have horses we left behind with our two other companions," Elisa explained, "I was hoping we could leave them in your camp so those two could come with us, it being guarded by your trees and all…"
The elf blinked a few times. That's it? "You're… asking for my permission? You… a shemlen."
Elisa shrugged. "Well, it is your camp."
Attempting to find a hidden insult in the other woman's words, it took the elf several seconds to respond before finally deciding that there was no intention to offend her. "very well. You may make use of them for the time being."
Elisa nodded and asked. "So what do we call you? I doubt you'd want us to keep calling you 'elf' or 'Dalish'."
The elf's lips thinned but whatever snarky retort she had in mind, she pushed it aside. "Velanna. My name is Velanna."
Elisa introduced herself and the rest of the Wardens before they made their way back to Sigrun and Caena. "Where do the darkspawn go?" she heard the elf ask while walking beside her.
"Underground, most likely," she replied.
Velanna mused. "That building you passed by is an abandoned mine. Its tunnels run far deep into the earth. We'll likely find them there."
After settling the horses in the Dalish camp, the Warden-Commander and the rest of her companions made their way to the abandoned mines. It was dark when they entered but the itch in their bones and tingle in their blood told them loud and clear that the darkspawn were definitely there. The two mages chanted a spell that made the orbs of their staves glow, lighting up a small part of where they walked.
Ahead, there was a staircase leading down to the dirt floor at the bottom. Nathaniel squinted as he warily watched the unlit areas of the mine for any sign of darkspawn. The uneasiness grew inside him with each step, feeling as though they would be ambushed at any moment. The others except for the Dalish elf, looked edgy as well, clearly feeling the same wariness as his. Even the hound could feel it as it began growling lowly while walking beside its master.
When everyone had reached the bottom, Elisa stepped towards the central area and scanned the vicinity. "Something feels off Commander," she heard her Second muttered from behind. She nodded and was about to give an order but suddenly they all found themselves unable to move as the ground beneath them began to glow, showing an odd symbol.
From above, the Wardens heard a sound of footsteps and rustling robes and as their eyes gazed up, they saw a disturbing looking darkspawn accompanied by a dwarf that was definitely tainted. The staff it held glowed as it casted another spell on them. "Shh…" it whispered soothingly. "Sleep…"
Elisa struggled to keep herself awake but found too difficult to fight her weakening body. She opened her mouth to tell the others to fight it but it was too late for the others had finally fell asleep and not long after, she joined them in their deep slumber.
End of Chapter 18