~Answers in the Dust~

The sky was overcast with dull, white clouds that threw a muted sheen over the world as the group of Grey Wardens approached the area of Flemeth's hut. Although Drea found an odd comfort in the untouched region after seeing the heartbreaking ruins of Lothering, returning still churned her stomach. Pulling back on the reins and bringing her horse to a halt, she narrowed her eyes at the patch of ground where Flemeth died and realized she didn't see a gleaming white dragon skull smiling up at her. Feeling a tight twinge in her stomach, she ignored it and motioned for the others to join her.

Pointing further down the path, she spoke loudly, "Up ahead is the hut Flemeth lived in and there," she pointed to the area next to it, "Is the plateau where she died. She was a shapeshifter and…was a dragon when she died. So even after almost a year and a half, there should still be some sort of remains…Which I think is where we'll start." She tried to speak smoothly, but couldn't hide the hesitations.

"A dragon," Anders repeated, hardly sounding surprised at all. "But wouldn't she have turned back into a woman after she died?"

"My tutor must have missed the chapter on the death habits of a shapeshifter," she replied curtly, realizing he could be right. "But since we don't see any giant dragon bones…we'll have keep our eyes open for human remains as well."

Nudging her horse forward, she abruptly finished the conversation. Closing in on the area, she could picture the defeated dragon of Flemeth as it lay limply on the ground. The idea that they possibly should have been watching for her to revert to her true form made the twinge in her stomach worsen. Reaching the area, they secured their horses and quickly set out to search for remains. The hard ground in the small clearing was flat with no suspicious mounds and it was immediately obvious to them all that nothing was there. Diligently, however, each person carefully poked around.

Drea attempted to keep her mind from racing as she looked over area of nothingness. Silently, she tried to assure herself that Flemeth was dead but insistent doubts broke through. Desperately, she wanted to take a moment to collect her suddenly scattered thoughts but when she noticed her companions sharing private looks of concern and confusion, she spoke up, "I have killed a lot of things in my life - I know what dead is." Realizing her remark of assurance came out as a defensive comment of self doubt, she stopped herself. Fluidly, she began to bark orders without even taking a minute to think over a plan, "But it's obvious nothing is here. Oghren and Sigrun, I need you both to keep poking around on this clearing. Make sure the grass clumps don't just have a bone slid under them or something. Velanna, Nara, and Arkon, I need you three to check the surrounding area." Both of the dogs turned to listen intently to Drea as she spoke their names, once again hinting at just how intelligent mabari truly are. "There are a lot of different animals that make their homes here and it's possible one of them took the flesh. See if there are any signs of her being dragged away into the bush. Anders, I need you to also check the area, but look for anything that looks like a grave - a marker or raised ground. After the Blight, someone may have come across her and decided to give her a respectful resting place. And Nate…I need you to come with me…"

Everyone nodded at her orders, not even thinking to question her. It was a hopeful idea that the witch's body was simply moved and vastly preferable to her still being alive.

As Drea and Nate neared the hut, Nate finally asked, "So what are we doing then."

"Oh, we're going to ransack the hut this time," she replied nonchalantly as her heart started to pound harder. Part of her expected to see the old crone standing in the doorway when they got it open. Shaking her head to kill that image, she finished, "I'm not making that same mistake twice. She's got a lot of locked chests and cabinets tough, so I'll need you to pick the locks. Although…I think we can just kick open the front door."

"And if that triggers a trap?" he countered as he knelt down to be eye level with the lock. Even without looking up, he could feel her breath on his neck as she leaned down to try and also look at the lock. Calmly, he added, "So how about you take a step back and let me take care of this?"

Without replying, she took a step back and began to pace as he pulled out the lock picking tools that were tightly strapped in his boot. Ignoring her, he focused on the lock and was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to open. Sharing a quick look, they let the door creak open, bracing themselves for what they might see. As the door fell completely open and gently bumped the wall, Drea was faced with the unexpected - the room was in completely pristine condition. There was not a single item out of place. Deeply, she sighed, "Of course. They just had to be the cleanest looters in all of Ferelden. I have a feeling it's going to be difficult to find any clues."

"Do you just want me to start going after anything that's locked?" Nate asked as he knelt down next to the chest at the foot of Flemeth's bed.

"Yes, but there shouldn't be anything in that one - that's where Leliana found everything we took last time," Drea replied absently as she started taking cautious steps further into the room.

Frowning, Nate tried to open the latch, but it wouldn't budge. "Really?" he asked doubtfully, "Because it's locked."

Drea's eyebrows furrowed together as she looked from Nate to the chest. Finally, she motioned for him to continue and he promptly turned back to the chest. As with the door, the lock was surprisingly easy and soon they were peering into a completely empty chest. "Forget it, move on to the next," Drea said flatly, not even wanting to venture a guess as to why the empty chest was locked. Her mind was already getting too scrambled.

As Nate moved on to a large locked cabinet, Drea started searching through anything unsecured. Approaching the bed, the memories flowed to her even as she tried to hold them back. It was in that bed that she awoke after the fall of Ostagar. Oh, you're up. Mother will be pleased was how she had been greeted by Morrigan who was looking in on her. As Morrigan continued on to explain that Flemeth had saved her and Alistair from the tower, Drea was desperately fighting through the clouded mess of her mind to comprehend it all. Although Morrigan answered all the questions she could, her impatience with the Warden emanated through her every word. Pulling herself back into the present, Drea focused on the empty bed before her and pulled back the sheets, not even sure what she would be looking for there. Nonetheless, in an effort to be thorough, she even lifted the mattress high enough to check under it.

As she stood to move on to the small shelf beside the bed, Nate called to her, "The writing desk wasn't locked but…you may want to come take a look at this."

There was something in the tone of his voice that set her heart pounding again. Ignoring her racing pulse, she forced herself to calmly walk across the room. Nate's eyes were glued to something on the top of the desk and as he moved away to let her in, she saw it was a folded letter. In spidery, scrawled letters it was addressed to The Great Hero. Her heart stopped but she heard rushing in her ears as the room started to take on a surreal quality. Glancing over at Nate, she saw his expression had grown serious as he stood still beside her. Trying to control the tremor in her hands, she slowly reached for the paper. Carefully breaking the seal, she unfolded the letter…

Ha! Ha! And so the great hero returns, just as I thought she might. But how disappointing…she comes in search of something only to find there is nothing! But is that nothing not a something in itself?

The slight tremble in Drea's hands suddenly spread through her whole body as she shook from the deepest core. Taking several steps back, with the letter still in hand, she felt as though she had been struck in the chest. Bumping into a chair, she quickly dropped her hands to grip its back and stop herself from falling. The room started spinning. Flemeth lived. Flemeth had been in Amaranthine. As she watched Nate start rushing to help, something in her snapped. The growing tightness in her chest exploded. As she gripped the back of the chair, she suddenly felt herself flinging it, while she heard a primal scream erupting in the room. She slowly realized the scream had come from her.

Nate had to duck as Drea violently swung the chair past him. It sailed into the door, crashing loudly and bursting into pieces as it struck. Quickly, Nate sprinted to the door in time to see the others rushing towards the hut. Sharply, he waved them off as he closed the door. Turning back to her, he exclaimed, "What in the Maker's name…"

"No," she cried, "It's not in the Maker's name." As she shoved the crumpled note at him, she added in an almost hysterical whisper, "Not in the Maker's name at all…"

Keeping his concerned eyes on her for a moment longer, he finally looked down at the paper she shoved into his hand. Flattening it out again, he read it over and felt the sinking feeling in his gut. It seemed like gibberish, but judging by her reaction, it was obvious - Flemeth lived. Looking back up to her, he saw she was covering her face with her hands and saw her entire body was shuddering. Hearing the gasps that she tried to muffle, he realized she was hyperventilating. Dropping the note, he hurried over to help steady her. She tried to jerk away but quickly fell limp as one hand stretched below her, searching for the ground. With Nate's help, she lowered herself to the floor and quickly pulled her legs to her chest, burying her face in her knees. "Panic…attacks…as…a kid…" she got out between desperate gasps for air.

Clasping her hands over her legs, Nate saw she was gripping herself so hard that her knuckles were white. Her whole body convulsed as she struggled to breath. Helplessly, Nate reached over and rested his hands over hers. "I've got you Drea, just try to take deep breaths. You have to try to relax Dre."

The pair spent several tense moments on the old, dusty floor boards in the home of the Witch of the Wilds. Time seemed to lose all meaning as she tried to bring herself back to reality while he kept murmuring words of support. "I don't want…anyone close," she forced out between the heaving. Her breathing was still violent, but was slowing. "Leaders don't…do…this."

"Leaders are human! What makes them leaders…what makes you a leader…is the ability to pull yourself back together and keep going," Nate tried to encourage her as he tightened his grip on her hands.

"Go…finish with all the locks," she hiccupped softly, still refusing to look up. It took every ounce of Nate's will power to abide by her request. He knew she needed a moment to collect herself, but he wanted to comfort her. Not arguing, he forced himself to return to the writing desk and make sure there were no other surprises.

As he rummaged through the rest of the house, he heard her breathing eventually relax. Glancing over at her, he could see she still kept herself balled up on the floor and it tore at his heart. He couldn't image what condition he would be in if he had lived through all the impossible situations she had, but he was still a bit shocked at her sudden breakdown. Wanting to project a stable vibe, he calmly returned to her once he was finished and sat across from her on the floor. "There was nothing else," he informed her. "Just scrap bits of cloth and little else. Nothing that warranted being locked up…"

"I've done…terrible things," she told him in a dull tone, appearing not to hear his report. With her face still hidden in her knees, her voice was muffled as she continued, "And all of Ferelden…Thedas…everyone will suffer for it."

"Drea," Nate spoke slowly and firmly as he reached over to squeeze her arms, "You can't fall apart just yet. We need you right now."

As he spoke to her, she finally looked up from her knees, but refused to make eye contact. He was mildly surprised to see there were no tears in her eyes. Shrugging off his touch, she kept talking as though she, again, hadn't heard him, "I should be dead. And I don't mean that I've been in so many tight situations that it's surprising I'm alive. I mean, I killed the archdemon and that was meant to kill me." She spoke in a lifeless monotone voice as though she were reading her thoughts from a book.

"Yes, you've told us about this. The archdemon is the spirit of an old god that has been corrupted by the taint. If an average person kills the creature, its spirit would be drawn to the taint in the nearest soulless darkspawn and continue with the Blight. If a Grey Warden kills it, the spirit would be attracted to the taint in us – destroying us both," Nate automatically supplied, not sure why it suddenly mattered. As an after thought, he added, "You told Weisshaupt that you were sure the apostate you traveled with was responsible for you staying alive although you weren't sure how. It's alright; you've already explained all of this."

Practically trying to bore a hole into the floor with her intense stare, she snorted, "Oh, I'm sure how alright. Believe me or not, but Morrigan and I had become dear friends. When she realized my death was so close, she offered me an alternative - a ritual. If she were to be with child from a…certain type of man, she would be able to draw the spirit of the old god into it. In the body of an unborn child within her, it could be free of the taint…lose all its corruption…and I would be spared. Looking back now, it's foolish but I was so…desperate. She had even said that she realized it was what Flemeth had always intended for her, and I still did it. We both thought that with Flemeth dead, doing as she had hoped wouldn't matter. So…so stupid... I should have sacrificed myself - that was my duty…"

"An unborn child?" Nate asked softly, trying to wrap his head around her confession, "And how did that come to be?"

Finally turning her attention directly to him, she answered, "That's not my secret to tell."

Somehow, he knew Alistair was involved. Having a witch child that was also a bastard price was a whole other set of problems that set his mind racing. However, the unnerving look in her eyes kept him from pushing again. Searching for something else to say, he finally replied, "You did what you had…"

"Don't tell me I did what I had to do," she interrupted bitterly. Squeezing her eyes closed, Drea turned her head to the side and rested her cheek against her knee. "It was a coward's move. What I had to do was die, and I didn't."

Nate sat quietly for a moment, resting his hands in his lap as he crossed his legs. Quietly, he asked, "Drea…do you honestly think that would have made a difference - sacrificing yourself? You believe Flemeth is the one who gave the Architect conscious thought and even planted the seed in its mind that eventually started the Blight. How much more could she be capable of? What if she already knew that neither of you would have gone along with this…ritual...if she were still alive? What if she started the strife at the Circle Tower so Morrigan would get her Grimoire and send you to kill her?" A doubtful look crossed Drea's face, but she remained silent. "Is that really so far fetched? And if she went through all of that, do you honestly believe she wouldn't have had some other way to accomplish her goal if you refused? It might actually have been better for her if you sacrificed yourself because then the only person be able to stop her would be dead. Truly Drea, you're the only person in Ferelden with this many pieces to the puzzle…"

She was unable to argue with his logic, but it didn't help ease the guilt the weighed on her mind. Flemeth lived. She was free to possess the unsuspecting Morrigan and the child would be raised by the insane, power-hungry witch. Her sense of hopelessness was still strong, but the rational part of her mind started to spark again. There was no choice, she had to try and reach Morrigan.

While Nate and Drea spoke in the hut, the rest of the companions had returned to their assigned duties and kept looking for signs of a body. When the two emerged, Drea waved everyone over. In complete contrast to how she was in the hut, she stood tall and confidently. Throwing her shoulders back, Drea addressed the group, "We can all stop searching - Flemeth is very much alive." The shock was clear on each person's face as they shot each other sidelong glances. Not giving them any time to start asking questions, she pushed ahead, "And now a dear friend is in very serious danger. While I'm not entirely sure what to do, or how to even find her, I have to get back to the arling. When we left, I send Cera with guards and horses to the Circle Tower to try and find the meaning of all those runes and I'm hoping it might help give us more answers. But for now…get back to your horses and prepare to move out. And…be good to your horses - we'll be riding them hard…"

Everyone was quick to their horses and within minutes they were gone. The ominous mood, however, followed them every step of the way.

The next day, as they as they passed through Lothering, their pace never slowed. Drea hardly even noticed the blackened buildings as her mind had drifted to another place. She was so distracted that even the large group of darkspawn caught her by surprise.

They were just entering a shallow valley as they left the stone Imperial Highway when they felt the strong pull of the taint. The darkspawn stormed out from the trees towards the group as they sensed the Wardens approaching them. Seeing the darkspawn, Drea's mind instantly cleared as she scrambled down to the ground, "Darkspawn!" she shouted, "Protect the horses."

The well trained animals stood where they were left as their riders jumped down and raced towards battle. The two mabari showed no fear as they flew past everyone, viciously crashing into the closest darkspawn. Within seconds, the whole valley was alive with the sound of clanging weapons and fierce battle cries.

"Let's see what your innards look like!" Oghren shouted as he gleefully gutted the hurlock that towered over to him. Its roar was silenced as its black organs spewed onto the ground. Like a wild animal, Oghren knocked it to the ground and charged onwards to the next darkspawn that was unfortunate enough to be caught in Velanna's root spell. Helplessly, the genlock watched the dwarf's approach, swinging wildly to defend itself. Seconds later, its head was rolling on the ground and Oghren was again moving on to the next one.

Nate was quick to target the largest hurlock of the group that wore a great horned helmet. He wanted to destroy the biggest threat and his arms were a blur as he swiftly grabbed arrow after arrow from the quiver on his back. Even from where he stood, he could hear the howl of the great monster as it uselessly tried to defend itself from the onslaught of arrows. The darkspawn's flimsy armour did little to protect it and one arrow managed to sink into its chest, piercing its black heart. For a second, the darkspawn grabbed the arrow in shock before it finally stumbled back and fell onto the ground.

Racing past the arrow-filled body, Sigrun threw one of her daggers at a genlock emerging from the bushes. It fell before it even joined the fight and she ran up to collect her dagger from its forehead. As she reached for her weapon, she felt a tremor on the ground before she was suddenly aware the world was spinning around her. She was airborne.

Drea looked over in time to see Sigrun sailing away from the tree line as a large ogre crashed through the bushes. Announcing its arrival, the large darkspawn puffed out its chest and threw back its head as its loud roar blanketed the battle. The ogre's large horns glistened in the sun as it looked back to where Sigrun landed. Wanting to finish off what it had slapped away, the ogre stomped towards her. Seeing its purposeful steps, Drea ran towards Sigrun. Her long strides brought her there in time to stand over the dwarf as the large hand came crashing down. Bravely stabbing her sword upward, she caught the ogre's open palm and thrust her sword into its flesh. Using all her strength, she swung her sword down, slicing it's hand wide open. Coming to, Sigrun looked up to see the blood splashing down over Drea who was screaming at her to run. "Run dammit," Drea shouted again, finally startling Sigrun into action as she scrambled away from the ogre. Drea moved to follow her when the ogre reached for her with its other hand, snatching her off the ground. Feeling her feet leave the dirt, Drea brought both her blades down into the darkspawn's wrist, but it didn't loosen the grip. Realizing she was eyelevel to the beast, the adrenaline in her veins stopped her from feeling fear. Trying to pry her swords from its flesh to stab at its face, she felt the creature shake her and it was hard to control her limbs. Twisting one sword, she heard its angry roar and looked over in time to see its wounded hand, balled into an angry fist, coming towards her.

She felt no pain as the fist connected with her. Time seemed to suddenly slow as she saw the fist come towards her a second time. As it connected, she heard the crunching of her own bones and realized she couldn't breath. Even the feral growls from the ogre started to sound distant as she looked to the side, noticing the battle scene below her. Most of the darkspawn were already dead and her companions turned their focus on the ogre. She watched with a disconnected interest as Arkon threw himself at the ogre, sinking his powerful jaws into the creature's ankle and viciously shredded the skin with his claws. Feeling as though she were floating, she heard the darkspawn scream in pain and saw it violently kick the mabari off it. Her dog flew several feet and slammed into the ground, not moving once he hit. The world grew dark and even the muffled sounds of all the shouting quieted into nothingness.

Seeing the large ogre with Drea in hand, Nate let go of his bow and smoothly dropped his quiver as he pulled out his swords. With surprising quickness, he raced across the field, not deterred by the sight of Arkon being kicked away. Oghren arrived at the same time, his face red from rage, as he furiously hacked his great war axe into the darkspawn's leg. Pushing faster, Nate used his momentum to jump up the ogre's chest. With two short leaps, he was able to bring one sword down through the ogre's throat while his other sword bit deeply into its face. Throwing Drea to the ground like a rag doll, the darkspawn reached for Nate. Twisting both blades as he straightened his arms out to the side, he left two large gaping wounds in the wake of his weapons. The ogre wasn't even able to make another sound as it limply collapsed into the ground. Gracefully rolling off the darkspawn as it rocked the land with its death fall, Nate landed on his feet and ran to Drea.

Dropping onto his knees at Drea's side, his heart fell. She was unrecognizable. Blood caked everything, her face, her hair, her armour. All of her limbs were bent awkwardly…unnaturally. Violently, his hands shook as he reached down to move the hair from her face, smearing blood everywhere. His face suddenly crumpled as he tried to hold back his desperation. "Drea?" he called to her, his voice almost failing him, "Drea, can you hear me? It's going to be okay Drea…do you hear me? You're going to be okay…"

Leaning down, he could hear her laboured, shallow breaths. Her lips hardly moved, but he heard her faintly breathe, "Don't…lie…to me…"

Slowly he realized the others were standing behind him, too stunned to move. Spurred on by her hopeless words, he spun around to Anders, "For Maker's sake, do something!"

Blinking himself out of his stupor, Anders stuttered, "I…I don't know if I can…"

Losing any sense of control, Nate's entire body shook as he screamed, "Well you're damn well going to try!" The tears welling in his eyes did little to soften the wild look he had. Still breathing heavily from the fight, he looked like an enraged animal as he trembled with fear and anger.

Anders' mouth dropped open, unsure of what to say, but realizing he was suddenly in danger as Nate looked ready to spring over and pummel him. Quickly, Velanna stepped in between the two men, briskly agreeing, "We'll try together." Hooking Anders by the arm before he could protest, she strode over to the broken Commander. Fishing something from one of her pockets, she grabbed Nate's hand and thrust the item in it. "But in the meantime, you need to go give this to the mabari; it will help him until one of us can tend to his wounds. If we see Drea through this but her dog doesn't survive, there's no telling what she'll do."

Nate blinked blankly at Velanna, but she ignored him as she directed Anders to sit on one side of the body. Giving Nate a gentle push, Velanna passed him to sit on the other side of Drea. Leaning over, she took Anders' hands so they could begin.

Numbly, Nate moved to do as the elf asked, and realized that even with crushed legs, Arkon had dragged himself closer to his master. His irregular breaths were mixed with quiet, pained whimpers. The broken mabari hardly acknowledged Nate as he approached, instead staring intensely at the healers. Oghren quietly watched the scene unfold as he realized there was could never be enough drink in his flask for this situation. Sigrun paced nervously, already wracked with guilt over her carelessness. Nara warily watched Nate as he forced himself to focus on getting Arkon to eat. Instinctively, everyone grew silent as the mage's prepared to do the impossible.