6. Discovery II.

Varric and Merrill walked in silence, which was something the Dwarf was not used to. He was much familiar with the curious elf who constantly bombarded him with questions of his tales, pointing out new things in delight, and wanting him to tell her more of his grand stories. Now, she just stared ahead with her hand hovering close to her mages staff, which was strapped to her back using a leather holster. Varric even noticed how the look in her eyes have drastically changed, they didn't sparkle like they used to. They were alert, fierce, even terrifying at times, but they were mostly filled with so much anger and sadness.

Merrill could feel Varric's eyes on her. It was easy to ignore at first, but now she felt the pressure of his stare even more. She understood why he was staring, they all stared. They were wondering what happened to her? What caused her to change? They were looks she had become accustomed to, since they left Kirkwall many months ago.

She doesn't remember when she changed, but she suspected it must have been around the time she witnessed Templars massacring innocent Elves in the Alienage. Elves, who were suspected of being mages, pleaded with the Templars, trying to assure them that they had no affiliation with Magic. It was almost as if the Templars did not care, and were just looking for an excuse to kill the "knife-ears" that polluted their city. It was a disgusting thing to witness, the lives of innocents ending in a single moment, the light in their eyes gone. She remembered a moment of pure anger, the calling of the spirits in the fade, attempting to seduce her to become an abomination - a mage who had succumbed to the demons of the fade, becoming horrible monsters possessed by those spirits.

She would accept their help, though under her rules. She didn't know how she did it, but she took control of the demons, a feat never done before, and used them for her own needs through the strong and dangerous use of Blood Magic. She left Hawke's party as they made their way to Hightown, and she would have her retribution for the innocent lives claimed by the Templars. When she was done, she held onto the body of a dying elven child in her arms. She would beg Anders to help the child, to heal him. But, it was too late. The child died in her arms, and so did a part of her.

She became stronger and she had much control over Blood Magic, most would say she even mastered it - which was something once thought of impossible to do. She no longer felt the fear of going too far or even being possessed by a demon. She would call on them, cage them in her mind and use their vast resources of power and then release them back into the fade. Blood magic and Merrill had become one. The things she could do with such unimaginable and unrelenting power was staggering. It has made her a living legend, next to Hawke. She showed no mercy to her enemies and those who would harm her friends and race as she took out all of her pain and despair on them.

Merrill also knew how everyone's views have changed towards her. Some of her friends don't even know if they should be afraid or feel sorry for her. She never asked for their pity. She never cried in front of them. Never showed a hint of weakness. She did what she had to do without a second thought, and her sudden change was something that took a while for all of them to get used to, even though they never truly got used to it. The only people who still treated her the same were Varric who still called her "Daisy" and Isabela who still called her "Kitten," and though her and Bethany never truly saw eye-to-eye, she appreciated how the younger Hawke would attempt to strike up a conversation or make a joke with her. And Hawke...

"Oh, Hawke..." She said quietly to herself.

She knew that he felt her change much more than the rest. She was no longer the elf he had fallen in love with. It killed her that she could not go back to the way things were, for him. She wanted nothing more than to see him smile again, the same way he used to when he looked at her. She would cling onto the memories of the laughs they shared, and the talks they had. But, this war had changed them both in ways neither of them ever thought or imagined.

Merrill knew that Hawke doubted himself. He doubts the man she knows he can be. Each day, reports of hundreds dead on the streets of cities or even on the road would cause him to have nightmarish dreams that she would soothe with a touch of magic, to keep the demons away. Hawke already left one home, and now he had to leave another, never truly finding a place to call home. He wants to help fight for what he felt was right, but he knew that once he entered this war, there would be no turning back. He would have to choose a side and stick to it until the end, one way or another. This is his ultimate fate, and she would be with him until the very end and beyond.

Both Merrill and Varric stopped as they heard voices ahead of them.

"Quiet now." Varric whispered.

They both crept in the shadows of dawn and hid behind bushes. They saw where half of the metal bird fell. It was a strange thing that reminded Merrill of a ship without sail. They saw people, most in very strange uniforms. Some were walking, pulling bodies out of the ship. They were placed on the ground, some unconscious or dead. What struck them the most was that some weren't even human or any race they knew.

It was these strange creatures that caught their attention the most. They were neither human, dwarven, or elven. No race they have come to know in their adventures matched these things. One was blue skinned, with the body and face of a female, and they watched as she amputated someones leg as another human female held the man down. The other almost resembled a bird in heavy armor walking around with what appeared to be a long barreled weapon, burned scars covered some of his face and stood out the most about his appearance. Lastly, a huge non-human beast with an intimidating look in his eyes, which Merrill knew too well were the eyes of someone who had a thrill in fighting and killing. It were looks she was used to seeing on some Templars.

"What are they?" Varric asked, in a low voice.

"Nothing I have ever seen." Merrill answered.

She looked at Varric and noticed a familiar look in his eyes. It was strange because it wasn't a look she thought Varric would ever have. It was the same look Varric gave his crossbow, "Bianca," when he polished it. She followed his line of vision and it stopped at the blue woman. She smiled to herself as she looked back at Varric, who was no longer looking at the non-human and his look had changed, intensified. He grabbed Bianca and said in a low and serious voice.

"Trouble."

She saw it too, and she instantly grabbed her staff. Qunari tribe men have descended from their mountain hideout, and they did not look too happy with their new guests . . .

Liara woke up with a hard pounding headache, which left her dazed and confused for the next few seconds before she closed her eyes and took in a few deep breaths. When she was able to see straight, she stood up a bit too fast and felt as if the ground beneath her feet was moving which left her disoriented and nearly fell until she felt a hand grab her arm and helped her stand straight.

"Easy now, I got you." Garrus spoke.

She thanked the Turian, and he let her go with a nod. She started to look at the area around her. There was one sun low in the sky, indicating that it was Dawn. They must have been by the ocean since she can hear the waves not too far away, and a tall cliff towered over her. Trees and other vegetation surrounded the environment, and then her eyes came upon the Normandy, at least half of her.

"Goddess..." She said in a gasp.

She then looked around at the people around her. Those who were awake, like Joker, helped carry the unconscious, or dead, people out of the Normandy. She saw Garrus walking away from her and began to scout with his M-97 Viper Sniper Rifle in his hands. Grunt, who wielded his M-300 Claymore shotgun, joined Garrus on his scouting of the area. Miranda was standing, wiping sweat and blood from her forehead with a tired expression. Liara looked towards the wounded and the dead.

"Where is Shepard?" She asked.

"He wasn't on the Normandy when I began searching for those who were still alive." Miranda answered. "At least not on this part of the Normandy."

Liara held a bit of hope for the Commander. Though, they were not romantically involved, Shepard had become a very close friend and a very capable leader. She wasn't sure what any of them would do if he died. Miranda shared the small hint of hope. They both snapped back to reality as they heard a man screaming in pain. His voice echoed though the valley as he was carried off the ship, crying about his leg. Liara and Miranda ran to the man as those who pulled him out set him down gently. She recognized the man as Tyler Waller, an officer aboard the Normandy who regularly checked on the holo panel of the Galaxy Map, and examined his wounded leg carefully.

"His leg has suffered sever trauma below the knee. Something heavy must have fallen on it." She said.

"We had to lift a piece of the hull from his leg so we could get him." One of the carriers informed her.

"Find me a saw or something sharp, now." Liara instructed. She then looked at Miranda, who nodded in approval, both sharing the same thought, "We have to amputate his leg."

"What?! No! Please, don't!" Tyler begged loudly.

"Would somebody shut him up! We don't know what is out there." Grunt said, pointing beyond the trees and cliffs.

"If you haven't noticed, Grunt, this man is in pain." Liara told him.

With a snarl, Grunt said, "Either you shut him up, or I will."

Miranda interrupted, bringing Liara back to the situation, "I'll hold him down."

One of the carriers ran up and handed Liara a surgical saw. Not even wondering where he got it from, she took the saw, and rolled up the man's sleeve. Miranda tore off a piece of cloth, wrapped it up, and pressed it to the mans quivering lips.

"Bite down on this." She told him, which he accepted.

Liara took a deep breath, and began cutting through the leg in concentration. Miranda held the man down still, as he struggled, biting hard on the cloth through muffled screams. Tears rolled down his face as he kept frantically looking down at his leg, and constantly closed his eyes as if hoping this was all a dream. But the blood reminded them all of how real this is, as it spurted around everywhere and all over Liara. She reached the bone and at this point the mans eyes began to roll as he looked like he was about to pass out, still screaming though the cloth, as she had to cut harder through the bone. Finally, she was done, and Tyler had fainted. Realizing that she had no proper medical supplies - since the Med Bay was on the other half of the ship, she wrapped up the bloody stump as best she could and wiped the blood from her face.

"He will live." Miranda told her.

"Yes, but if we do not find medical supplies soon, he may die of infection."

Liara and Miranda stood up, and Liara examined the scene all around her as she noticed many more who needed medical attention. The entire scene was horrifying to her.

"Uh . . . Not that what you're doing isn't important, but we have company." Garrus announced.

Liara and Miranda looked towards where Garrus and Grunt held their weapons at. The group that was walking out of the bushes were very tall, gray-skinned, and large, sharp, horns that protruded from their foreheads. Some carried spears, and others large swords. Their eyes were black with gray irises. In a way, they reminded Liara about the human's biblical note about demons or devils. A few of them examined the shotgun and sniper held by the Turian and Krogan and muttered to themselves. Liara approached the group cautiously as their leader walked over towards her.

"You are not welcomed here." He told her in a very deep voice.

"Please, we need help and medical attention. Our ship has crashed here and we don't-"

"- We do not care for your troubles, blue-one. We do not want you in our valley."

"Territorial, don't you think?" Garrus commented.

"Like a damn Varren." Grunt commented back, cocking the shotgun.

The leader had a look of growing impatience.

"We aren't looking for trouble, we just need help." Liara pleaded.

"I will not warn you again. Leave now, or you will regret-"

Blam! the shotgun blast echoed through the land, deafening ears that were unaccustomed to such a weapon. Liara looked back at Grunt with a look mixed of fear and anger. Grunt shrugged.

"He talked too much." He said, cocking the shotgun again.

Whatever these things were, they wasted no time after their leader fell. Liara surrounded herself in her blue biotic field, Miranda did the same standing next to her. Garrus shot his sniper once, taking out one of them - Liara counted twenty of them - and then batted one in the jaw with the butt of his sniper. Grunt shot again, punching and kicking at those who dared challenged him, and he replied with a laugh. They tried to get through Miranda's and Liara's biotic field but were soon surprised when they were pushed back by the combined power, by an invisible force that lifted them off their feet and sent them flying out of the field.

Joker stayed back, while those who were not unconscious grabbed whatever weapon they could find and joined the small fight. But the fight was soon forced to a halt, as one of the gray-skinned creatures lost control of himself and beheaded two of his companions with his blade. Both sides were surprised enough to stop the assault, as two newcomers stepped out of the bushes on the other side of the field. A short, blonde man with a crossbow and a skinny woman with pointed ears and a bleeding out stretched palm stood out of the bushes.

"Bas sarrebas." One of the gray ones muttered.

"Qunari, you will leave." The skinny woman said in a frightening tone. "Or shall I have one of your own kill another?"

"This does not concern you, she-elf." One of them told her.

"I do not care. Leave now and you will live. Stay and fight, and you will surely die."

When it looked as if they would not listen, the short blonde man shot a bolt from his crossbow and shot one of the 'Qunari' in the head, behind the one that was speaking. He cocked it back, readying another bolt.

"I'd listen to the angry blood mage, if I were you." He said.

Liara, Miranda, Garrus, and Grunt looked at each other questionably. They had no idea what was going on but they chose to stay out of it. Garrus had to hold Grunt back from giving into his temptations again. Those that remained of the Qunari surrendered their weapons and backed away. All left, except of the one who was still under some kind of spell from the elf woman. She turned her outstretched hand into a fist and one she controlled shook violently as blood poured out of all holes in his body and died.

Once the Qunari were gone, Liara and her group pointed their weapons at the newcomers. The short man help up his crossbow and his hand. The elf, however, held warning in her eyes.

"Whoa, whoa, we are the good guys." The short man said.

"And how can we trust you?" Miranda asked.

"Trust me when I say: if we wanted you dead, Daisy -here - would make it happen."

Red and black smoke began to form around the elf's eyes. After another moment's thought, Miranda ordered them all to lower their weapons. Herself and Liara's biotic fields diminished. Grunt made some comment about liking the gray people and he hoped they may cross paths again and kill them in the glory of battle.

"My name is Varric, and this is Merrill." Varric said introducing themselves.

Merrill stayed quiet and allowed Varric to do the talking. She watched each and every one of them carefully, her hand tightening around the staff in her hand, ready for anything. Varric placed his crossbow in his holster, as Liara introduced herself and everyone else. Merrill stayed in the back, cotinuing to watch everything.

"Are you people with the falling man?" Varric asked them.

"Falling man?" Garrus asked, confused. "You mean Shepard?"

"Don't know his name, he was still out of it when we left our camp. He fell out of the bird as it ripped in half. I gotta say, I'm surprised there were survivors." Varric's eyes fell upon Liara's and he quickly turned his gaze back to Miranda and Garrus.

"Can you take us to him?" Miranda asked.

"I-"

"- One of you may accompany me back to the camp. If Hawke says it is alright, I will come back for the rest of you." Merrill finally spoke.

Thinking of the conditions, the other group nodded and Miranda volunteered to be the one to go with the elf back to camp.

"Varric, stay here. I will return soon." Merrill ordered.

Varric nodded, still not looking at Liara. Merrill left with Miranda back through the bushes the elf and dwarf had come from. During the small awkward silence, Varric kept himself occupied by walking around the area, examining with interest in his eyes. He took out a small leather notebook and a makeshift pencil and began writing something. Liara watched Miranda and Merrill leave until they were no longer within sight, then Garrus walked over and stood next to her.

"Can we trust them?" Garrus asked.

"What choice do we have?" Liara answered.