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Chapter 2
~Into the Wilds~

Morriana

The wilds were very dim as we entered; the sun lay hidden behind the tall trees as night would soon be creeping on us if we didn't hurry. Alistair walked down the path before us and I followed without a word. We were not far off from where we started when wolfs attacked us. My blades were drawn as the six wolves circled us, snarling. I stabbed the first one that came to me and then hit the one next to it. I danced around them as they tried to bit me, but they failed. It didn't take long for the fight to end and we sheathed our weapons. I glanced at the other wolves that the others killed. One's face was bloodied where Alistair smashed his face into it, another hand a deep cut from Jory and Davath filled a couple with arrows. I grew suspicious of the wolves but the others just went on. Then, I noticed a wolf in a bush near where Alistair was walking.

"Alistair!" I cried as the wolf lunged at him. I quickly threw my blade at the wolf and it lodged into its side. Alistair jumped in surprise as the wolf landed dead at his feet. He looked at it then gave me a lopsided smile before taking out the dagger from the wolf.

"I thought you didn't talk." He commented as he handed me the dagger by holding it by its bladed part. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks but quickly looked away as I took the dagger and sheathed it once again. He then walked off with Jory and Davath right behind him. I stayed to the back of them, not wanting to be close. It was only minutes after we encountered the wolves we came across a wounded soldier who was surrounded by dead army men and an over turned wagon. The man tried to speak, but all that came out was a pained groan.

"It's alright, I have bandages in my pack to help you," Alistair says. He takes out some bandages and begins helping him. I soon noticed he is having a bit of trouble wrapping a wound on his leg and quickly kneel down and help. Instinct, I guess. Alistair glances at me, but I focus on the wounds. When we finish we help him up and he limps back to camp. Jory then blurts out that we could be in danger and I can't help but sigh.

"We are in no danger of running into the horde, Jory." Alistair tries to assure him.

"And? How many darkspawn can the four of us take? A dozen? A hundred? I'm not a coward," he says, defensively, " but this is foolish and reckless. We should go back."

"You sound like a coward to me." I mumbled, thinking he couldn't hear me. Sod, why am I doing this? Oh, right, because if no one will tell this guy he shouldn't be a coward then someone should. Some knight.

"I'm simply trying to stay alive. . ."

"Look, Jory, it's not that hard. If you stab them, they bleed and die. Is that so hard? Or is it the blood that scares you?" I ask. I heard Alistair chuckle.

"Bloodthirstiness is such a charming feature, did you know that?" I look at him with a curious gaze but I look back to the ground. "I assure you, Jory, the horde is deep in the forest, but we won't be going near it. There are darkspawn in these wilds nearby, sure, but not the horde. This I know."

"You see, ser knight?" Davath says with a smirk. "We might die, but we'll be warned about it first."

"I suppose that is… reassuring."

"That doesn't mean I'm here to make things easier, though. So let's move on." Once again we are on the path, passing the turned wagons and dead ox. A snarl catches my attention and I look up to see strange creatures. Their flesh is rotten and I could literally smell the evil on them. We all draw out weapons and Alistair quickly attacks, bashing his shield on the closest one. I started fighting one of the darkspawn that came at me. I swung at me and I quickly dodged. I blocked another hit then stabbed it through the middle. I then swung my blade around to another darkspawn that came behind me, beheading it. I saw out of the corner of my eye Davath shooting his arrows at some of the darkspawn on the hill while ser Jory ran his blade through a darkspawn in the hill then threw it off. The fight proceeded on until the last darkspawn was struck down. I was panting from the fight and was now covered in blood. We collected the blood from the bodies then continued on. We encountered three more groups as followed the path.

We finally stopped at a pond to clean. Jory and Davath sat near it together chatting and such. I sat on a long on the far other side, much away from them as I could. I stared at my feet, my hands in my lap. I felt so tired. My eyes threatened to close and let sleep take over me, but I refused it. Perhaps Duncan was right; I should have gotten some sleep. But, no. I can't the dreams have been haunting me since I left the Alienage. I keep arguing with my mind.

How could you have left them like that?

I had to…

Don't even try that. Look at what happened to Shianni! And then you abandon her. She was broken and violated... what cousin of hers would've let that happen? You should have helped her. You should have been faster. You should have protected yourself. And then Soris! You are the eldest. You should have saved him! It was your duty as the older cousin to protect them.

I was broken too; there was nothing I could do…

Excuses! You shouldn't have let them take her. You shouldn't have let them do the things they did…

"Maker keep us, Maker protect us…"

I moaned as I regained consciousness. I opened my eyes to see Shianni, Valora, and a couple of other elves looking over me. Not far off I heard Nola praying.

"Maker keep us, Maker protect us…" she prayed.

"Come on, you're giving me a headache." Shianni complained. "It's good to see you're finally awake, Mori." I groaned and sat up, rubbing my head. Shianni helped me up and I looked around the room.

"Okay, we need to make a plan…" I start but Valora cuts me off.

"Look we'll just… do what they want and go home and pretend none of this happened. It will be worse if we do something."

"It will be worse if we don't!" Shianni yelled. I shushed her and she lowered her head to quiet down. "What are we going to do?"

"Look, we all know what we want." I answer her. "We need to find something out. Maybe jump them when they come for us or… I don't know. But we can't just sit by and…" I stop when I hear a click from the lock on the door and it opens reviling six soldiers. My eyes narrow as they walk in. Their eyes gazed at our bodies.

"Alright, ladies. Vaughn would very much like to see you now." One says with a wicked smirk. Nola instantly stood up in front of him.

"Let us go!" she shouted. Suddenly, the guard closest to her drew his blade and struck her. Some of the blood got on me but I was too stunned to even care. She fell to the ground with a thud. The man kept his weapon out. I immediately jumped in front of all the other elves, my arms stretched out protectively.

"Get a load of this." one of the others shouts. "This little elf trying to protect her own scum kind." The others laughed and I might have been blushing, but I didn't move from where I was.

"No, leave them alone! You don't need to…"

Another walked over to me and punched me in the ribs then face. I fell to the side, but tried hard to remain conscious. I hear Shianni calling my name but it sounded faded as some of the men dragged her and all the others out. When I looked up I saw two guards still standing in the room. One had dragged away the body so now a blood stain lay on the carpet.

"Let's see how much of a fight she still has in her." One says they move closer to me, and I, with all my strength, lunged at them to attack…

"Are you okay?" A voice says from behind me, breaking me of my thoughts. I know its Alistair without looking, but, still, I don't turn to him. I just keep looking at my feet, almost like if I were to look away they would disappear. He sat on the ground next to me, though not very close. "I never thanked you for saving me." No, you didn't. "So, thanks." I feel my heart racing as he talks. "You never did tell me your name." I still don't speak. "Oh, I get it! You're shy." Is he messing with me? "Don't worry, I'm sure my witty charm will drive you right out of it just you watch. I am quiet the prize after all." I didn't know if he actually meant it or was just trying to make me laugh. Either way, my lips twitched into a small smile, though I tried desperately to press my lips together to stop it. I failed. "Aha, see? I got a smile." I blush and look off into the forest. "You know," he starts, his voice turning gentle, "if there's anything you want to talk about I'm all ears." I slowly turn my head towards him, though not looking at his face.

"I don't want to be here." I reply, my voice full of anger.

"From what Duncan said in his letter he said he rescued you." I look at him, unsure which emotion is over coming which.

"Does it ever occur to you that sometimes people don't want to be saved? I didn't want to leave my home. I didn't want to leave my family. Duncan didn't save me. He conscripted me and took me away from it all." I was breathing hard now, due to my now realized anger. I could see guilt—or maybe pity—on his face. My shoulder dropped and I looked to the lake.

"Don't worry, you're a good fighter and I'm sure you'll be a good addition to the Grey Wardens."

Alistair

The elven girl continued to stare off at the lake. I could see in her eyes that they were filled with sorrow, pain, and other emotions I could not name right now. Dark circles were under her eyes. I could see her shutter as if she were fighting a yawn.

"Maker's breath," I say under my breath. "When was the last time you slept?" I ask. She shrugged. She looks like she hasn't slept in a week, let alone eaten in a week or so. Wasn't Duncan taking care of her? "Maybe you could get some sleep when you are done with the joining." I suggest. She just shakes her head.

"I'm fine. I don't need sleep right now."

"Look, I'm just—" As I try to place a hand on her shoulder she shoots up away from me and takes a few steps back. I then noticed she was shaking. Somehow, I knew it wasn't the cold. She bits her lip and looks away.

"We should get going." She has tears in her eyes, but she refuses to let them fall. For some strange reason, I feel the urge to take her in my arms; to hold her; to tell her everything will be okay. And the thing is. . . I don't know why I feel this way. But I can't. I simply nod and call for the others. The girl squares her shoulders and all signs of almost crying have vanished. The girl seems tough, like Duncan said.

I wonder what happened to her before she joined. Maker, I hope she lives.

We travel on and I try hard to figure out where this old ruin is on this dang map. I look around, trying to find the land marks on the map to find it. I knew I should have asked Duncan to teach me to read a map. I never really learned how to in the chantry. I sigh and stop to look at the map. The elven girl comes up to me and takes the map. I open my mouth to say something but she holds up a finger to stop me. I watch as her eyes scan the paper then she looks up and around. She points to a part of the woods to her left.

"There. That way should take us to this ruin." She explains. I'd be lying if I said I said that I wasn't impressed. I give her a small smile but she turns and walks off in the direction she pointed out. There was something about this girl that I found odd. She seems very skilled, and strong. But there's a look in her eyes that makes her look as if she will crumple at any moment, yet she holds back. And most of the time it's like she is distant, almost. Not only that but she seems smart. But I wonder why she reacted the way she did when I tried to touch her. I mean, it's not like I was going to hurt her or anything. I give myself a mental shake and begin following her. she turned to look at him she had such an evil look on her face, even I was scared. He holds back and falls in line next to Jory. He whispers something to him, but I cannot hear it.

When I look back up at the sky I see that it nears setting. We would most likely have about an hour until night takes over. It wasn't long until the ruin came into view. The elven girl—Maker I wish I could find out what her name is—rolls back up the map and hands it to me. We make our way through the woods when magic comes from nowhere and hits her, putting her in a magical barrier. She can't move. I look ahead to the bridge and a Hurlock emissary stands on it. I use my Templar skills to get her out and she charges at the emissary. We begin after her but four genlock rouges appear and attack us. I swung at the genlocks, fighting hard. When they were all dead I saw the elven girl fighting the emissary. I noticed an arrow had pierced into her shoulder, but she just kept fighting. Finally, the emissary fell and a few Hurlocks began to surround her. I ran to her and hit the first one that was closest to me. She and I continued to fight them while Jory and Davath fought the archers a little ways' off. When the fight was over she pulled out the arrow and tossed it aside and looked at it to see the damage.

"Here, I can help you with that…"

"I'm fine." She snaps, even though blood is spilling from the wound. She turns and continues up the path before I can say anything else. I shake my head and follow her.

Maker, why is this woman so complicated? Why are women complicated in general?

It doesn't take long until we finally reach the ruin and—surprise—the entrance was surrounded by darkspawn. Once again we hacked at the creatures, and once again we won. The girl stabs a Hurlock through its neck and in his stomach. It made no sound as it went down. Davath whips out his daggers and take on two archers while Jory swung his sword at a few genlocks. I fought the Hurlock leader. His great sword clashed with my shield and I swung my swung, cutting its side. It growled in pain and swiped at my feet, making me fall. It was just about to stab me when two daggers flew at it, lodging in its chest. The elven girl came up to me once it fell with a gargle.

"Sad how I'm always having to save you," she muttered bitterly, picking up her weapons from the fallen darkspawn.

"My hero," I replied with a witty smile. She gave me the look that she gave Davath and I lost the smile. Okay, note to self: No pointing out heroism. She shook her head and walked into the ruin and to a chest while Jory helped me up.

"There's nothing here." She exclaimed. I looked over at the chest and saw she was right before I could say anything I hear a voice behind us.

"Well, well. What have we here?" We all turned to see a woman standing on some of the rubble. Her clothes didn't cover much above her waist, a long skirt made from other clothing covered her legs and feet and a staff hung at her back. Apostate, no doubt. Her golden colored eyes burned at us. The elven girl stood up and walked past us as the woman continued. "Are you a vulture, I wonder? A scavenger, poking amidst of corpse whose bones been long since cleaned? Or merely an intruder, coming to these darkspawn filled wilds of mine in search of easy prey?" The woman walked to us and stopped in front of the elven girl. "What say you, hmm? Scavenger or intruder." The woman looks at each of us, waiting an answer.

"The Grey Wardens once owned this tower." I answer.

"Tis a tower no longer. The wilds have obviously claimed this desicated corpse." The woman then began to walk past us. "I have watched your progress for some time. 'Where do they go?' I wondered, 'why are they here?'" She stopped at a higher point, overlooking us. "And now you disturb ashes of those who have not been touched in so long. Why is that?"

"Don't answer her," I tell the elf girl. "She looks Chasind, and that means others may be nearby."

"Oh, you fear barbarians will swoop down upon you." The woman mocks, throwing her arms up.

"Yes," I mumble. "Swooping is bad."

"She's the witch of the wild!" Davath says. "She'll turn us into toads!"

"Witch of the wilds? Such idle fancy, those legends. Have you no minds of your own? You there, elf." I see the elf look up at her, giving her a suspicious look. "Woman do not frighten like little boys. Tell me your name and I shall tell you mine." I see her hesitate then she squares her shoulder.

She bits her lip unsure of what to do. Finally she complies. "Morriana."

Aha, Morriana! Honestly, it's not a bad name. Kind of nice, actually. I wonder why she never told anyone.

"And you may call me Morrigan, if you wish. Shall I guess your purpose? You sought something in that chest. Something that is here no longer?"

"'Here no longer'?" I repeated. "You stole them, didn't you? You're some kind of…sneaky… witch-thief!" I accuse.

"How very eloquent. How does one steal from dead men?" The witch folds her arms

"Quit easily, it seems." Morriana mutters under her breath, but the woman, Morrigan, didn't seem to notice.

"Look," I reply, "those documents are Gray Warden property and I would suggest you should return them."

"I will not for it was not I who removed them. Invoke a name that means nothing here any longer if you wish; I am not threatened."

"Well then, who removed them?"

"T'was mymother, in fact." Morrigan sighs. Maker, please tell me that's a joke.

"Can you take us to her?" I looked over at Morriana to see if she was joking along with her. She wasn't.

"Now there is a sensible request." Morrigan chuckled before saying, "I like you."

"I'd be careful," I mumble, taking a step. "First it's 'I like you' and then 'Zap!' frog time."

"She'll put us all in the pot she will, just you watch," Davath says.

"If the pot's warmer than this forest it'd be a nice change," Jory remarks.

"Follow me the." Morrigan turns and heads off. Morriana follows behind her, then I behind her, shadowed by the other two.

We head deeper into the forest until we reach a small hut with a woman standing outside of it.

"Greetings, mother." Morrigan greets her. "I bring before you four Gray Wardens who-"

"I see them girl," the woman replies. We stop in front of her while Morrigan moves behind her. "Hmm, much as I expected."

"Are we really supposed to believe you were expecting us?" I say in disbelief. The woman talks on about believing what we will and I have no doubt in my mind through all of this that she is defiantly crazy. Morrigan had gone in the hut and returned not long later with the treaties and handed them to Morriana. She thanks them and Morrigan's mother tells her daughter to show us out of the woods. She leads us through the forest and none of us speak until we finally get back. Morriana thanks Morrigan and we head back into the camp. Another thing I am staring to find odd about this Morriana girl: I keep noticing that when she is talking to someone she looks away, only glancing at their faces for no more than two seconds. Strange. And the way she distances herself from everyone.

Anyway, we find our way back to Duncan, who was still standing by the fire.

"So you've returned. Have you been successful?"