She hated him.
She hated that now shaven jawline. She hated his weathered skin. She hated the way he moved. She hated his unruly dark hair. She hated that dry and controlled voice of his. She hated the wide hands holding his beautiful bow with such intimate knowledge. She hated his dark grey eyes that found hers so easily, hated how friendly and inviting they were.
And she hated his smile!
That teasing, confident little smile that had been playing on his lips for the entire day! A smile that was so damn happy! Happy and aimed at her! As if the mere sight of her made him glad! As if her frustration was something to enjoy!
Most of all she hated that hint of gratitude within herself though!
Last night she had been afraid, huddled within her tent she had waited, nervous beyond words...practically shaking. She had realised something was wrong...that what she did was wrong, or rather, that it was wrong to sleep with Nathaniel simply to defy Lynn!
And he hadn't shown up.
She had felt relief then, then worry...unable to keep herself from thinking why she felt relief. She had embraced anger then, simply to defend herself from thinking about her and Nathaniel, of them...it was a terrifying thought...to think of the two of them together in all meanings of the word...it went against her instincts. Yet...
No, hate him. Her command to herself lacked any heat though, making her growl in frustration as she tried to distract herself with her surroundings.
It was easy to do so, the sights around her making her anger swell with renewed ferocity.
The Blackmarsh was a choked wasteland.
The stench was the first that struck any observer. The putrid stench of rotting animals, swelling into balloons of fur and flesh as they lay half submerged in the black filth of the swamp. The smell of tress dying, bark thin as paper and black like death, rotten and slowly melting off the trunks. The smell of sick water that had stayed still for far too long. The whole area stunk of it.
It was the stench of disease.
To her annoyance Nathaniel suddenly walked into her field of vision, or maybe she shifted her gaze, she wasn't sure any more. Walking slightly ahead of the group the man was slightly crouched as he moved, silent and deadly like only a true hunter could be, eyes focused on something only the eyes of a veteran scout could see… Yet he seemed to sense her gaze, again, and glanced back, shooting her a smile.
Warmth. Velanna found herself biting her lip and looking away, a wave of gratefulness rolling over her before she suppressed it.
I do not owe him anything! I...I should be angry...or...frustrated. But...I only want things to be...right.
The sight of the Blackmarsh made her close her fists in rage though, pushing aside the sudden emotions with one she was far better equipped to handle.
Everything was filthy, dark leaves mouldy to the point of disintegrating as they lay on the ground, yet they didn't rot away, lingering, as if clinging to what little existence was left. Their barren mothers towered silent above them, all bent under an unseen burden, their cores rotted with a foulness not of their own making. Even the stones and ground were foul, covered with dead moss and ruined spider webs.
Most of all it was the silence, the utter stillness of the place...
Not a single animal could be heard or seen, not even an insect. There was no wind, no rustling of the dead leaves, no moving of rotten trees. Just...silence.
Despite their silent steps Velanna felt like a trespasser as she and the rest of the group slowly made their way through the marsh...it angered her. She was a keeper! One with the forest! A master of the land and breather of life! Communicator with nature! Yet all she felt here was silence...silence and death, she knew she should dread it...instead she just felt anger.
It was made all the worse that the silence and death wasn't natural. It wasn't an imbalance in nature itself, no rot in the trees, no sickness within the water, no filth in the ground.
It all emanated from the building ahead.
The houses surrounding the main building, once a mansion, were just gutted skeletons, walls and ceiling long since having been torn asunder, leaving only ruins and the odd bony remains of someone since long trapped beneath remaining.
Yet the main building remained standing, oddly untouched by time and the surrounding destruction. With an intact wall around it, topped with blackened steel spikes, and with a sharply pointed roof topped with a curving black wire of steel that at once might have been a beautiful decoration, but now only resembled a gnarled vine, was intimidating in the evening darkness. A darkness that seemed all the deeper when they slowly approached the closed gate.
With the dreadful silence Velanna almost wished the gate would fly open like that of a fortress, that the dark windows would glow with light and banish the growing darkness, that the absent defenders would spew from such a surprisingly well-kept monster of a house and shatter the silence with their roars of hatred.
Yet nothing happened.
They passed the first shell of a house, the pale skull of a child still in a broken crib staring up at Velanna as she looked at it. It's almost...as if it's following me... She glared at the thing, daring it to try anything.
Ahead of her the shadow of the mansion fell upon her.
Death. Pride. Greed. Hatred.
Coming to a halt she shuddered, struggling to focus as something old washed over her...a lingering...something...
There is something that shouldn't be disturbed here, save by fire. Her gaze darted over to Nathaniel, who shot her a reassuring smile.
She found herself smiling back, annoyed with herself...yet not.
Her shoulders dropped, tension fading. It'll be okay.
"Dead man." Sigrun's voice made Velanna and Nathaniel jump in unison, drawing a grin to the dwarf's face as she pointed at the closed gate. "Eyes front scout, he's right under your nose."
A weary chuckle escaped Mhairi even as Lynn shot Velanna a withering glare, making the Dalish blush even as she raised her chin and defiantly glared back. I make no excuses. To her surprise the other elf looked away first, shoulders sloping in defeat.
Nathaniel only shrugged as he turned to look down at the corpse, dry voice noting without a hint of shame or irritation: "So it is, my apologies."
Letting her gaze linger on the suddenly tired-looking Lynn for a bit longer Velanna finally shrugged, she didn't want to know...the other elf was just too...painful to understand. Instead she moved closer to Nathaniel's find, or rather, Sigrun's...which the dwarf smugly declared by putting an armoured foot upon the shoulder of the corpse with a meaning smile aimed at the archer.
The man ignored the dwarf though, frowning he crouched down to get a closer look on it, only briefly glancing back as Velanna came closer and timidly placed a hand on his shoulder. It felt...right.
Nathaniel's calm observation was just what she had expected...and made her smile, despite the ugliness of the subject. "Still in armour, skin and flesh...a fresher corpse then these skeletons strewn around the village. In armour, a warrior...arrow in his neck...someone must have sneaked up on him. But why is it lying curled up on its side?"
Sigrun's foot pushed the body onto its back, revealing a gaunt face nearly bereft of hair, pale dead eyes staring up at them. Despite being male the face was painfully similar to Lynn's, gaunt and dead...Velanna shook her head, forcing herself not to think about it. If Nathaniel thought something similar she couldn't hear it as he said: "Damn, the warden seal on his armour, this is probably Kristoff Commander."
Only then did Lynn approach, her steps almost...reluctant, tired, making Velanna raise her eyebrows in question. The Commander ignored her though, her dead eyes looking down at the corpse without any sign of caring, then reached towards the sword still strapped to the warrior's waist...only to stop, eyes narrowing: "Why is he lying in front of the gate?"
Silence.
Then Nathaniel flinched.
Followed by Sigrun.
A muttered oath escaped Mhairi as they all heard slow steps of steel against gravel, the woman's sword out of its sheathe as she glared at the closed gate before them. Velanna freed her staff as well, feeling a surge of...something...making her skin prickle.
Lynn however, turned.
Following suit Velanna felt rather then saw the others do the same as her focus went to the lone creature stalking towards them.
A single darkspawn, a curved sword of black steel strapped to its waist as it slowly moved towards them, as if it had all the time in the world. The black chainmail it wore was of fine make, the boots of burnished dark steel. The its face was the standard wicked grin of a hurlock, yet at the same time not, something with it more...human? No...not human...just...thinking.
Velanna moved to cast...only to stop as Lynn raised a hand, stopping the group dead.
What is she... Velanna eyes widened as the other elf sauntered to meet the darkspawn.
The two stopped five feet from one another, arms to their sides, almost relaxed as they eyed one another. One with a mere hint of interest, the other with a malicious grin.
"Speak." Lynn's command was weary, yet strong. "I know you can."
"The killer of the song..." The creature growled back, its voice harsh and guttural, not meant to speak the words leaving its mouth, with a start Velanna realised it was referring to Lynn. Killer of song...what does that mean? A quick glance back revealed that Nathaniel was thinking the same question. "...Mother has a gift for you."
"Mother?" Lynn snapped, crossing her arms in front of her, not the least worried by the growing grin of the creature, if Velanna hadn't seen the woman fight she would have thought her arrogant.
"The one with the true sight, who knows what must be sung anew." The darkspawn replied, looking arrogant all of a sudden, then turned spiteful: "Not paltry shadows of who we truly are, who hide and skulk and wishes to forget."
"The architect." Lynn muttered, making Velanna feel a shudder run down her spine. Sister...I'll find you... She barely felt Nathaniel's hand on her shoulder.
"The father's weak!" The creature spat, its fist raised in hatred. "Mother knows what's best! She'll blot out the land with our numbers! Slay you pathetic wardens! Cover the land with the true darkspawn! And..." It grinned again, dirty fangs bared. "...release the song once more."
The song...Another shudder ran down Velanna's spine, an instinctual...fear.
Lynn looked...very old all of a sudden. Shoulders sloped she regarded the darkspawn, eyes tired: "And this gift?"
Somehow the grin of the creature went even wider, the raised fist opening. "A gift...to ensure you will not end this song..."
This song? Velanna felt like retching, something within her rebelling as she understood. Gods...the archdemon...
Then there was light, making her stagger, momentarily blinded.
Blinking she saw a light, sickly green, held in the palm of the darkspawn's hand, arching out like tentacles of some alien beast, moving towards them...rushing at them.
I can't...
The darkspawn screamed, finding the coiling light striking it too, eyes widening in shock.
It was no comfort, the sick light blotting out everything as it flew at her
Smashed into her.
Skewered her.
She felt herself falling.
Nathaniel...
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Thanks to Abydos Jackson for her worship. ;-)