148. Denerim: The Alienage
Below them, the streets were overrun with swarms. In one area, it was a swarm of humans... in another, a swarm of dwarves. In most others, the darkspawn seethed like a nest of disturbed ants.
The Dalish sprang from rooftop to rooftop, above it all but deadly against these swarms all the same. Meila did not need to direct them; she would not presume to. She merely told the other warriors their task, and they all climbed up and moved to do it. More than once, Meila found Leliana and herself participating in a kill pocket, where the Dalish surrounded an alley or corner from all sides and fired death from above, massacring any darkspawn unlucky enough to congregate there. Once that was done, the Dalish continued on, spreading out in search of areas cut off by tumbled walls and barred gates.
Leliana did a commendable job keeping up with the elves, despite how they swiftly moved across steeply sloped shingles and uneven, broken walls. Her inherent humanity made her just that little bit less graceful, but she never complained, simply moved steadily onward alongside the elves.
Suddenly, the human paused and looked around.
"Is everything all right, ma vhenan?"
"This area... I remember it." The bard took off over the rooftops in an easterly direction, and Meila followed. A handful of Zathrian's clan shadowed them along the rooftops on either side.
It took her a moment to realize where they were headed. Once she did, she understood the bard's concern. The district in question only had two major exits, after all.
Sure enough, Leliana hopped from a roof to a bit of broken wall and worked her way into the Alienage. Again, Meila followed.
The two archers stopped on the rooftop of a tall wooden structure just inside. From here, they could see most of the district... at least enough to see the blackened Taint working its way into the bark of the vhenedhal. Meila could sense the other Dalish spreading across the nearby rooftops, and she could sense her fellow elves' wariness as they realized where they were.
A glance at the exits confirmed that the city elves were at risk. The bridge that led into one part of the city had tumbled, leaving only one exit. Through that exit streamed a seething mass of darkspawn. They roared and shoved up against a flimsy wood-and-stone barricade the flat-ears had erected across the only remaining path. Even against the pressure and buckling defenses, the elves fought back with what little they could scrounge up... sticks and gardening tools and whatever was available.
"They are strong, no?" Leliana said softly with a smile at Meila. "Everywhere else, the citizens hide in their homes, but here, they fight."
Meila nodded agreement. "The elvhen fight to protect our home, even if it is little but a squalid cage."
Leliana reached over and briefly clasped Meila's hand. "Let us help them save it."
Meila smiled, because there had never been any other option, and the pair hopped down to the next rooftop, working closer to the barricade. Once they had a clear shot, they nocked their bows and let loose as one. A volley of arrows soared from other rooftops as Dalish made themselves known all around the Alienage, and the darkspawn pressing against the barricade collapsed.
Stunned, the city elves below pulled back from the barricade. Meila and Leliana brought their bows up again, joining in a second volley from above. The Alienage elves were staring up at the rooftops with wide eyes, and Meila smiled, even as she released another arrow.
Finally, after six volleys, the darkspawn that had been invading the Alienage were dead. Below, the Alienage elves let out a cheer.
"Meila!" someone called below, and she looked down to see Finian's red-haired cousin, grinning up at them and waving. "Leliana! Hi!"
Meila slid her way carefully off the roof, dropping two stories to land near the grinning elf. All around her, other Dalish were following her example, much to the awe and gratitude of the resident flat-ears.
"Are you all right, Shianni?" Leliana asked, landing next to Meila. "How is everyone doing here?"
"Well, we were fine, until the creepers showed up." Shianni wrinkled her nose. "Are those darkspawn? I have to say, I don't envy Fin." She paused, looking around. "Where is he, by the way? Is he all right?"
"He is well," Meila assured her. "He is needed elsewhere at the moment."
"Typical. We could use a little help here, and he's skiving off again." She sighed in mock exasperation, and Leliana giggled.
"We are here, lethallan," Meila said.
Shianni tilted her head to one side. "I don't know what that means, but I like the sound of it. Come on!" The elf grinned—there was a fair bit of Finian in that grin—and headed back toward the barricade. A few darkspawn were creeping through the doorway into the Alienage. Dutifully, the Dalish warriors created a line across the barricade, ready to drive the creatures back.
"I think," Leliana said cheerfully, taking a place in the line, "this calls for a Dalish war anthem, no?"
Meila smiled. "I do believe it does."
Even the members of Zathrian's clan cracked a few smiles as Leliana launched into a song of elven heroes past, and so it was they fired the first volley in defense of their city-born kin.