A/N: Sorry for the late update once again! October has been a very busy month for me with working and life in general! November is looking to be the same, so the story will likely have to be bi-weekly updates instead of the weekly updates that I was hoping for. So look for a new chapter 2 Mondays from now! This one contains a bit more fluff and fun times, though still a fair bit of plot of course. Hope you enjoy!
Thanks to all those who have favorited, followed, and read the story so far, it means a lot to me that you're enjoying it!
Special thanks go to Barleyguy, and Arialla MacAllister for your reviews. Thanks especially to for the extra long review, I love getting feedback, hope some more people can R&R!
Chapter 19: The Werewolves' Lair
They had been in the Brecilian Forest for two days now since their first confrontation with the werewolves, and Alistair had been on edge nearly the entire time. He was on watch at the moment as the others slept nearby, wrapped only in blankets against the chill of the night on the forest floor, as they had been since they'd left the base camp behind. They had neither the supplies nor the time for setting up a proper camp in this forest.
The forest was as dangerous as Zathrian had warned; over the last two days, aside from werewolves, they had also run into bears, regular wolves, a couple of bands of darkspawn, and even a revenant in a set of ruins. The most surprising thing had been when the trees started to attack them.
That one had been a close call; Aedan had been in the lead, and the tree had picked him up in its branches and started squeezing before anybody had realized what had happened. He'd been nearly crushed to death before Morrigan had lit the tree on fire and Alistair had bashed it with his shield, knocking the tree off balance so it had dropped Aedan. The combination of magic fire and weapons had then finished the tree off.
It was the first time Alistair had ever seen Morrigan panicked; she'd run immediately to Aedan's side, casting healing magic on him while Ayla had helped him drink healing potions. Alistair hadn't known until then that Morrigan had been training with Wynne to improve her healing magic since the other mage had joined; it had shocked him because he knew both women hated each other. But apparently Morrigan had wanted to be of more use as a healer, and was willing to put up with Wynne for that reason if no other. It was hearing that, as well as seeing her panic, which had made Alistair realize the witch actually cared for his fellow Warden, amazingly enough. He hadn't thought her capable of it, but he couldn't doubt the evidence of his own eyes.
Fortunately, the combination of her healing spells and the potions they'd brought along had healed Aedan, and they'd continued on from there. Since then they'd kept a very close watch on the trees as they made their way through the forest, and encountered about a half dozen more of the walking, attacking monstrosities, being able to defeat them without any more major damage so far. Morrigan had said they must be possessed by malevolent spirits, just as some of the animals were; that was why they were attacking rather than just leaving them alone, as most animals in the forest would ordinarily do unless provoked.
Of course, all this was doing little to calm Alistair down as he kept watch. Even the sound of the trees rustling was suspect in this place, and so he waited, sword in hand, tense and watching the forest. As if he hadn't been worried enough about Ayla's safety when discovering that she might be at extra risk from the werewolves, they now had all these other threats to worry about, as well.
The part that had disturbed him the most when learning about Ayla's potential danger from the werewolves was how little she herself seemed to be bothered by it. She'd said that she might die from the bite so casually, as though it was of no concern whatsoever, and she hadn't even looked afraid. It was as though she could care less for her own life or safety. She'd even been mad at him when he'd saved her from the werewolf later; she'd been downright furious, actually, which he didn't understand at all. He wanted to ask Aedan if he understood why she'd been so mad, but there had been no opportunity to talk to him since then.
For once, though, everybody, even Morrigan, had agreed with him, and eventually Ayla had given in. In their next few encounters with the werewolves, she'd even stayed back as agreed, only using her throwing daggers in those battles and staying back with Zevran who was using his newly acquired bow. Alistair suspected, however, that her newfound obedience was as much from a desire not to fight the werewolves as it was to keep her promise to him.
He'd seen her when they'd spoken to the werewolf, Swiftrunner; she saw herself in them, and he could sympathize with that. He'd had a similar issue fighting the possessed Templars in the Circle tower; they could just as easily have been him. At least there, they'd truly had no choice; here, the situation was somewhat different. They could talk to and possibly reason with some of the werewolves, but hadn't been able to succeed in doing so. So he'd done his best to make sure that Ayla didn't have to finish any of the werewolves off; he'd taken it upon himself to see to it as much as possible instead.
She was being more reckless than ever in the other battles, however, as though to make up for hanging back in the werewolf encounters. She'd even changed forms to take on the bears they'd run into head-on, Morrigan at her side shifted into bear form, and it had nearly given him a heart attack. He would be extremely relieved when he finally got her out of this forest safe and sound; even though she hadn't been injured so far, that didn't mean things would continue to be that way.
Suddenly, he heard a light footfall behind him; he whirled, sword in hand, only to see Ayla behind him, hands up in defence. "It's just me," she said softly.
He frowned, lowering his sword. "What are you doing up? You should be sleeping."
She shrugged, and he could see the weariness in her face from the dim light of the one lamp they had for watch. "I'm finding it difficult to sleep in this forest. This place gives me a bad feeling, and it leaves me too on edge to relax. I thought I might as well help you with watch for a bit, since I'm not sleeping anyway."
He sighed. "I know exactly what you mean about being on edge. Well, come on then." He turned back to the flat-topped boulder he'd found to sit on nearby, seating himself on it, setting his sword on top near to hand if he needed it.
She came over to join him, and he opened his arms to her. He needed to just hold her; simply feeling her there in his arms would calm him down considerably, he knew. At this point, he wasn't even thinking about his desire for her, though that hadn't lessened in the slightest since their last encounter; he just needed comfort, to know that she was alive and here with him. She hesitated a moment before stepping into his arms, and he settled her in his lap, her back to his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her shoulder.
He could already feel some of the tension draining out of him at the comfortable feeling of her in his arms as he murmured, "I just needed to hold you; I hope you don't mind."
She had initially been a little tense; he'd noticed she seemed a bit more reluctant about purely affectionate embraces compared to those that were all about desire. But she was now relaxing against him, leaning back against him and settling her hands over his gauntlets. "No, I don't mind. It's actually . . . relaxing," she whispered back, sounding surprised.
He smiled, pleased that she enjoyed it as he did. Maybe he could succeed in getting her to care for him the way he did her. If he was making her comfortable and relaxed when she didn't expect to feel that way, surely that was a good sign, right? "I'm glad. You should relax, you know. I'm the one on watch right now, not you." Reminding himself of that, he tried to focus his attention on the surrounding area, scanning for any movement in the trees nearby.
She sighed, leaning back against him. "It's difficult to turn it off. As much as the instincts can be a big help at times, right now they're more of a hindrance."
"Is it the werewolves bothering you, or the whole forest?" Alistair asked quietly. "Personally, I find the whole forest a bit creepy."
"Both, I think," she answered. "I have never seen anything like this place, with trees attacking and animals acting that way. It has to do with that Veil being thin, right? That's what Morrigan said."
Alistair nodded. "Right, the Veil to the Fade, that place we were in at the Tower. It's where the spirits and the demons are, and if there's a lot of turmoil somewhere, like there was here, the Veil becomes thin, sometimes even torn, and they can cross over. Is that something that doesn't happen in your world?"
She shook her head. "No, I have heard that spirits can sometimes cross over, but only if the Goddess allows it. They must have some sort of purpose to fulfill, and then they will be granted passage. They certainly can't infect things as they please. There is . . . so much that is different in your world."
"Are . . . you still thinking you might want to stay?" he asked carefully. It was what he wanted more than anything, but he didn't want to push her. He sensed that while she was comfortable enough with the concept of bedding someone, she wasn't so comfortable with the thought of committing to someone. But she had been very patient with him so far, how could he be any less with her? He could wait until she fell in love with him, until she wanted to stay with him as he wanted to stay with her; he felt as though he could wait forever, if that's what it took.
"Yes, I think I would like to," she replied after a moment, which sent relief and joy spinning through him. "This forest and that Fade are not enjoyable, but it's not as though everywhere is like that. But I still don't know if I have a choice in the matter."
He had forgotten about that, he realized, some of his joy deflating. Whatever power had sent her could just as easily send her back whenever it felt like it, even if she didn't want to go. What would he do then? It wasn't as though there was anything he could do to stop it. He'd just have to try not to worry about it, he decided. Maybe she would get a choice. "Well, I guess we will just have to wait and see. If you are here to stop the Blight, it will be some time before that happens, anyway, especially if we have to help every person in Ferelden along the way."
She chuckled softly. "It does seem that way, does it not? I don't truly mind, though. It feels nice to be needed, to have purpose. I was lacking it in Fallor."
He smiled. He loved that big heart of hers that wanted to help others, as much as it worried him at times. "Well, there's certainly no danger of lacking purpose in Ferelden," he teased lightly, covering what he really wanted to say, that he needed her.
She turned slightly in his embrace, resting her head on his chest. He could see her eyelids beginning to droop. "That is good to know. You know, your armor does not make for a very comfortable pillow."
He kissed her forehead gently. "My apologies, my lady. You're welcome to use it as a pillow, anyway. I will," he caught himself just before he said keep you safe, knowing it would likely only anger her, "keep watch while you do."
"Hmm." She smiled up at him. "Tell me a story, then, and I will."
"A story?" he laughed. "What sort of story am I supposed to tell?"
She shrugged, settling herself more comfortably on his lap, drawing her legs up. "Anything you like. Tell me about your time with the other Wardens, or whatever comes to mind."
"The other Wardens?" He did his best to ignore the flash of grief that came to mind at the thought, and instead tried to think of the good times they'd had. There had to be a good story he could tell her. And then it came to him; he began to tell her the story about the time the Grey Warden from the Anderfels, Gregor, had drank all of the other Wardens, including him, under the table.
He was just reaching the end of the story when he looked down at her again after scanning the forest and realized she'd actually fallen asleep, curled up against his armor. He felt warmth spread through his chest, elated that she trusted him that much. If she'd been able to sleep in his arms when she could not fall asleep elsewhere, didn't that mean he made her feel safe? That, too, must be a good sign, he decided. The thought that she could maybe come to love him one day made him feel more confident about himself than he'd ever felt before in his life. He would keep her safe, whether she wanted him to or not. He wasn't about to let anything happen to her in this forest, or ever, if he could help it. He went back to keeping watch with renewed determination.
The next morning, they continued on their way through the forest. They were getting closer to the werewolves' lair the further they went east. They had entered a section of the forest that seemed a little different from where they had been previously; the number of streams had decreased, as well as the number of hills and cliffs. The forest itself appeared older, the vegetation less green, the trees fewer and farther between, and they were starting to see pillars of stones, chunks of white wall, and other signs of ruins everywhere.
"It won't be long now," Ayla murmured from her spot in the middle. "Just past that next ridge, we should run into them again." They were keeping their formation tight, as they had been throughout the rest of the forest. Alistair was in the lead with Aedan, Ayla was in the middle, and Morrigan and Zevran brought up the rear. They had been relying mostly on Ayla's sense of smell and Morrigan's ability to fly to track the werewolves back to their lair.
Alistair was back to being on edge again. Though he'd been at ease with Ayla in his arms last night, even on watch, now they were walking directly into danger he'd rather keep her out of, which was making him far more anxious than he wanted to be. Maker, they were going straight to the werewolves' lair, the place where she would be in the most possible danger. Though he didn't have his sword drawn, his hand never strayed far from the hilt. The others were similarly tense; the werewolves were difficult opponents, fast and strong, and they never knew when one of the forest's other threats would appear either.
True to Ayla's word, just after they passed between two high hills, there were three werewolves waiting in the clearing on the other side. The party froze in place, several yards from the werewolves. Though Alistair couldn't be positive, he was pretty sure they were the same three they'd run into at the waterfall. As Ayla came up behind him, he made sure that he was completely blocking her with his own body. Though he could hear her sigh in apparent exasperation behind him, she made no further comment.
"The forest has not been vigilant enough," the lead werewolf snarled, confirming Alistair's suspicion that this was Swiftrunner. "Still you come. You are stronger than we could have anticipated. The Dalish chose well. But you do not belong here, outsiders. Leave this place."
Aedan took a few steps forward, crossing his arms as he confronted the werewolves. Alistair was impressed, knowing that the gesture would slow him down considerably if he needed to draw his sword, and knowing that Swiftrunner would realize that too; it was a gesture of attempted peace. "Why won't you let me try to settle this dispute?"
"You are sent by the treacherous Dalish to kill Witherfang!" Swiftrunner roared. "I will not stand by and allow that to happen!"
Ayla came up between Aedan and Alistair. Was she crazy? He wondered anxiously, frowning at her as he shifted his shield in front of her. She ignored him as she addressed Swiftrunner. "We want to try to break the curse. Don't you want that too?"
Swiftrunner almost appeared to consider for a second before he shook his head. "Not if it means the death of Witherfang!"
"Why do you call the Dalish treacherous? You attacked them," Aedan pointed out.
"And they deserved no less!" Swiftrunner yelled, flinging his arms out, causing Alistair to actually put his hand on his sword hilt. He didn't think this discussion was going to end in anything but violence, no matter what Ayla or Aedan might wish.
"But why?" Aedan demanded, clearly frustrated. He'd uncrossed his arms, and his posture was now tense and ready. "You won't tell us what happened!"
"It does not matter. You are an intruder in our home! You come to kill, as all your kind do! We have learned this lesson well." So saying, Swiftrunner made a gesture, and the two werewolves behind him leaped forward.
Alistair drew his sword and darted forward to meet one of the werewolves head on. The best way to keep her safe would be to keep them as far away from her as possible. He met the werewolf's charge with his shield, firmly planting his feet to keep from being knocked over, and throwing his weight behind the blow of his shield to counter some of the werewolf's momentum. The result was that the werewolf actually fell back with a yelp, though Alistair himself could barely keep his feet.
To his left, Aedan was fighting with Swiftrunner, using the reach of his greatsword to keep himself as far away from the werewolf's claws and teeth as possible. An arrow struck Swiftrunner in the shoulder, causing him to roar and fall back. The third werewolf had fallen to an ice attack of Morrigan's along with more arrows.
A couple of throwing daggers thudded home into the werewolf in front of Alistair as he regained his momentum and began to strike out with his sword. He knew this meant Ayla wasn't far behind him, and renewed his attack accordingly. When he finally managed to land a blow on the werewolf's torso, the werewolf yelped and jumped back, another dagger landing in its shoulder. It turned and beat a hasty retreat, leaving only Swiftrunner to fight them.
Swiftrunner had meanwhile gone down on one knee from two more arrows, and Aedan was just raising his greatsword for a finishing blow when Ayla yelled, "Watch out!"
It was too late already, Alistair realized, as he looked up to the hill to Aedan's left, where a large white wolf was leaping down. It landed squarely on Aedan, knocking him flat on his back, several paces away from Swiftrunner. The wolf snarled, showing its teeth, its fur bristling as it stood between Aedan and the werewolf. Aedan regained his feet quickly, and Alistair moved to help him, but before either of them could attack, both the white wolf and Swiftrunner turned and fled after the other werewolf.
After a quick glance around to make sure there were no immediate threats nearby, Alistair went to rejoin Aedan, as did the others. Alistair caught Ayla's arm as they both reached Aedan, asking urgently, "Are you all right?"
She rolled her eyes at him, looking as though she was undecided if she was annoyed or pleased with him. "I'm fine, Alistair, truly. I did stay back like I promised, did I not?"
"I know, I'm just –" terrified, popped unbidden into his mind, "checking," he finished lamely, letting go of her arm, wishing he had time to hold her again. Part of him wished that he could get her to agree to go back to base camp, but he knew she'd never go for it. The last thing he wanted to do was pursue the werewolves to their lair with her along, but he knew he had no choice at this point, and they needed her enhanced senses to help track them.
"Are you injured?" Morrigan demanded of Aedan, checking him over with quick efficiency.
He flashed her a quick grin. "Nothing I cannot handle. Worried about me, were you?"
Morrigan snorted, tossing her head. "Not at all. 'Tis merely part of my role as the only one with healing abilities here."
"In that case, my lovely witch, I believe I have an injury that needs tending," Zevran winked at her.
Morrigan scowled at him. "You have a healing potion, do you not? Use that, elf."
"Now that we're all ready," Aedan interrupted whatever Zevran had been about to say, obviously unable to stifle a grin, "we should keep going. We must be getting close to Witherfang; that white wolf that attacked me was what Zathrian said we should watch out for."
"I wish they would tell us what the Dalish have done," Ayla said, as they began to head in the direction the werewolves had fled. "It's obvious we do not have the whole story, but no one seems inclined to tell us."
"Maybe once we break into their lair, they will," Alistair suggested. He was hoping that they would be able to solve this without full-on war with the werewolves, both for Ayla's sake and his own; he didn't know how much more worry about her possible instant death from their bites he could take.
"We'll have to see," Aedan agreed. "I am certain there's much more going on here that what Zathrian told us."
They continued along the winding path that led through high hills and cliffs on either side, passing more and more pieces of ruins on the way, white marble walls and fallen pillars, until they came around a bend in the path and came face-to-face with the main ruins themselves, and more werewolves.
The first one to spot them shouted, "We are invaded! Intruders have deceived their way into the forest's heart! Fall back to the ruins! Protect the Lady!" It turned and fled into the ruins behind it, followed by the other werewolves, before Alistair and the others could so much as make a move to attack.
"Ah, here we go. The werewolves' lair, unless I miss my mark," Morrigan commented, gesturing to the ruins where they had fled.
"Who is this Lady they are talking about now?" Zevran mused. "I thought we were looking for a Witherfang, were we not?"
Aedan shrugged. "Only one way to find out, I suspect." He lead the way to the ruins, as the others followed.
The ruins were of an impressive size; though the main floor seemed to be only one story of white stone, a domed tower rose from the center of it, largely intact as it stretched towards the sky. An arched doorway marked the entrance that the werewolves had fled into. Unlike most of what they'd seen in the forest so far, this section appeared to be quite well preserved.
Almost immediately after entering the ruins, undead skeletons like the ones they'd run into Redcliffe appeared to either side of them. Alistair noted wryly that Ayla launched herself into the fight with gleeful enthusiasm, as did Zevran; both of them appeared almost ridiculously pleased to engage in close combat again. They cut down the undead with such speed that he and the others barely got to help.
Once the undead were defeated, they headed down a set of stairs into the main area of the dome. The large room here was showing some damage; the stone tiles of the floor were lifting to show dirt underneath, while in some places, trees had broken through and were growing out of the roof. Just as they reached the center of the room, beneath the domed roof, Ayla called out a warning, and more werewolves charged them from the right.
They took up their standard position when fighting the werewolves; Alistair and Aedan met them head on, while the other three provided support from behind. Fortunately, there was once again only three, and they managed to make it through the fight without any major difficulties once more.
"They came from that stairwell," Aedan noted, pointing to a doorway on the right side of the room. "Let's check it out."
He led the way through the entrance, Alistair and the others following behind. The stairwell was a long one, heading down several flights of narrow stairs. At the bottom, they came across a heavy stone door, but it was barred. As hard as both Aedan and Alistair tried, they couldn't get it open. Morrigan even aimed a blast at it, but the door remained intact.
"Well, that's marvellous," Alistair muttered. "What are we supposed to do now?"
Aedan turned to Ayla. "Are they through here?"
She nodded. "Definitely. The smell of them is the strongest it has been so far."
"Well, we shall have to find a way around," Zevran commented cheerfully. "These sorts of ruins are full of secret passages and alternate routes."
"The assassin is likely right," Morrigan agreed, adding scornfully, "for once. If we go back up, we may be able to find another way to the section where the werewolves are hiding."
"All right." Aedan turned and began heading back up the stairs. "Back up it is."
They made their way back up the stairs and to the main room. This time, they went straight forward and found a large set of double doors that they were able to get open, which led into a hallway. They began to follow the crumbling hallway along. The first fork in the hallway they reached had three branches off, but two were blocked, leaving them with the only way to go being forward.
So forward they went, and just around the corner, Aedan ran into a giant cobweb. Suddenly, the hallway was filled with giant spiders pouring out of tunnels in the walls, attacking them and flinging webs every which way. Though there were at least ten spiders, they went down fairly easily, and Alistair and the others were able to defeat them without anyone coming to serious harm.
"What in the name of the Goddess were those?" Ayla demanded, shuddering with disgust as she attempted to brush off cobwebs and spider blood.
"Don't tell me the brave warrior Ayla is scared of spiders," Alistair teased, picking a cobweb out of her hair as he smirked down at her.
"No," she protested, swatting at his hand. "I have just never seen any that size before. They aren't meant to come in that size; it's disgusting."
"You have seen me change form into a spider that size," Morrigan pointed out, as she healed a bite wound Aedan had picked up in the fight. "Surely it cannot have come as that much of a shock."
"Yes, but I didn't realize that was based on the size of an actual spider," Ayla grumbled as she wiped off her swords. "Anything else about them I need to know?"
"Don't let them bite you," Aedan offered, straight-faced. "Some of them are poisonous also. Lucky for me, this one wasn't."
"Do not worry, my dear," Zevran reassured her, obviously noting the slightly panicked look on her face Alistair had seen also. "As a Crow, I can make the antidote for any poison."
"That is . . . good to know," Ayla replied, looking slightly green as she kicked a spider corpse out of her way. "Let's keep going, shall we?"
As they continued on their way through the hallway, Aedan in the lead again, Alistair leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Don't worry, my lady. I'll protect you from the spiders."
She whirled around to glare up at him, though her lips twitched in amusement as he offered her an innocent smile. "Not necessary, good ser, but thank you." She offered him a mock curtsy in turn, which only made him smile wider, before they continued on. Some of the tension had drained out of him during the banter, he realized; he wasn't feeling quite so worried anymore, which was a relief.
They made their way through the ruins, following several crumbling hallways past small rooms, some of which contained treasure for them to loot, and going down several flights of stairs. They continued to run into groups of undead on their way through, as well as spotting actual spirits a couple of times, who spoke in a tongue none of them recognized. They even ran across a small dragon in one area; though they received a few burn marks and bites in the battle, Morrigan and her potions were able to take care of everything once the dragon had fallen to their blades.
Alistair could only thank the Maker it wasn't a high dragon; he had no idea what they would have done had they run into one of those. They'd had enough trouble with this fight; he and Aedan had kept it busy, while Zevran and Ayla had worried its flanks and leapt on and off its back to deal blows, and Morrigan had cast ice spells to counteract the flames. Zevran had finally dealt the finishing blow to its neck, which had caused him to gloat to Ayla, saying that they should start keeping track. She had actually agreed, and they had spent several minutes arguing their way through a points system as they walked.
Alistair couldn't help but feel a little jealous over that, as irrational as it was. Anything that brought those two closer together worried him. Though Zevran had stopped for the most part with the outright flirting, Alistair still caught the interest in his eyes when he looked at Ayla. He wasn't fooled for a moment into thinking that the elf wouldn't try to steal her away if she allowed it. The only thing that had made feel better so far was that Ayla appeared to truly only view the elf as a friend; the heat in her gaze she reserved for him, though he had no idea how he'd gotten that lucky. He reminded himself to focus on what was really important, though, which wasn't Zevran but getting through these ruins in one piece.
Finally, after fighting their way past what Morrigan said was an Arcane Horror, a being of frightful magic almost as hard to defeat as a Revenant, and more undead in a large rectangular room, they found an unusual pool of dark, opaque water in a side room.
"This reeks of werewolves," Ayla announced, looking down at the pool in the center of the floor.
"Then this must be the alternate route we were looking for," Aedan replied. "I suppose we have no choice but to see where it leads."
So saying, Aedan shrugged and jumped into the pool, immediately sinking like a stone and disappearing. Alistair exchanged an anxious look with the others.
"'Tis likely a magical pool," Morrigan said at last, though Alistair noted she looked a little worried. "Simply a portal to another area."
After a quick glance at Ayla, Alistair jumped through next. If there were any werewolves on the other side, he was not letting her go through first. He held his breath as he sunk like a stone, just as Aedan had; absolute blackness went by his eyes, before he realized he was falling quite a bit faster than one would through water. Suddenly, blinding light hit his eyes and a few short seconds later, he crashed to the stone floor of another room, lit by torches as most of the other areas had been so far.
He looked up, dazed, and noted Aedan leaning against a wall to the side, chuckling. "Graceful landing you had there, Alistair."
"Shut up," Alistair returned good-naturedly. "I doubt your landing was any better."
Aedan shrugged and grinned. Alistair had managed to sit up, but before he could get to his feet, Ayla suddenly landed on top of him. He nearly fell backwards, but was able to catch himself with one arm while the other wrapped around her, steadying her.
"Well, that wasn't quite what I was expecting," she said breathlessly. She looked up at him and smiled. "Good catch, as always, though."
"Well, I'm happy it's you, and not an elven assassin," he replied. Suddenly realizing that could happen at any second, he scooped her up as he scrambled to his feet and moved out of the way, just before Zevran came crashing down.
"Well, that hurt rather more than I expected," the elf commented dryly. As in Alistair's case, though, before he'd even got to his feet, Morrigan landed on top of him. This time, however, Morrigan succeeded in flattening him on his back.
Aedan dissolved into outright laughter at this, barely able to keep himself standing, and Alistair couldn't help chuckling either, noticing that Ayla was laughing as well. Maker, but he loved to hear her laugh; he hadn't heard it nearly enough recently.
Meanwhile, Zevran was complaining loudly about how much it had hurt to have Morrigan land on top of him, though Alistair noticed that his hands had managed to roam all over her at the same time, prompting Morrigan to loudly declare, "Remove your hands from me, elf, if you wish to keep them."
"Ah, of course, my lovely witch," the elf replied, innocently holding his hands out to the side. "Being injured so has addled my wits, I'm afraid."
Morrigan stood up gracefully, snapping, "Be careful I do not injure you further." She stalked over to Aedan, who was now bracing himself on his knees, trying to regain his breath. "And just what do you find so amusing?"
"Oh, I believe our fearless leader is in trouble now," Alistair whispered to Ayla as he set her down carefully on her feet. "Am I?"
She tilted her head as though considering, her eyes gleaming with mischief as she looked up at him. "No, I don't think so. Not yet, anyway." She leaned up on her toes, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. He restrained himself from the urge to deepen it as she backed away, smiling. "I'll let you know when you are."
He couldn't help smiling as they re-grouped and began to make their way through the new section. For some reason, he was feeling inexplicably light-hearted now; it never ceased to amaze him how easily she could brighten his mood. He made sure not to lower his guard, however, particularly when they ran into another group of werewolves who attacked them on sight. Fortunately, these ones attacked them in a narrow section of hallway, and it was easy for him and Aedan to keep them away from the others until they were defeated.
After making their way through several more hallways and down several more flights of stairs, they finally pushed their way through a set of doors to meet another three werewolves in a semi-circular room. These ones were merely waiting for them, and did not attack them on sight. Instead, the lead wolf restrained his growling friends and cried out, "Stop! Brothers and sisters, be at ease! We do not wish any more of our people hurt. I ask you this now, outsider: are you willing to parley?"
Aedan, though he looked taken aback at this sudden change of events, nodded firmly. "Of course. We have been trying to talk all along. So talk to us, please."
The werewolf shook his head. "Not with me. I have been sent to you on behalf of the Lady. She believes that you may not be aware of everything you should be. She means you no harm, provided your willingness to parley in peace is an honest one." He fixed Aedan and the others with a glare at this, as though he still doubted their intentions.
"I assure you, we honestly wish to bring this to a peaceful conclusion, if at all possible," Aedan replied formally, before continuing, "If you were willing to talk, why wouldn't you do so earlier?"
"Swiftrunner did not think it would matter. The Lady disagrees, and since you have forced your way this far, we must acquiesce to her wishes."
Aedan nodded. "Then, please, take us to this Lady."
"Follow me," the werewolf gestured as he turned towards the door behind him. "But I warn you, if you break your promise and harm her, I will come back from the Fade itself to see you pay."
They followed the werewolves as they went through the door. Alistair sincerely hoped that whoever this Lady was, she could help them resolve this peacefully. He wanted nothing more than to get Ayla and the others out of this forest intact and alive. He could only pray it would work out that way.