Leliana
This creature is far more dangerous than Flemeth in dragon form! I thought, nocking another arrow. My arrows will not even penetrate its hide!
I watched as Burrow harried the dragon, trying to keep its razor sharp teeth from Salem's body. I pulled back as the dragon raised its head, aiming for the neck. I let the arrow fly, cursing as the dragon moved and my arrow bounced off of its scales, harmless.
Morrigan planted her staff in the ground and I watched spikes of ice encircle the dragon's talons. The witch sagged against her weapon.
"Morrigan!" I shouted, watching her eyelids flutter.
"Don't concern yourself with me, songstress." she snapped, acerbic as ever. "'Twill be quite a while before I declare defeat."
Not so far off as you might think. I set another arrow, uncomfortable as I felt the lightness of my quiver. I had too few arrows left. They might not last the battle.
"Withdraw!" Wynne called and I saw the dragon lift its wings.
The three of us retreated as the dragon crashed down. I bent my knees, anticipating the trembling of the earth. Wynne pitched forward and Morrigan caught her before she fell. The others rushed the dragon from behind, Salem in the lead.
Still alive, I smiled, pulling back on my bow. The muscles in my shoulder wept with tension and my fingers stung. The dragon's hind leg kicked out and my warden fell. I held my breath until she got to her feet and sneaked beneath the dragon's body.
"Leliana!" she shouted my name.
I fired the arrow, not wishing to attract the dragon to my voice. It sang past Salem's ear and buried itself in the crease of the dragon's thigh. I am the only one with a bow. She will know I'm alive. At least, I hoped that she would.
"Wynne, Morrigan!" Salem's voice rang clear through the mountains. "Shields!"
The mages lifted their staffs and a deep blue barrier spread out before us as the dragon unleashed hellfire from its mouth. I could feel the heat through the magic, more ancient and powerful than the lava that bubbled beneath the earth. This flame sought to scour the air, boil the blood, char the skin. It was rage and death and fury and it had been aimed at us.
Sweat beaded on my brow and trickled down my face. The shields began to falter as the fire died. Wynne pulled spikes of ice from the earth and flung them against the dragon, who screeched its fury. Salem used the distraction to bury her swords in the dragon's underbelly.
Be safe! I set one of my few remaining arrows and bided my time, waiting for my shot. I kept my eyes on Salem, more concerned for her safety in this moment. The right side of her armor was torn, but I could not see beyond that.
The dragon reared on its hind legs and the three of us backed away, this time anticipating the thunder of its full return to earth. The stone cracked beneath our feet and I watched Salem crawl out from under the dragon. Time seemed to slow as I saw Burrow launch himself at the beast and be knocked away into the snow. The gaping maw opened, all teeth and viciousness.
I heard the sound of armor crunching and watched Salem be lifted in the demon's mouth. No. I felt ice through my veins. I will not lose her! Not to this!
I swung my bow up and drew back on the string, letting the arrow loose. It flew straight, piercing the dragon's eye. The beast roared and tossed its head, freeing Salem from its jaws as it tried to dislodge the arrow. My warden's body crashed onto the dragon's back. I could no longer see her, but at least now we had a chance.
According to the tales, I set another arrow, dragons have four weak points. Beneath the neck, where the fire gland lies, the underbelly where they grow no scales, the eyes, and the crown of its head, between its horns. If Salem keeps her wits about her, she can end its life. We need only hold out a little longer.
"Hey, ugly!" Oghren shouted, hacking at the dragon's hamstrings. "Over here!"
The dragon spun and I dropped to the ground as its spiked tail hissed past us, praying that Wynne and Morrigan had been fortunate enough to dodge the attack as well. I lay prone on the ground, re-setting the arrow against the string, firing at the dragon's exposed underbelly.
The arrow struck true and the dragon jerked, as I had desired. Salem scrambled further up its back; the dragon's movement keeping it from sensing hers. Where are her swords? I spared myself a brief moment for thought.
Steam rose from the ground where the dragon's blood puddled. The massive beast wheeled again, and before I could move, I found myself face to face with the dragon's bleeding eye. I stepped back, dropping my bow and pulling my daggers as I stared into the face of death.
In the tales, the dragonslayers go into battle without fear and conquer the beast. They do not mention the stench of sulfur, the acidic blood, and teeth made of blades. Maker forgive me. I have failed you...and Salem. I will wait for you, my love, I promised her as the dragon's mouth opened, in the life after.
I braced for the explosion of heat, the brief stench of burnt flesh I knew I would smell before my world went dark. Nothing happened. I dared to open my eyes...
Salem sat astride the dragon's neck, grinning like a fool. Her knife was buried in the dragon's skull...between the horns. Dark blood bubbled from the wound and my warden paled and shrieked. She slid from the dragon's body as it began to thrash in the throes of death. I lost sight of my warden as I dove away from the dragon as it uttered one last, horrendous ululation. The screech split the air and the stone beneath our feet cracked yet further. With a terrifying groan, the dragon sagged, its neck lolled as it crashed in an inglorious heap.
I waited in the silence, stunned. We just...how...it's dead. It is truly dead.
I sought out my companions. Zevran popped out of a snowdrift, laughing, drunk with victory. His neck and shoulder armor had been burned, but other than that he looked no worse for wear. Sten emerged from the other side of the dragon, glaring at his sword. The metal had been eaten into by the dragon's blood, rendering the blade useless. The qunari shed his chest plate and I saw the tear in his shirt, stained with blood.
"Are you well?" I asked as he brushed past me.
"A scarce graze from a talon." he grumbled. "The only thing that gives this wound honor is that a dragon dealt it."
Trust him to find something to be grumpy about. My knees threatened to buckle under the strain my body had just been through. I shored them up. Oghren scrambled up the dragon's back, cackling like a mad-man.
"Food fer days!" he crowed, planting his axe and drawing his flask in victory. "Drinks all 'round!"
Wynne rose with assistance from her staff. "Have we made it through?" she sounded disoriented.
Burrow bounded up to me, tongue lolling out, stub tail wagging with joy. One of his ears had been burned off and a weal of dragonfire had grazed his side, but the mabari was heedless of his injuries.
"Good boy." I praised him, scratching the back of his neck. "Thank you for keeping her safe."
Salem, why must you have it a habit to disappear after every battle?
"Wynne!" Salem called, and relief flooded me at the sound of her voice. "Leliana! I need you here!"
I forced my body to move in the direction of Salem's voice. I stopped when I reached her, frozen in horror. Salem knelt beside Morrigan, pressing her hands to a wound in the witch's abdomen. Crimson flowed over my warden's skin.
"Morrigan! Morrigan! Stay awake!" Salem's voice was ungentle, harsh...cold as the Frostback mountains themselves. "Do you hear me, witch! Say something!" She pressed down on the hole in the witch's body, trying to stop the bleeding.
"You..." Morrigan's voice crept out, barely above a whisper. "...bitch."
"Good. Good." Salem urged.
I dropped to my knees beside them, all dark feelings against the witch forsaken.
"What can I do?" I asked. It did not matter how this had happened. What mattered was that Morrigan's skin was the color of snow and that blood trickled from her mouth.
The dragon's tail...she must not have been able to avoid it.
"I can't see her injuries." Salem said, her voice just shy of panic. "Please try to stop the bleeding."
My warden withdrew and I took over, cringing as I felt the torn edges of Morrigan's skin against my hands. Wynne joined me and did not even bother with questions. Her hands ignited with magic and she forced it into Morrigan's body. The witch groaned through her teeth.
"You are going to be all right." Salem said, an order, not a soft reassurance such as she would have saved for me. "Wynne and Leliana are with you."
"A...Chantry...tart." Morrigan's breath hitched, "and a...Circle mage. I feel...so reassured."
"Oghren!" Salem yelled at the dwarf. "Get back in the tunnels and find their stores! The cultists had to keep warm somehow! We need a fire! Zevran, Sten, set up camp in the cavern!"
"Salem, she cannot be moved in her condition." Wynne advised, looking up at my warden with exhausted eyes. "Her spine might be damaged, bones broken."
"Then heal her to where she can be moved." Salem growled and I drew back, almost afraid.
Wynne pursed her lips and focused her magic into Morrigan's body. I felt the flow of blood slow and I prayed it was a good sign. The mage's body trembled.
"I...cannot...sustain this." Wynne's magic flickered. "I am afraid naught but traditional methods are left to us."
"Then we get her out of the elements." Salem's voice gentled. For all her ferocity, she would push none of us but herself beyond our limits. "Are the two of you all right?"
"Minor wounds." Wynne spoke for both of us. "And utter exhaustion."
Salem fought with the straps of her armor, at last getting her chestplate free. She placed the metal on the ground. "Use this to stabilize her back." she said.
"Salem!" I gasped. Her shirt was torn apart, her entire right side painted scarlet.
Blind eyes burned fierce against mine, an unholy silver-blue. "Help. Morrigan." her voice was stone. "I'll collapse later.