Shit, shit shit!
Gasping, Garrett staggered back, shield-arm numb, the shield itself ringing from the impact as his longsword darted out, only to strike nothing but air.
All his training, all those hours with Bastile...felt pointless. There had never been any practice in how to fight monsters, especially something that was not only far larger, but was faster than you. Its forearms and forelegs darted out with no sync or reason, seemingly random slashes from the arms and powerful thrusts from the legs as it drove the entire group backwards. Even the tail, shaped like a spear-tip at the end, lashed out at times from under or over it, the bladed tip dripping with gore from its previous killings.
The creature, giving voice to an unearthly shriek, kept advancing on the group, stabbing and slashing at them like mad, driving them further back with its whirlwind of attacks. Garrett, flinching back from yet another slash, found himself nearly shoulder to shoulder with Fenris as the group was forced into the narrow entrance of the cave.
This isn't working!
A pair of crossbow bolts harmlessly bounced off the Varterral's chitin, as did a bolt of lightning as Merrill's voice, cracked with tears, called out. "Emma shem'nan!"
The reason for her grief lay over at the other side of the cave, a few of their arrows were still lodged in the Varterral's tough hide, but didn't seem to slow it down in the least.
In contrast, one of the elves had been gutted, his intestines sprayed all over the wall he lay next to. Another had lost the entire right side of his head, the remaining side covered in gore from the crushing blow. The last one was still moving, though only weakly, vainly clutching at the stump that was his left leg, the pool of blood he lay in nearly black in contrast to his pale skin.
"Ar tu na'din!" Another cry from Merrill, and a dwarf-sized boulder shaped like a fist hurtled through the air. The swift Varterral easily dodged the missile with a hiss, its angry retort a thrust from one of its forelegs, making Fenris grunt as the elf struggled to bash the blow aside with his greatsword.
It's forcing us back, and the further back we get, the more it can concentrate its attacks. We need to... "Fenris, Isabela, charge past it!" The elf and Rivaini blinked, looking to Garrett like he was mad. "Maric, you too!"
With a loud bark, the dog, so far reduced to growling at the creature, leapt out past Garrett, the mass of fur and muscle didn't even bother to bite the Varterral as he got under it. Instead, Maric tackled one of its hind legs, making it stumble momentarily, tail lashing out towards the mabari...who dodged with a growl and moved back to hound the Varterral's left side.
"Ah." Fenris' understanding was punctuated by Isabela's cry as the woman rushed at the Varterral. Again, the creature's tail lashed out, stabbing at the woman between its legs and hitting nothing but air as she dropped onto her knees and arched her back, sliding under the creature's thrust with a dancer's grace, making her end up behind it.
Fenris was almost as graceful as he followed, the elf darting as much left as forward, jumping over a thrusting foreleg and slashing it aside for good measure as he moved to flank the creature from its right.
The creature, hissing in annoyance, took two steps back, tail blindly lashing back to keep the darting Isabela back while claws and feet kept Maric and Fenris back with the sheer speed of their movement. This is like one of those bullfights the Antivan's are fond of...and as long as it's moving so fast... "Anders, I want ice on the ground!"
The mage, exerted from the many spells he'd already cast on the seemingly immune Varterral, grunted in acknowledgement and sent a spear of white frost rushing out from his outstretched hands as he moved to stand next to Garrett.
With a growl, the Varterral slipped on the suddenly appearing mirror of ice under it, body hitting the ground with a crack. "Now!"
Garrett, Maric, Isabela and Fenris all charged as one.
Only for the Varterral to jump back on its feet, lashing tail making Isabela tumble aside to avoid being cut in two, stabbing back leg parrying Fenris' slash before shoving him back, sweeping foreleg driving Maric back with a pained whimper.
Garrett himself found himself cutting a wound along the long neck of the beast...and then tumbled onto his back as the Varterral's forearms smashed into his shield while he was balancing on the ice.
Oh fu-
With a hiss, the Varterral pounced on him, its clawed hands shot down, gripping into Garrett's shield as he raised it in time to parry their blows. It leaned down though, breath stinking of decay as its maw opened, massive cutting fangs going right for Garrett's head.
A crunch.
Holy...
Gasping, Garrett found himself staring at the inside of the Varterral's mouth as its jaws closed around his head, the fangs worrying at the metal of his helmet, making the silverite protest with a low groan as it begun to bend inwards.
OFF!
Garrett's thrust caught the Varterral under its chin, the softer chitin there giving way from his panicked thrust...and he could for a moment see the blade appearing inside its mouth in a fountain of blood. Then the creature let go of him and staggered back, ripping the blade from his hands as it remained lodged in its head, a cry of agony rippling through its throat.
"Nice plan there, Hawke!" At the back, Varric laughed. "Didn't think 'let it taste me' was a strategy!"
Garrett ignored the quip as he struggled onto unsteady feet, shaking hand moving to draw his arming sword as through a mix of blood and Varterral saliva he watched the creature shake its head, trying to dislocate the blade stuck in it. Yet still it was fighting, even faster than before, keeping the entire group back with flailing limbs as it struck out in rage and pain. "Merrill, vines! Focus on the legs!"
"Halam sahlin!" The Dalish gasped, her voice thick with grief and rage, nearly making Garrett glance back before he remembered himself. Later, battle now...it'll...be okay.
From the cave's ceiling, green vines, thick as a man's arm, shot out with surprising speed, animated with far more speed than Merrill usually could muster, the vines slashing down at the Varterral's legs. The creature, already stuck balancing on ice, once more fell, this time with a loud crunch as the impact drove the longsword under its chin further up, making its legs twitched as it struggled to rise.
As one, the warriors of the group jumped it.
Maric caught a foreleg, the soft flesh under the first joint a suddenly easy target for ripping jaws, making the creature shriek as muscle tissues and ligaments were torn off. Fenris was aiming for the other foreleg, but as the Varterral tried to knock him aside, his blow instead caught one of its arms, cutting deep into its elbow and making the forearm hang by a mere thread.
"Not so tough when you can't move, are you!" Isabela's words mirrored Garrett's thoughts as he watched the woman once more dodge the creature's lashing tail. But this time she followed up by leaping up on it, daggers finding the base and stabbing in deep from both sides, making the limb flail and then go still, the nerves controlling it severed.
Garrett was also charging forth, his eyes on the Varterral's head. Seeing it resting its still pierced head on the pommel of his longsword pressed against the ground, Garrett barred his teeth. I don't need cutting, I need... He dropped his shield and threw his arming sword up, both hands gripping it by the blade. ...hammering! The cross-guard struck the creature's head with a loud crunch, the power of the blow enough to crack chitin...as well as making the Varterral gasp as the hammer-blow forced its head down, further down the length of the longsword braced against the ground.
Its still working foreleg moved to stab at Garrett, only for Fenris to nail it to the ground by spearing the exposed upper muscle with his sword.
Garrett struck again, making the creature wail as the tip of the longsword punched up through the chitin at the top of its skull.
The Varterral's remaining arm tried to lash at the noble, only for Maric to bite into the wrist, worrying at it with a low growl and pinning it fast.
Again, Garrett struck, chitin shattering under the force of the blow, pieces of flesh and brain exploding from the hole as the cross-guard was ripped free.
The Varterral tried to rise, hind-legs trying to drag it back...only for Merrill's vines to curl around one leg while the other was rendered immobile by Isabela's flashing daggers.
A grunt, his breathing a wheeze, Garrett raised his sword high and struck once more.
With a crunch, the arming sword was buried deep into the Varterral's skull while the longsword, finally pushing through all resistance, let the Varterral's head slide down to the ground, the blade itself sticking up from the creature's head, covered in its blood.
It's over...
Breathing heavily, Garrett found himself simply leaning on his arming sword, its cross-guard and pommel so firmly stuck in it that it could carry his armoured weight.
Then Varric appeared at his side, patting him on the back. "Good work, mate..." He glanced at the beast. "I'll make an epic story...though I'll leave out the part where you struggle to pull your weapons free."
Garrett couldn't help but smile, taking a deep breath. "You could have helped a little more, you know..."
"Yeah, because my bolts did a lot..." Varric chuckled, giving his crossbow a glance. "Bianca, we'll have to give you some sharper teeth..." His smile faded though, gaze moving up, past the dead Varterral. "Garrett...maybe you should...?"
Blinking away the haze of exhaustion, Garrett looked up... and froze at the sight of Merrill, now quiet as a mouse kneeling by the Dalish, hands cradling the head of the one still clutching at his severed leg. "Anders, with me!"
Garrett wasn't aware of him actually crossing the distance, all he knew was that he was suddenly standing behind Merrill, hesitant to touch her shaking shoulders as the quietly weeping woman held a male elf as white as paper.
The man was whispering something to her, his voice thin, weak...yet eyes flashing, hostile to the last. Then he blinked, sighing in confusion as a green light began to grow around his leg, the kneeling Anders muttering under his breath as he struggled to save the elf.
The Dalish didn't seem to notice the aid though, his eyes widening as he looked past the quietly sobbing Merrill, up at Garrett. "You..." The man hesitated, his voice strained and pained. "...we could have stopped her from getting it...if we'd only..." He glanced down at the Varterral, at the arrows still lodged in it, then up at Garrett. "...don't let her have it, we must stop the...evil...we must...she's not to be trusted, she'll betray and kill us all, she's..."
Garrett, unable to answer, just stared back.
With a sigh, the elf closed his eyes and went limp.
"I put him to sleep, he'll make a recovery with enough rest." Anders muttered, the man slowly struggling to his feet. "Couldn't save the leg though, his body is too weak to handle the strain from such a spell...and so am I."
Garrett mutely nodded and pulled his helmet off before moving to kneel behind Merrill, hand hovering over her shoulder, afraid to touch her, to break the spell she currently seemed to be in. "Merrill...? It's over...we...we have to go, we'll...take them with us."
The Dalish didn't answer.
"M-Merrill?" Garrett swallowed, putting a hand on the shaking shoulder.
At first, the Dalish didn't react, but then she bowed her head. "I'm not...evil...am I?"
"Of course not." Garrett instantly snapped, the thought of someone thinking that making him growl the words.
Merrill's hands, caked with Dalish blood, moved to cover her face, the elf doubling over, body shaking with quiet sobs.
Garrett heart, gripped by a terrible feeling of hopelessness, could only scoot closer, his arms wrapping around her shoulders. Please stop.
But Merrill kept crying...
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"I...thank you." Marethari looked confused and rattled as she turned her head, looking to the dead and wounded men. The two dead lay side by side, but were out of sight due to the throng of grieving Dalish that alternated between weeping for the dead and glaring at both Merrill and her companions, clearly blaming them for the deaths.
There were also many gathered around the wounded man, but for all their glaring and demands to help, Anders had proven, with the help of a snapped order of Marethari's, able to keep them back as he tended to the grievously wounded elf as best he could.
"I'm not sure why they left for the cave...I told them not to." The Keeper continued, grimacing as she turned back to look at Garrett, bowing her head ever so slightly.
At the back, Isabela muttered. "Sometimes the best treasure is denying someone else theirs..."
Huh, since when do you philosophise? Garrett brushed the thought aside though, his focus on Marethari and Merrill both. I don't like this. The two elves once more looked like they were locked in the battle of wits they'd started before the battle with the Varterral, but this time Merrill was the one with the advantage.
Marethari seemed weary and reluctant, even hesitant, the woman only having been able to lock gazes with her First for a few moments before looking away. She looked cornered.
Merrill on the other hand was even more weary, eyes rimmed red from tears, spots of blood missed from her wiping her face off, dust clinging to her clothes. She also looked grieved and in pain, hurt by the words of the wounded Dalish, of all that had happened, sad beyond words. Yet at the same time...determined, stubborn, ready to finish things, to have what she'd paid so dearly for. Maker, I don't know whether to admire your passion or hate you for the object of it.
Her voice, surprisingly, didn't waver, a clipped demand. "I have done the task you put to me, and more. You are obligated to give me the Arulin'Holm."
A sigh, and Marethari's shoulders slumped, eyes pleading. "Please, da'len, think about this, it's not too late to come back to us and forget about all that has happened..."
Merrill narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're obligated to hand it over to the one performing the deed, stop stalling."
Marethari hesitated for a second, then two, then three...before pulling a little tool free from her belt. That's what we've been hunting for? Garrett couldn't hide his surprise.
It was nothing but a chisel, forged in a single piece of metal, the curvature of the handle seemingly brighter than the blade, a blade covered in black veins, as if it was a living thing that had withered and died in its current state.
Something about it made the hairs on Garrett's neck stand up straight. Magic...distant...? Samson would feel it better.
But when Marethari held out the tool, it was to Garrett. Her smile was weary and hesitant, yet her hand didn't shake. "I am...so I give it to you, Hawke, do with it as you wish." You bloody...damn it... With that, the Keeper turned away. "Now, please, leave, I have a wounded clan to tend to..."
Not even looking at Merrill and the happy light in her eyes, Garrett also turned, numbly marching away from the Dalish camp.
Maker...
Maker...
"Garrett?"
Maker...what do I do now?
I can't...
"Garrett?"
I can't in good conscience...I mustn't...but she...but I...
"Garrett?"
A hand on his arm stopped him short, making Garrett turn around to face the unavoidable with a deep sigh.
Before him, Merrill was grinning, looking relieved. "For a while there, I thought she wouldn't hand it over..." She held out her hand. "We're away from the camp, you can give it to me now."
Garrett swallowed. "No."
Merrill blinked. "I'm...sorry?"
"No, I'm not giving it to you."
A disbelieving scoff escaped the elf at that, the woman taking half a step back as she turned her head, looking at the others for support...and finding Anders and Fenris glaring at her as the others studiously looked elsewhere and began to inch away. "Wha...are you serious?"
Garrett nodded. "As serious as I can get."
"But...you can't." Merrill shook her head, completely baffled. "That's a relic of my people, and I just earned the right to it."
"We earned the right to it, and she gave it to me..." Garrett straightened, taking a deep breath as he felt his resolve waver. "...and I'll keep it as long as I want."
Merrill stared at him, then shook her head. "No-no, you give it to me."
"I won't."
"You can't...it's a Dalish relic! Give it to me!"
"I don't care what it is, you're not getting it." Seeing Merrill still shocked at the turn of events, Garrett hurried to add. "Two have already died due to this quest, Merrill, another will never walk again, let it go before more people suffer."
Merrill shook her head, anger rising in her voice. "And that's exactly why you must give it to me. I have to put things right, I have to make their deaths worth it!" She narrowed her eyes, something close to a growl escaping her. "Now hand it over!"
"No!" Garrett snapped back, feeling his own ire rise. "You were willing to go do this on your own! If you had you would now be dead! I accompanied you to save you from getting yourself killed, not to help you with the Eluvian! I have saved you, and now I intend to do it again...whether you like it or not." Gripping the Arulin'Holm tightly, Garrett crossed his arms over his chest.
Merrill's hands dropped down to her hips, gripping them so tight her knuckles whitened. "I...that figures! You don't care about me or my work!"
Garrett grimaced, shoulders slumping. "I do care about you, that's why I can't-"
"Oh, so you just don't trust me!?"
"Not when it comes to-"
"You who just betrayed my own trust! I asked you for help! I came to you! You offered to help and now you're...you're...instead of putting another relic together, you're stealing from us!?" Garrett took a step back, mouth hanging open at the sudden accusation. Before him, Merrill's face was twisted into a picture of rage. "Figures! I should have known better than to trust a shem! You're all alike!"
Garrett's eyes narrowed, anger lashing back against the hurtful accusation. "Oh I'm sorry, I thought shemlen was the proper insult!? Then again, you're not really Dalish either? Clan cast you out and you live in the city, flat ear."
Merrill blinked, her face turning red, then she blinked again, eyes narrowing even further. "Oh I'm sorry I wasn't born as a big ugly human who'll always be judged by his actions rather than the shape of his ear, I'm sooo sorry!" A hand shot out, shoving Garrett back as best she could. "What do you know of being an elf or Dalish!? What do you know of the struggles we face!? You know nothing!"
"I know enough!" Garrett snapped back, shaking his head. I need to stop this before it gets out of hand. "And this is ridiculous, I'm just trying to protect-"
"Of course you are! Because you always know best, don't you!?" Merrill growled, shoving him again. "Doesn't matter if it's your friends, family or the entire city! You always have to be in charge and tell others what to do!" She shoved him a third time.
With a growl, Garrett shoved back, making the elf stumble backwards as anger gripped him. "Well I know better than the idiot who's trying to hug a demon that's tried to kill her twice! I know better than to meddle with blood magic! I know better than to risk the lives of my friends so casually-!"
"Tell that to Bethany!"
Silence.
Garrett stared at Merrill.
Who stared back.
With a growl, Garrett stepped forward.
He saw the regret in Merrill's eyes a moment too late as he found himself shoving her, hard, sending her tumbling to the ground as the words in turn tumbled out of his mouth. "You do not speak of her, you have no right!" Stop now, don't say anything mo- "She was a better mage than you in every respect! Where was your vaunted blood magic when she lay dying in my arms, huh!? All it does is destroy! It'll destroy you and your clan! Why? Because you're a blind fool! You are not going to save them! You're going to get them all killed!"
Still on the ground, Merrill hissed at him, eyes narrowed, venom dripping from her voice. "You know nothing of us, nothing, and you'll never understand. You think you know best...but you really are just another shemlen, cruel and thinking you know what's best for the elves, as your kind always has. Can't believe I thought you a friend..."
Garrett glared back. "And you're just an idiot elf...can't believe I felt...that I risked my life for such a person..." He took a step back, his insides in chaos, the anger making way for...he wasn't sure, but it hurt.
Merrill's face shifted, the rage replaced by something else, but before Garrett could make sense of it, she turned her head away, an angry sniffle escaping her. "I...never want to see you again."
It hurt a lot.
Garrett took a step back, blinking away angry tears.
"Fine, then go away." He almost threw out another insult, but found himself suddenly bereft of all energy, his body feeling heavy and sluggish. Why is my chest...hurting so...? "And stay away."
A sniffle...and Merrill got to her feet and begun to limp away.
I shouldn't look, I should...
Garrett looked up, after the lithe elf slowly disappearing in the underbrush.
And it hurt.
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Thanks to Abydos Jackson for her endurance.