Author's Note: Thanks everyone for following along and a special thanks to those of you taking the time to review! I can't tell you how amazing it is to open my inbox and see proof that you guys are enjoying the story.
Anyhoot, some chapter notes! In-game, you don't really get a sense of "hardened" Alistair until the Landsmeet, really (where it comes on all of a sudden, which is just bonkers to me), so this chapter deals a bit with how that steadily builds up. Redhold is an Avvar village in the Frostback Mountains, although Kuno and his men are not Avvars, I just borrowed the town name for this, because it's awesome. (Source: Blood of Ferelden, tabletop RPG.)
Chapter 51 - The Tougher Emotions
The camp was in a panic, that much Serena could tell. With Cohen safely out of the way, she pulled her bow from the front of the tent, firing arrow after arrow into the sky. The owls were just the beginning; she could feel a small horde of darkspawn coming from the south, easily fifty or more.
Zevran passed her, his daggers out as he made his way to Leliana, who was shouting just past the fire. Spells shot out, lighting up parts of the camp as Morrigan and Wynne moved to protect those around them. Alistair was already swinging his father's sword in a quick arc, the blade glowing blue in the presence of the fiends as Serena made her way to him, covering him from the airborne attacks.
Serena's mabari was near the perimeter, alongside Sten, carving their way through the darkspawn that appeared there, attempting to flank their camp. Kuno and the majority of his men had their weapons out, great swords and daggers and shields shining in the firelight.
"Avoid their blood!" Alistair shouted as a group of hurlocks burst through the trees, mismatched armor protecting their hulking bodies. Serena switched to her daggers as she saw Alistair raise his father's shining blue sword defiantly at the oncoming darkspawn. Sensing the runes on it, they cowered back from its righteous light, growling and snarling as Alistair pushed forward, hacking them to bits.
"Let's give these bastards all we got!" Kuno shouted to his men, spurring them into action. "For our families! For Redhold!" The men pressed the darkspawn, and Serena could only see the flash of blades and the shouts of men and darkspawn as they fought.
Slipping through the onslaught, Serena cut her way across the camp as she kicked another fiend back, trying to make her way to Leliana. She could see the redhead on the ground, Zevran battling an enormous hurlock alpha nearby, his daggers slashing faster than the eye could follow. Serena threw one of her daggers at a shriek that streaked past Sten, knocking the dark creature back from Leliana's prone form.
"Leliana? Leliana!" The redhead stirred as Serena shook her gently, her leg laying at a bizarre angle as Serena realized it was severely broken, the bone poking out of just above her boot. Blood pooled beneath her, and Serena wondered what had done this. "Come on, I have to get you out of-"
"No, no, I can't," Leliana pleaded, tears streaming down her face. "It's too... please, leave me! Protect yourself!"
"Not a chance!" Serena shouted back, barreling into a genlock and knocking it to the ground. She stabbed it deep as the thing clawed her bare arms, howling and spitting. "Wynne! Morrigan!"
The witch called out across the camp, her staff swinging into an oncoming darkspawn as she spun and shot a cone of ice into a group of shrieks, freezing them solid. Serena saw Sten turn and swing his great sword straight through the group, shattering them into nothing more than icy chunks. Laughing wildly, Morrigan sprinted towards Serena, her body shifting into a great bear mid-stride.
"Protect Leliana!" Serena shouted as the bear moved it's head in what she assumed was a nod, and rose up on its hind legs. With a ferocious roar, the bear lunged towards the nearest foe, crushing it beneath its huge paws, the claws ripping into its flesh.
"How many are there?" Wynne cried, a fireball pushing out of her hands and into the face of an oncoming darkspawn, knocking it back where it fell dead.
"Only a few more!" Alistair called, his blue blade alerting Serena to his presence on the field. He swung it about, his shield slamming another darkspawn to the ground as he opened its throat with the sword end. "We can do this, just hold on!"
Serena kicked and pushed, slamming her daggers into anything she didn't immediately recognize as human. Black ichor ran down her hands from her blades, the thick darkspawn blood coated her daggers from hilt to tip. Eventually, there was a final screech, and all went silent as the last darkspawn fell under Sten's blade. Serena pushed out with her senses while walking the camp, trying to feel for any more of the fiendish creatures, but she could only feel Alistair's signature, pulsing just above everything else.
"Do you feel any more?" she called to him.
"No, I think... I think it's over." Alistair peered about the camp. A few of Kuno's men laid on the ground, injured or dead, he couldn't tell which. Morrigan was changing back from her bear form, the fur quickly being replaced by great patches of flushed pink skin.
Sten was pulling darkspawn bodies out of the clearing, Serena's mabari beside him, dragging another decapitated hurlock carcass into the trees. "Fortifications should be made around the camp if we are to continue to stay here for the rest of the night," the giant man bellowed to Serena, hulling another body.
"Once we clean everyone up, Sten," Serena replied, kneeling at Leliana's side. Morrigan waved a hand over the bard's wound, her own magic pressing the bone back into place.
"You will need to get Wynne to do some of the finer healing, but this should help ease the pain, at least," the witch replied, placing a hand on Leliana's thigh. Serena looked around for the older mage, and saw her healing a group of Kuno's men of various wounds. Watching Morrigan heal Leliana, she was reminded of how when times were tough, it didn't matter whether the witch liked you or not, she did what needed to be done.
"You're bleeding, love." Alistair put a hand on her shoulder, his eyes worried. "Do we have any poultices left? I don't want to... drain them." He nodded his head to the two nearby mages.
"In my pack," Morrigan said, her concentration still on Leliana. "I made more the other night."
Serena nodded, feeling tears sting her eyes as she moved across the camp to fetch the bandages and potions. The clearing was a scene of absolute carnage. Bits of darkspawn bodies, several dead Blighted owls, and fresh blood, a mixture of human red and darkspawn black, covered the ground. As she retrieved the poultices and returned, Leliana was flexing her leg, a grimace on her face.
"Well, that was unnerving..." the bard muttered, touching the pink pluckered scar where minutes before her bone had been popping through the delicate skin.
Handing the poultices to Alistair, Serena stood still as he applied one of them to her bleeding arm, wrapping it tightly with a thick white bandage.
"I'm surprised you didn't lose an arm, running out here with no armor on," Alistair murmured. "You have to remember to look after yourself, too, Serena. You're no good to any of us dead."
"I know, I just... I can't shake the feeling that... that it saw us." Serena looked up into his eyes and saw her own anxiety reflected there, although Alistair tried hard to hide it. "Can it send scouts...? D-do you think this happened because of us? Because we're here? They can sense us, too, can't they?"
"Yes. They can sense us, but I don't think... oh, Serena..." Alistair paused his explanation to wipe a tear from Serena's cheek with his thumb. "This is not because of us."
"Isn't it, though? What if they..." She lowered voice. "What if they come b-back? I promised Leliana I would protect her and she... she nearly died, Alistair!" Serena bowed her head, the tears were squeezing out, slipping down her face against her will. "I feel like we're endangering everyone just being here!"
"Serena. Stop." Alistair placed a firm hand on her shoulder, his face no longer anxious, but simply concerned. Concerned for her. "You cannot think like this." He glanced around, perhaps to make sure no one had heard her. "Go back to the tent, I'll take care of this. You're... exhausted, I can see it in your eyes."
"No, I can..." Serena wiped at her face miserably. "Sten said..."
"I'll take care of it," Alistair repeated, leading her forcibly to their tent. The wounded man had already left, having rejoined Kuno's men near Wynne, waiting to have his injuries healed by the mages. She saw quickly that Leliana and Zevran had joined the knot of people, helping the wounded with health poultices.
"Sleep," he commanded, pointing to the bedroll. Seeing Serena's stricken face, Alistair softened. "Or try, at least. We'll be back on the road early." He kneeled, tucking a loose lock of hair behind Serena's ear. "I'll be back soon, love. Just rest. Please."
Serena nodded, turning away from him as she laid back into the bedroll. She felt him push the tent flap back... Could hear his voice as he spoke to their companions, commanding them in much the same way he had her. He was so strong now... so much stronger than her. Serena pressed her face into the pillow, taking in his scent, hoping it could calm the unease that squirmed through her insides.
As her eyes closed, she could feel weariness push her to sleep. In her dreams, the song of the archdemon beckoned to her.
Serena could feel Sten's eyes on her.
Ever since the morning, when she had hastily broken down their tents, moving about the camp in a daze, her mind on the archdemon... Alistair had mentioned it to her, telling her under his breath to ignore the qunari. Serena could tell Sten wanted to say something to her, but hours had passed, and they were now moving up the path to the small village beyond that Wynne had marked on their map as Haven.
"Interesting strategy. Tell me, do you intend to continue going north until it becomes south and attack the archdemon from the rear?" Sten's voice was the same slow, dispassionate timbre it always was, but this time, something in Serena just snapped.
Whirling on him, Serena's eyes were practically shooting sparks as she stared up into the qunari's face. She could feel Alistair freeze next to her, the rest of their companions watching cautiously, waiting to see what she would say.
"No, Sten, I was thinking we'd climb to the top of this mountain, sit in a circle, do a bit of chanting, maybe freeze some of our smaller bits off, and then call it a day. Is that alright with you?"
The enormous man simply continued to stare at her with his piercing red eyes, his mouth set in a firm scowl. "You jest, but the archdemon is our goal and we are heading away from it to find the charred remnants of a dead woman. I will not simply follow in your shadow as you run from battle."
"Run from battle? Is that what you think I'm doing here? Out for an afternoon stroll, maybe?" Serena jabbed a finger in the chest of the huge qunari and she heard Wynne gasp. "We're here to get the Ashes for Arl Eamon. With Highever gone, he has the most men to spare. You know, for the army we need to battle that big old archdemon you keep going on about."
"We do not need that dying man's help," Sten replied.
"No? We were twenty strong last night and still nearly had our deaths handed to us!" Serena shouted back. Her companions were now standing back in a loose circle, whispering intensely to one another while Serena and the qunari stared daggers at each other.
"That was a surprise attack," Sten growled. "An army marching on the archdemon would not be surprised so easily. Assuming we ever get around to battling this Blight."
"What army? You mean... the... what, seven of us? Sorry, eight, because you know, I have a dog... Oh yes, we'll just march our silly selves right down to the south, and maybe you can stare disdainfully at the archedemon until it just decides to roll over and die, eh? How's that? Seem like a solid enough plan?" Serena narrowed her eyes at the huge man, her fury coming to a finer point than her silverite daggers. "I'm cold, we're all tired, and this isn't up for debate. I'm the leader, Sten, and we're doing this."
"Not anymore. I'm taking command."
Serena arched an eyebrow, a harsh laugh escaping her lips. "Ha, no. You really aren't."
"Defend yourself, Warden. We will settle this with swords."
"Oh, ho! Alright." Serena pulled her daggers. "You know, if we put this to a vote, I'm absolutely positive you would lose. As it stands, I'm still absolutely positive you will lose." Serena flipped the dagger absently in her hand, the blade gleaming in the bright sun. "Think about it, Sten. You don't want look like an fool, losing to a girl half your size."
"I will not lose," Sten grumbled, pulling his enormous sword. He swung it wide and Serena crossed her daggers to parry it, pushing the sword back with all her strength. Serena heard Alistair shouting to the others to stay back. Good, Serena thought. She didn't want anyone getting in the middle of this.
Slicing his sword through the air, Serena dodged again, putting out a dagger to block it from connecting. The power behind it sent a shock through her arm but she ignored it. Sten definitely had the advantage of sheer muscle, but Serena knew she was faster. Flipping backwards, Serena kicked her foot out to connect with his elbow as he moved to heave the blade once again. She heard Sten grunt as she rolled and his sword came down in the dirt beside her.
Serena rolled again up onto her heels behind Sten and slammed her dagger into his shoulder. The qunari roared in pain, and she kicked her boot to the back of his leg. Growling, he swung his sword uselessly as he fell to one knee. Pulling her other dagger around to his neck, which was now within her reach, Serena pressed it to his throat.
"Do you yield?"
"Yes. I was mistaken," Sten said in reply. "You are... basalit-an. What now?"
"Get back in line," Serena said icily, releasing him. "Asit tal-eb, Sten. We don't have time for this."
"Yes, Warden."
Serena wiped the qunari's blood from her daggers and sheathed them. "Wynne, if you could heal him, the rest of us are going to enter the village."
"Of course, Serena," Wynne said, her blue healing magic already pulsing in her hand. With one last furious glare at Sten, Serena turned on her heel and led the rest of the party away with a nod of her head.
"I do not wish to be healed by your magic," Sten said quietly. "This is a wound I earned. It is a scar I shall endure."
"Well, let me heal the muscle, and you can keep the scar," Wynne replied, equally quiet, her blue eyes flipping from the qunari to Serena's retreating back. "May I ask you a question, Sten?"
There was a long pause before the qunari man answered. "Yes."
"You did that on purpose, did you not? You knew she would react the way she did, and still you challenged her leadership anyway." Wynne's cooling magic enveloped Sten's wound and she heard him sigh, although just barely. The large man was impossibly quiet.
"I heard her last night, speaking with the other Grey Warden... she was crying over the injuries of the red haired one and those other men." Sten pulled himself up, his fingers examining the scar Wynne left. "Sorrow is a useless emotion. It does nothing but pull one down into themselves. She is stronger than that. She needed to show us all that she is stronger than her fear. Anger is more productive than sorrow, and now she can lead us properly, with full confidence of her abilities."
"So, you aren't really concerned about the direction we're moving in?"
"No, I fully understand the Warden's reasons for coming to this village." Sten sheathed his enormous great sword at his back. "The taunt was more of a means to an end than an actual criticism."
"I see. Perhaps I misjudged you, Sten."
"It has been known to happen," the qunari replied steadily. "Come. I saw them enter through the town gate, up that way."