A/N: I failed to post at Monday again, but I had a good reason. My beta needed a break after all this holiday craziness, and I don't have enough courage to post the chapter without her wondeful corrections lol

Welcome back, wintry! :)

I have some good news, too. Until early february, I will post more often. I didn't decided how it will work yet, but there will be at least two chapters per week, soooo stay tuned! :)

EDIT: Again, I' forgot to say this. There's an extra artwork of Kallian's Sketchbook, a christmas picture, in my DeviantArt. You can find it here: goo. gl /bGqmy (or you can check the link on my profile.)

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Credits:

Portuguese Beta: Rohh Lael

English Beta: wintryone

Artwork of Chapter 12: goo. gl /SgD0T (without the spaces) - failusnot suggested this long time ago, so here's the couple artwork :)!

Artwork of Chapter 13: goo. gl /3rwsg (without the spaces)

Disclaimer: Dragon Age Universe belongs to Bioware.

Chapter 13

Clash at the Wilds

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Noah

You know when you feel that you will get stressed?

That day where you wake up with a shiver down your spine, with a form and voice of its own, that keeps whispering all the worst ways of something ending badly?

Yeah.

Kallian

I opened my eyes frightened, standing at once. My head spun a few times because of the sudden movement, but I had my daggers in hand before even my eyes were used to the weak light of the place. The moon was covered by clouds, far from where it was when I last closed my eyes. It would not be long until the dawn.

The only effective source of light was the torch in Noah's hands, which was burning lower with every minute that passed.

Alistair was standing, holding my backpack. He handed it to me when I lowered my daggers and I put it on my back, unaware of what was happening around me. Morrigan was tying her bedroll in her bag in an unusual haste, even for her.

"Darkspawn," Noah repeated breathlessly. Sweat dripped from his forehead and his hands and clothes were dirty with sand and dust. "A lot."

As I stared at him, everything fit together in my mind. I started to feel a few little sources of negative energy moving quickly, approaching us with a startling speed.

Darkspawn, for sure.

I had never felt the presence of Darkspawn so strongly before. I think my body is finally adapting itself to the taint.

What was just a few turned out into many points. A dozen, two, three ...

"We gotta get out of here now!" I exclaimed when I realized that the few dozen turned into two hundred at least.

"There's more," Noah said, taking Morrigan's bag from her hands and putting it on his own back. "I'll take that. Just get us out of here!" He told the apostate, who nodded and began to lead the group. "I saw the main Horde from there," he said, pointing to the highest point of the hill. "They are still far from us, but not for long. Four hundred meters, perhaps, but they're moving fast."

"Where are we going?" Alistair asked, following the group closely. We were running as far as we could from the Horde, keeping the torch burning weakly while we cut through the tree branches along the way.

"I remember that Duncan told me about a city near the road and out of the Wilds." I said concerned, realizing that the distance between us and the Darkspawn it wasn't decreasing at all.

I had a bad feeling about it.

"Lothering, yes," Noah said. "Once outside the Wilds, we can get there in a day, two at most.

"We can buy supplies and camping equipment once we get there," Alistair said. Yep, a bedroll would be nice.

"Morrigan, take us to the main road, out of the Wilds," Noah said. "From there, I take the lead."

"As you wish," said Morrigan, increasing her pace and turning into a wolf in front of us.

Wait, wait, wait… Did I just said wolf? Andraste's ass, after that I needed a dose of ale. A strong one, please!

"Woah!" Alistair cried at my side. Apparently it was surprising for him as well. I knew of the existence of Shapeshifters, but I'd never seen one transforming in front of my eyes. And apparently, neither had he.

"You'll have enough time to be surprised later, templar boy. For now, just keep running!" Noah growled, starting to lose some of the goodwill he had been showing so far.

Anyway, it was horrible.

It was dark, and we were going through each pass narrower than the other and my arms were all scratched because of the dry twigs. The worst part was the stones and all kinds of obstacles we had to divert or climb along the way.

We ran for a long time, following twists and turns here and there. It was well past noon when the density of the forest decreased and finally we were able to see more than just two feet in front of our noses.

But it was also when things started to get complicated.

Noah

I attract these trammels.

Picture this: An oak. A beautiful, strong and huge oak, powerful and splendid with its leaves wavering in the spring breeze. Pretty cute, huh?

No, especially when it was flying in my direction.

We were rounding a bluff, which would lead to the outermost part of the forest. We were less than 20 minutes from the main road, if my calculations were correct. That's when a tree trunk hit my back, throwing me down the ravine. I rolled at least 6 feet throught stones, branches, plants and thorns until my back slammed hard against a huge rock.

Only my armor kept me alive. My soon-to-be a broken armor. But that did not mean that I was fine.

I heard a strange noise. Just like the annoying buzz that I hear when I'm angry, but it was different. After a while I realized it was my own rusky voice, screaming in pain.

I could not get up. I could not move. And, as the noise stopped, my vision darkened ...

Kallian

"Noah!" I cried, seeing him being hurled down the slope. I looked back just in time to see the Ogre waving the trunk of a tree in my direction. I'd thrown myself against Alistair, making us both fall to the ground, narrowly escaping the same fate as our companion – the trunk missed us by less than an inch.

Speaking of companion, Morrigan was gone.

I fell over Alistair, but he quickly spun me around, escaping the ogre's attack again. The trunk hit the spot where we had just been, creating a little hole on the ground.

This was one of those situations that take place in the space of a heartbeat. However, when so much happens in that one small fraction of time, it's easy to doubt if it was really a few seconds of our life, or if it was just a dream.

He was lying on the top of me - his face was so close to mine that I could feel his quick breath caressing my cheeks. His body was pressed so closely against mine that I could feel the warmth of his skin emanating through the cracks in his armor. I could also feel the muscles of his arms as he'd embraced me to roll us away from the ogre's attack.

I realized for the first time that Alistair's eyes weren't dark as I had thought: They were light brown, a different shade of caramel that was watching at me so intensely - and for a moment, I forgot that there was a human behind that worried look.

And you know what? His face was so close to mine that the slightest move could have made our lips touch. I know that he noticed it too, because there was a slight shade of pink playing on his cheeks. Now that I mention it, I could feel a strange warmth in my own cheeks…

Soon, this little and embarrassing incident gave way to more urgent things, such as the Hurlocks approaching us from behind the ogre. Alistair realized that too, and pulled me back to my feet really quickly, saving me from another blow of the ogre.

When we finally got out of the beast's reach, that pink shade wasn't there anymore.

I pulled my daggers off my back and ran, trying to get around behind the beast. Alistair raised his shield just in the time to defend another swing of the oak trunk. The impact threw him against a tree, but thankfully he suffered no serious injuries.

I used this fraction of time to look down at the ravine. Noah was lying on the ground with a wooden stake impaling his right shoulder, which, by the way, was at a very weird angle. He appeared to be unconscious, but at least we were both causing distractions enough to prevent the Darskpawn from getting to him.

We were buying time.

For what?

Morrigan was nowhere to be seen, and there were just two of us to take care of this. If only I could climb on the back of the ogre and repeat the maneuver I'd used at the tower, this would be easier. But first we need to get rid of the Hurlocks.

While Alistair was distracting the ogre by being his personal punching bag, I tried to get rid of as many Darkspawn I could, as quickly as possible. It is not difficult if you know what you're doing. My mother always told me that a good rogue is one that determines a fight in the first blow, even if it means backstabbing the enemy. At first I did not understand, and in fact I thought it was cowardly and unfair, but as time passed, I learned that if you want to survive, you have to be fatal, one way or another.

This doesn't please me, let me make it clear. I like that my opponent knows who he is fighting. And because my stealth does not work as it should, then it was mandatory that I had to have the fatal part, at least.

It was all about locking their swords with my daggers, opening their guard and then a finishing blow to the head. Fast, clean and fair.

It was not the right way for a normal rogue to behave, but… Oh, hell, I wasn't normal anyways, so who cares?

After the fifth Hurlock was dead, I felt an arrow hitting in my arm. I turned quickly and looked back in time to see the genlock notching another arrow in his crossbow. I didn't think twice and threw my dagger at it. We were not so far, and I managed to hit the creature in the neck.

Yep, all the time wasted in games of darts was worth it.

One of Hurlocks came to attack me in the meantime. I dodged his blow with a quick spin, positioning myself behind him and carving my other dagger in his nape.

The situation was so tense that I did not felt Morrigan's magic concentrating behind me. I only noticed the giant ice projectile when it passed just inches from my face toward the ogre, hitting him in its shoulder.

The ice spread rapidly, freezing both arms and half of its head. The extra weight made him fall forward, allowing Alistair to perform a final blow on the back of its head.

If Morrigan had been with us in the tower, everything would have been so much easier…

Between the agonizing cries of the ogre, I'd pulled the arrow out of my arm and went toward the dead genlock, to retrieve my weapon.

When I got there, I felt something screaming inside my mind.

The large Darkspawn group that we felt in the morning was very close to us. Dangerously close.

More and more enemies were slowly arriving. Alistair was fighting against three Hurlocks and was having a little trouble with them. Morrigan vanished again, but this time I could feel the trail of her magic moving away from the hustle, going toward the ravine.

I ran over and bumped hard against one of Hurlocks, throwing him to the ground. Alistair killed one and I killed the third. Before he could turn his attention on the Hurlock standing, I grabbed his wrist and start to run towards the gully.

"What are you doing?!" He yelled to see where we were going, trying to stop me. When my grip didn't loosened, I could see by the look on his face that he was taking me seriously.

"We will die if we stay here. It's more than we are able to handle!" I said as we approached the hill. "Get ready to jump!"

I sheathed my daggers back and I heard him doing the same with his sword. Once we'd reached the border, we jumped.

We started running downhill, then slipping aside. Do not ask me more about the intercourse of things - I just know that I end up rolling. Thankfully I didn't get any other injuries, but my arm wound was hurting so bad that even the adrenaline wasn't working anymore.

I had my doubts if I still had strength to hold my weapon.

Once I got up, part of me was relieved to see Noah breathing. He was lying carelessly, ranging between a state of partial consciousness and unconsciousness.

"Noah!" I said, shaking his good shoulder. He stirred, by reflex, but I received no response. But I was not willing to give up - I shook him harder, slapping his face. "NOAH!"

He opened his eyes and looked at me bewildered, groaning a bit. Void take me, his wound was terrible.

"Forgive me, Noah," I said, placing a hand near his neck and the other on wooden stake. Probably he crashed into a dried tree on the fall. The impact must have been too strong, because it broke everything on the way – the tree, his armor, his shoulder, and now he was impaled on the ground.

What else could I do? He would not survive for long with that piece of wood in his flesh. Someone had to take it out, right?

I breathed twice to gain courage and pulled the spike at once. Noah bellowed in pain, turning his back to me.

"Son of a bitch!" Noah roared, now fully awake, using the other arm to prevent me from touching him.

"Be quiet, let me see your wound!" I complained, trying to avoid his hand.

"There's nothing to look at, my shoulder is broken!" He muttered, disentangling himself again as he tried to stand and staggering back like a drunk. Alistair grabbed him by his good arm and helped him up.

"No, it's not!" I replied, tapping my foot restlessly. I could feel a group of Darskpawn going around the hill, rapidly approaching.

"She's right, it does not appear to be broken," said Morrigan, behind us. Where'd she come from?

"Where the hell were you?" Alistair complained, still clutching Noah's arm, supporting him.

"Staying alive, of course," she replied, lightly touching Noah's shoulder. Gold, shimmering lines of light went out of her fingers, slowly closing the wound, leaving a nearly imperceptible scar. "You don't expect a mage to be at the front line, right?"

"You might have helped us more, witch," Alistair complained.

"Neutralizing the Ogre was not enough, then? And as far as I remember, twas much more than you accomplished in days," she countered.

"Enough!" I shouted angrily. "You can exchange caresses later. Now we have to get out of here, quick!" I could almost feel the larger group staying within range. If they found us, we would be dead.

"Okay, Okay," said Noah, disengaging himself from Alistair and turning to me. "You seemed to know what you were doing," He turned his bad shoulder at me. "Can you put it back in its place?"

"It would not be the first time," I replied. Life in the Alienage teaches you a thing or two. I knew the basics of first aid, but I was no healer.

"Do it," he said, positioning himself.

"Morrigan, can you do this?" I asked, and she nodded. I could not risk dealing permanent damage to his shoulder. It was a responsibility that I was not willing to take.

But Noah repelled her.

"I asked you, not to her," he replied grimly.

"Okay," I said, surprised at his reaction. He could have asked anyone there, but he chose me. What did that mean? I don't know. He was trusting me with his shoulder, and that could mean something, but we're speaking about Noah here – we could never be sure of anything with him.

I could not delay this any longer, so I positioned myself, holding his arm with one hand and his shoulder with the other. "Ready?"

"Just do it!" he said, closing his eyes. And then I pulled. The shoulder went back to its place with a sustained 'creck' and contained a cry of pain from Noah. The veins in his neck jumped and, for a moment, I thought he was going to punch me.

I had no idea that I was so close to the truth...

As soon as I let him go, he turned around and punched Alistair hard in the stomach.

"What the hell was that?!" I complained, holding Alistair by his arms, preventing him from falling. The poor Templar was coughing, breathing heavy portions of air that never reached his lungs. "Why did you hit him?"

"Because I can't hit you," Noah said between his teeth, controlling himself. I could see Morrigan suppressing a smile. "Come on."

He started to run and Morrigan followed him. I looked at Alistair, who wore the most puzzled face I had ever seen in my entire life.

"Why me?" He asked me, still gasping for air.

"I gave up trying to understand him long time ago," I said, putting his arm around my shoulder to help him to walk. "Come, let's go."

Finally the group made it out of the Kocari Wilds. But they were not alone yet. Although the larger group had followed in the opposite direction, there was still a smaller group of at least thirty Darkspawn chasing them.

Once Alistair caught his breath and managed to walk on his own, Morrigan came and healed Kallian's wound. Her magic was hot – the golden lines burned where they touched and somehow, it tasted like cinnamon.

The group was not in its best shape - Noah could not handle his two-handed sword, Morrigan's mana was lower than she wanted to admit and Alistair and Kallian were with their bodies aching, exhausted from all the struggle and running.

"These guys will not leave us alone," Noah said, resting his hand on a tree while trying to catch his breath. The group stopped when they realized that he had halted.

"What do you suggest?" Kallian asked breathlessly, leaning up against the tree.

"We could kill them… and keep on our way to Lothering. From there, we can see what we will do." Noah replied, pulling the blade off from his waist.

"What about the larger group?" Alistair asked.

"I no longer feel their presence," Noah said. "We can only hope that they are far away."

"Okay then," Kallian said, pulling the daggers off her back. Her wound was healed, but the pain was still there. At least she could hold her weapons again. "Morrigan, stay out of sight and take advantage of as many opportunities as you can."

"There's no need to say it twice, Warden," she replied, disappearing among the few shrubs and greenery of the place.

"Alistair, stick around us. Your shield will be useful," Kallian said, analyzing her companions. Neither of them could handle much more.

We would need a miracle.

"The closer we stay to the trees, the better," Noah said. "We'll have coverage against archers,"

"Right," Alistair said.

"Gentlemen," Kallian said, raising her daggers. "We have company."

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