Chapter 43

Welcome to the Land of the Elves

.

Mahariel

Two things happened at once during that bizarre attack, but I'm only able to account for one at a time.

First, Kallian.

She received at least three bites between her right shoulder and neck. The first pierced the leather and the skin of her shoulder, the other shredded her flesh. By the Creators, the way the blood splashed out on the ground ...

After I let loose my arrows, mere seconds later, her body was mercilessly thrown to the side. The sound of bones breaking hard against the trunk of the tree hurt my ears.

Was that the sound of her ribs breaking? Her shoulders? Her neck?

By the Creators, I couldn't tell. It could have been anything. But Alistair ... no, the werewolf, was coming toward me, his large feet digging at the dry ground with each step, hungry as he marched, and I could not see anything... I could only guess if Kallian was alive or dead.

"Kallian!" Noah cried, and Andruil, the man was mad. Despair was somewhat near that, and inside I was already partially desperate, afraid that he was also turning into one of those things.

And this was just the second thing - the onslaught of the human.

Kallian had barely touched the ground and Noah had already gone up against Alistair as if his life depended on it. I was not sure how he found the strength to knock back that creature of almost seven feet of pure muscle and brutality, yet he did, and between punches, kicks and bouts of free savagery, the wolf went down.

I wasted no time and ran to Bethany and Morrigan, who were trying to stop the blood from gushing out the hole in Kallian's neck, as if it were a fountain.

She breathed, and even though her eyes were no longer shining, she was still alive. Coughing blood and pale as a sheet of paper, but alive.

"Press the injury, Warden!" Bethany ordered, her arms and clothes covered in elf blood while working fiercely to mend the damaged arteries. Even Morrigan, with all her arrogance and pretension, already had droplets of sweat forming on her forehead. "Warden!" she screamed, and I awakened from my shock.

With one hand I bent her body to the side so she would not choke on her own blood, while with the other I searched the surface for the source of the bleeding, but the damage to her flesh and muscles was so severe that I decided to just keep on with the pressure to not cause further harm. Any injury here would mean the end.

"She deserved it," Morrigan said breathlessly. "She was too naive thinking that if she put her hand inside a hornet's nest, she would come out unscathed."

I snorted. "Shut up, witch."

I could hear the sounds of war going on nearby, the blades of the Qunari and Noah were cutting the werewolf mercilessly. It was almost cruel to watch, but no more cruel than what he'd done to Da'shal. The poor elf was still coughing blood, which from time to time nearly blocked her breathing. Her body suffered violent spasms almost all the time, and her outstretched hand shook like a leaf, shaking now and then as if hit with a strong eletrical charge.

But her eyes, now almost opaque, carefully watched the bizarre fight happening near her. They were fixed, almost hypnotized, but it was her outstretched hand that made my brain click.

"Noah, don't! " I screamed at the same time it finally all made sense. The silent plea for mercy, which manifested itself in her outstretched fingers, now was almost a scream in my ears. She really believed that Alistair was still inside that creature, and despite nearly dying because of her own mistake and irresponsibility, her conviction was as strong as ever, so I was unable to ignore what she so desperately wanted.

I don't know what went through her head, but what really mattered to me was that she was watching everything firsthand, observing an execution in cold blood, which would certainly do her no good. Even more so if that was the last thing she would ever see.

"Don't my ass!" Noah Qunari launched the werewolf back to the ground one last time, delivering it on a silver platter for him. The human wasted no time, and soon fell upon the beast, lifting his long sword above his head and keeping one foot on the thick veins of his neck. "As if I did not already have enough reasons to finish this bastard off... "

"If you kill him, she will never forgive you!" I screamed, as if I would be able to convince him only with the intensity of my voice. Noah was not the kind of man who let himself be swayed by emotion, I knew that, but at the time it was all I had.

"As if I care!" Was his reply, short and cruel, pointing his sword toward the chest of the beast.

"Noah!" I tried again, but it was too late.

His sword cut the air with ferocity, fast and deadly, digging the earth with the sound of death. Leliana choked by my side, and honestly I didn't wish to follow her gaze - I turned to Kallian instead, whose squinting marked the cessation of their movements. Red liquid splashed over the earth, the blood of human and elf blending into a single pool of pain and resentment.

I believed it was the end for both.

Bethany beside me repeated the words, "Warden, stay with me, don't sleep!" But it was useless. Kallian was no longer conscious, and as much as I refused to accept it, I knew she was gone. Her body was too exhausted to fight , too tired to stay awake, and now her mind was going into a swirl of darkness without end, until it came to the Fade, where only a miracle could save her. And now, the last thing she probably saw was the human she had always defended killing the person which she had given her life trying to save.

There was human nature, showing its true face again. The world was not fair, definitely. And I ... had failed. I'd made a promise, that I would defend with my life, if it were possible, to return to her the way she'd fought for me, and had failed.

No, Eilleen, I said to myself, There must be something to do!

Noah got off the wolf, huffing and exhaling in fatigue. He dismissed the Qunari with a faltering hand and walked over to us, slightly wobbly. When he turned his back, to my surprise, the werewolf began to move desperately, staggering around the small clearing. The blood that flowed from the huge hole that Noah had opened between his ribs left a thick trail on the ground as he walked, until in two or three quick strides, he disappeared among the trees.

"You let him go..." Leliana said, failing to hide the relief in her voice.

"The elf made me miss," he said bitterly. The urgency had almost completely replaced the anger in his voice when he spoke his next words. "Will she live?" he asked, and I thought I saw a small vein of emerging concern on his forehead as he stared at the amount of blood that was under his feet, comparing it with the slightly alarming pallor of the redhead's face.

"I slowed the bleeding, but," Bethany said, inhaling deeply to recover part of the breath she'd expended trying to keep Da'shal alive. "There's more damage than I am able to treat. Broken ribs, possible internal bleeding... " She moved the back of her hand across her forehead to wipe away the sweat, leaving a red trail on her skin. "I think one of the fractures punctured a lung. I don't know how long she has left... "

"'Tis a miracle she needs," Morrigan said, rubbing her hands. "Unless, of course, you are an expert at the School of Creation, which I'm quite sure you're not." She stood up, knocking the dust from her clothes. "Just like the rest of us."

Noah looked shocked for a moment , but soon took a deep breath and sank into his thoughts, as he stared at the lifeless eyes of Da'shal. Silence reigned for a few seconds until he finally gasped, his eyes widening as if an idea had just hit his head hard. "The elves."

Despite his words appearing to be meaningless, our eyes met at the same time, as if the same thought had crossed our minds. But of course! Lanaya may not be the Keeper, but she was very skilled with healing. In addition ... Zathrian's knowledge about these werewolves would be useful. It simply wasn't possible that he didn't know what was happening in his own forest.

And if I stopped to think a little ... maybe this is exactly the problem that Lanaya hid from me the last time we met.

"Zathrian's camp is at least two, three hours away," I said, answering his unspoken question. In my mind, routes and shortcuts were being plotted in search of the fastest way to reach the home of my brothers and sisters.

"What about the lung damage?" he asked, showing his insecurity.

"The air will leak into the chest and compress other organs, including the heart " I carefully started to wrap Da'shal's shoulder with a bandage, trying to protect the exposed wound. My response was automatic. "A few hours, I'd say."

"Pardon?" Morrigan questioned, raising one eyebrow suspiciously with my assessment. "Since when are you a healer?"

I made sure to ignore her.

"We cannot waste any more time," Noah said, untying the support of his sword. Without a word, he handed it to the Qunari, exchanging glances just like men usually do in those epics and that the storytellers love to emphasize, before turning to us. The giant nodded, tucking the object on his back.

His sword seemed smaller on the Quanri. I think anything seemed smaller next to a Qunari .

"Is there something we can do?" Carver asked for the first time since witnessing all the personal drama. Noah turned to him with the fury of a wild bear and slammed into his chest, pushing him back.

"You've done enough," he growled through gritted teeth, making Carver retreat two steps. With a precise and rapid movement he turned and raised Da'shal in his arms. The softness of that so gross movement and the gentle way he settled her small body in his arms surprised me, especially when he carefully leaned her head on his broad shoulder. I never expected any kind of care, or even his willingness to try to do something, especially considering all the burden of hate that they had exchanged a few days ago.

Carver did not respond.

"Get out." Noah took one last look over his shoulder at Carver, who just swallowed hard. "Lady Hawke, thank you for your services, but we need to go."

"Good luck." Bethany replied, smiling weakly. Noah nodded, before turning back to me.

"Lead the way, " he demanded , but instead of rudeness there was only urgency in his voice.

" Come," I said without thinking twice, taking the lead.

"Tree hugger," he called one last time, following me closely. "Double time."

Noah

The blond elf ran quickly, as if Fen'harel ifself was running after her, jumping over logs, dodging rocks and advancing with accurate and light footsteps , as if the forest and she were one single entity. Her movements had a certain grace , I had to admit , unlike the elf , who was noisy, clumsy and ran like a brat fleeing after pickpocketing the city guards. I was in her shadow, following the light that emanated from the torch which she held, hoping that the little flame was enough to keep me from stumbling along the way.

I sighed.

The stillness of the elf was bothering me deeply. I never thought I'd miss all her gabble at the wrong times, or the tone of repressed anger she used in our discussions. Or worse ... That I would miss the challenging way she looked at me...

Maker ... Facing those opaque eyes was simply disturbing.

Her breathing was so spaced and her heart beat was so weak that I couldn't help but look down and think that I was carrying a dead body. And with each passing second, her situation worsened more and more, and more than once I thought that the worst had finally happened .

The elf was dying.

Her body looked so small and felt so light in my arms... Hard to believe that this fragile creature had challenegd so many people so far... Bandits, mages, Qunari, werewolves...

Me.

Where was all that strength now?

My heart knotted every time I thought about it. Our relationship had never been the best, but I did not want her to die. Maybe... Maybe I had wanted it a few times, yes, but it was never for real. Never. So much so that my tired feet were still firmly on the ground, taking one step after the other, always increasing the pace.

We would reach that camp, no matter what. And it was with this thought that we entered deeply into the forest, ignoring those who followed us. Occasionally, the tree hugger peered over her shoulder to make sure that I was still there, but we didn't exchange a single word during the long time that passed while we ran. It was not necessary.

The night wasn't so kind, and darkness covered the whole place faster than we could have imagined. As time passed, the more difficult it became to see anything, and to complete the set of woes, not even the moon or the stars appeared in the sky - dense storm clouds hovered over us, and seemed to want to swallow the earth with its heavy atmosphere and its rainy winds. Maybe that's why I almost ignored the signal to stop the elf made, her hand stretched out in front of me was almost completely swallowed by darkness.

"Wait," she commanded, hiding behind one of the bushes. I could see signs of fire and smoke concentrated not far away, and I'd concluded that we had finally reached our goal. Her urgency to get there was great, I saw it by the panting way she spoke to me, but even so, the reason for her sudden stop, whatever it was, seemed to be stronger than her.

"Keeper Zathrian is probably one of the most intolerant and rigid leaders among the Dalish people," she warned, pointing a finger in my direction. "He already hates you just because you exist."

"I'm a Grey Warden," I growled, imitating her low voice. "He'll have to swallow my presence, want it or not."

"It's not how it works with him," She glanced over her shoulder again, toward the camp, to check if we were still hidden. "This is his home - Play by his rules if you want to have a chance with him."

"He would deny help to someone of his own race?" I asked, raising one eyebrow.

To my surprise, her response was only silence.

"Wait for my signal," She lowered her hood, pushing locks of hair behind her long ears and raising her torch so that her face would be visible. I just watched her walking in silence, while two scouts approached her, leaving their hiding places from behind the trees.

At first, the conversation was aggressive. Although I could not hear their whispers, I realized that they had simply lowered their bows once they'd looked at her face carefully. After that, things got noticeably quieter and friendly. That is, until I had revealed myself after her silent calling.

"A human?!" One of the scouts pointed her bow at me, but I would not be intimidated. The Tree hugger just raised her arms, trying to ease the situation.

"He is with me, Mithra," she replied, stepping between me and the scout.

"You brought a human to our home!" The other scout took a step forward, aiming his arrow right in the middle of my forehead. "This is treason, Eilleen! With your own brothers and sisters!"

...Eilleen?

"It's not treason when it comes to Grey Warden business," she said, and the mention of our titles was enough for them to start to exchange uncertain glances between each other. "We need to speak with Lanaya."

"City scum." The scout looked at the elf in my arms, his words filled with contempt. " You risked our safety because of a dead woman!"

"SHE IS NOT DEAD! " I growled loudly, causing the two scouts to again point their arrows at me. Right now, the Dalish stood completely in front of me, putting herself between us and them. Behind us, I heard the footsteps of the rest of the group approaching, adding more tension to our discussion, and turning their attention to the Qunari.

Because, of course, there was nothing more threatening than a huge Qunari wielding a giant sword.

It was a stalemate - the first to shoot would lose their life. And I did not doubt at all that the elves would shoot first.

"What is happening here?" A third elf appeared from behind the trees. She was no taller than the tree hugger, and carried a huge staff on her back. Her short brown hair was carefully combed back, still wet, with one or two strands falling on her unfriendly eyes.

The male scout was the first to respond. "This traitor brought humans to our camp!"

"Grey Wardens!" I growled, louder than him, and once again, his aim was pointing at my head.

"Explain yourself. " She ordered, looking at each one of group very closely until she stopped on the redhead in my arms.

"Our companion was attacked," The tree hugger began, and her voice seemed less tense when speaking to this woman. "We have come for help." She walked a few steps closer to the brunette elf, ignoring the sharp looks of the scouts. "You know me, Lanaya. You know I would never expose my brothers and sisters this way if it would bring you any harm."

"First , she brought the shemlen to our home!" The scout complained indignantly.

"I guarantee that they present no danger." The tree hugger said, emphasizing her last comment with other words.

"They don't present danger? Hah! " The scout laughed sarcastically, lowering his bow and pushing the tree hugger by her shoulder. "I wonder if Aldor would agree with that."

"Don't you dare talk about him!" To my surprise, the blonde grabbed the scout by the neck and pushed him back, now with one had resting firmly on the hilt of her dagger.

"Enough!" The so-called Lanaya said, separating the two by their shoulders. "Gale, go back to camp. Now." She ordered, against the protests of the scout . Still, he refused to leave, and only accepted the order when the elf called Mithra dragged him back against his will . "As for you, Eilleen ... it's certainly a surprise that with a past like yours, you would ally yourself with these people."

"She's a Grey Warden," I said, imposing myself beside the blonde. "She is here to fulfill her mission, not to worry about your petty quarrels." I glanced down quickly, alarmed by the strange stillness of the elf. Black lines now were leaving her bandages, following her veins, spreading toward her neck. She seemed not to breathe. "There are bigger things at stake."

The First looked down, following my gaze to the bloody bandage on her right shoulder.

"Fair enough," She started walking towards the camp, gesturing for us to follow her. " We'll talk properly after I take care of your companion."

Tree hugger and I exchanged suspicious looks, but she seemed to be at ease with the situation, despite all the tension between us just moments ago. She was still upset by her little discussion with the scout, but the decision of the First seemed to bring back the stability that the other elf had stolen.

She said nothing else until we finally reach the heart of the camp. The elves looked at us with suspicion, even anger, but I tried to ignore them. Difficult task, when one was the object of hatred of the entire place, and when all kinds of resentment throughout the whole area was focused on my back, but I kept walking. It was not as if I was guilty of every misfortune that had fallen upon these people, so I was fine, unlike the Tree hugger. The blonde was visibly uncomfortable with so many sharp looks, and walked as if emerging from a trial for a public execution.

Except for the members of the clan, who didn't appear friendly in any way, the place was comfortable. The aravels were spread in neat rows, torches were scattered in specific locations, with several utilities stands here and there. It was a small village, though larger than I had expected, and by the level of organization I would say that they had been camped here for years. And that was... Controversial in various ways. I mean, the Dalish are known for never staying in one place for long. So what was holding them there ?

"Place her in my tent." Lanaya said, pointing to one of the largest aravels. She herself went to another room, but I followed the orders as I was given.

It was not exactly a tent, more like a small improvised infirmary. Apart from the First's bed and a small table with some papers and herbs scattered here and there, there were also two makeshift stretchers in a corner, with several different types of provisions, plasters and bandages around.

I laid the elf on one of the stretchers with care, settling her in the least aggressive way possible. She just stayed motionless the way I left her, without showing any signs of reflex. The black lines were now spreading across her face, covering her right cheek almost completely. Her pulse was very weak, and her breathing almost nil, but she was alive.

Her narrowed eyes bothered me deeply, but I didn't dare to close them. Deep inside, it would feel like I was going to end her existence myself. I cannot explain. It just seemed very, very wrong .

It had been so long since I'd felt as restless as I did now.

I ran my hand across her forehead unconsciously, pushing her bangs from her face. Her skin was burning, a violent fever that didn't take long to completely dominate her body. As much as I didn't want to admit it, the witch was right - She would need a miracle to survive. And even if she did survive, there were still had the sideffects of the bite of that asshole...

Maker … Would she turn into a monster as well?

The Voice of the Tree hugger approaching the tent made me depart from her quickly, and soon I found my way back to the entrance, before they could enter.

"Ma'serannas, sister," said the blonde, carrying a few bottles and plants with her. "I will be forever in your debt."

"Zathrian will not like it, but I owed it to your family, sister. To your father," She closed the thick piece of cloth behind them, completely covering the entrance. As much as I was pretending not to care about their conversation, I cannot deny that I noticed the First's reproving look at me before turning back to the blonde.

"Where is he?" The tree hugger asked, placing things on the table. The preparations were fast and accurate, material flew from hand to hand, and urgency and haste were visible, despite their calm words.

The brunette looked hesitant before answering, "In the forest resolving some outstanding issues." She began to cut the bandages wrapped around the redhead's shoulder. They would not speak, but by their expressions, the wound was not good. "Stay around, Eilleen. Your knowledge will be helpful."

What kind of knowledge she could have, I wonder? I didn't dare to ask, because the First gave me no time. Without looking at me, she gave her last order, simple and straightforward, and it did not seemed to be open to negotiation.

"Your group is with Sarel, near the heart of the camp. You will stay with them while I take care of your companion, and should not leave until I give the order to do so."

Pft. She had the life of one of our own in her hands, and I still had a bit of judgment left, so I didn't take long to get myself out of the tent and allow the two to work alone.

Not before receiving a final warning of the First.

"Watch your step, human. We'll be watching."

Her voice was firm, and I could feel her sharp look piercing my back. Play by their rules, the elf had said.

"Yes, First Lanaya." I answered, before leaving the tent. And I would admit to no one, could not hardly admit to myself, that I was terrified I'd never see that stupid elf again.