The Dresden age
Book 1: Vampires vs Elves
Chapter 3: Wait, Hold on.
"Wait, hold on- You're Fen'Harel?"
The leader asked, indignant. Before him was an elf unlike any he had seen before. His clothes were familiar enough. A dull green tunic along with some ragged torn trousers. No shoes. For some reason, half a wolf's jaw bone hung on a string around his neck. The elf himself was bald. Sharp eyes and a sharper jaw. This 'fen'Harel's face would make an arrow head blush. But what stood out? Most elves were famously thin. Little more than skin on bones. This one here? By human standards, yes. Still thin. By elf standards? He had muscle and mass.
'Someone's been eating.' The leader thought, jealous. Just looking at this elf made him hungry. Hunger and hate. That was what the leader felt at the very sight of this elf. 'If only we were in Tevinter. I'd put this worthless fool in chains. Spend that coin on the best food. Eat it in front of him as he starved.'
"I am." Fen'Harel shrugged. "I was informed that our group will be using code names. The 'Dread wolf' seemed as good a name as any for this 'job'."
"Ha!" The leader snorted. "Picking the most hated god? Well, we'll all know who to blame if things go wrong."
"I assure you." Fen'Harel squinted. Anger burned in the leader's heart from the face 'fenny boy' was making. "If something were to go wrong, it will not be from my actions."
"Save it new guy." The leader rolled his eyes, turning away and to the trees. "There's a million ways this could go wrong, and you've got everything to prove. Now, lets go."
"If I may ask, who are the rest of our team?" Fen'harel asked, fallowing the leader. "Are we about to meet up with them?"
"First off. You don't get to ask the questions- I do." The leader announced, his feet crunching into the snow with each step. "Second, we're going by a need-to-know basis. That means you'll know when I say so. If I say so. You understand?"
"Acknowledged." Fen'Harel announced without emotion. Completely sincere. The leader grumbled under his breath. The very sound of 'wolf boy's calm and collected voice was annoying him the more he heard it. Haunting memories of the leader's time in Tevinter echoed in his heart.
'He sounds like a magister.' The leader thought, glancing at 'wolf boy' behind him. 'So smug. So arrogant. Thinks he knows best for the world.'
The leader shook his head and carried on. The two marched in silence. The only sound being the wind surfing on the endless snow around them. Barren wilderness and frost surrounded them in all directions. The only signs of life were the trees of the nearby forest and the birds circling around the mighty mountain to their side. It pained him. The leader had always hated silence. Growing up, the leader at least had the clinking of chains. Chains were safe. Chains were power. Could never be broken. The leader always had chains. Always. Until he didn't. The leader had to escape the silence.
"Song of Dumat." The leader spat, turning back to 'Fen'Harel' as the continued marching. Wolf boy eyed him, no emotion on his pointed face. "Are you happy? We should've started this job days ago. I can only wonder why some higher up would want us to wait on you. Some new guy."
"I have been told, an extra hand is always useful." Wolf-boy eyed the huge pile of rocks to their side. "Especially when climbing a mountain."
"Extra hands are easy to find." The leader growled, like a bored animal in its cage. "Especially for dumb muscle. Like hauling shit. What makes you so special, wolf-boy?"
Wolf-boy stood there. Just staring at the leader. His hard sharp eyes gave nothing away. The leader's blood boiled inside him. This elf's face...The magisters. The ones that held his chains. Fen'Harel opened his mouth to speak- The leader did not allow him. The leader grabbed wolf-boy by the throat, slamming him against the hard stone of the mountain to their side. Even then, Fen'Harel's face gave nothing away. No emotion. No Surprise. No Anger. Not even fear. Nothing.
The leader hated him.
"Get a good look." The leader barked, forcing the elf to gaze upward. The two were at the very base of its cold solid mass. The mountain was a sloped pillar of frosted snow and jagged rock. A thousand promises were made from its appearance alone. Beauty. Isolation. Death. Not one promise of safety, success, or survival.
"We'll be climbing that. The only reason any of my team will go anywhere near that death trap isn't for the pay or whatever promises you might've heard- its because we trust each other. Know each other. But not you, wolf-boy. If I can't trust you, well, accidents happen. Why should I trust you? What makes you so damn important?"
"I-I know this place." Wolf-boy choked out, his voice strained by the leader's grip on his throat. Fen'Harel grabbed the leader's wrist, giving him some leeway. "The mountain. The ruined castle at its peak."
"HA!" The leader spat a spiteful laugh. "Now I know you're lying wolf-boy. No one knew about this place till some dog lovers hid here during the blight. Today, a Carta clan calls it home. Now."
The leader pulled out a knife. It was short but thick. Heavy black steel. Double bladed. Serrated on one side. Smooth on the other. The leader pressed against Fen'Harel's neck, under his hand.
"Why should I care about you?" The leader challenged, a mad glint in his eye as he slid the knife down Fen'Harel's chest. The serrated blade tearing at the cheep wool of the old tunic. He didn't even wait, or care, about wolf-boy's answer. Not until his victim eye's started to glow. A bright green flame embered in his hand- a blast of force hurled the leader off his feet and into the snow- ten feet back.
"Sil-Silentium Dumat!" The leader spat- literally, spat. A chunk of ice and dirt out of his mouth. Grumbling, the leader stood back up. Padding the snow off him. The leader rolled his eyes. "Another one."
"I-I am useful." Wolf-boy wheezed, hunched over. Clearly out of breath. "I will see this mission through. I need to. You will know that. If nothing else."
"You're invested? Good to know." The leader nodded, pulling his knife out of the snow as he strode back to the trickster god- and socked him in the gut. The already barely on his feet elf collapsed on the ground in a heap. Putting his knife away, the leader growled. "If you ever, EVER, try that shit again- I'll kill you."
The trickster god's response? Vomiting in the frozen dirt. The leader snorted, continued his waltz to the forest.
"Y-You never g-gave your n-name." Fen'Harel coughed, his sharp eyes glaring at the leader. The leader turned back to his victim. He thought about it. He had His name already, but... He smiled.
"Elgar'nan."
The two continued on their way. No fanfare or delays. A smile on the leader's face. Suddenly happy with the silence. It didn't take long. Soon they made it to the tree line of the forest, still at the base of the mountain. There, the two met the rest of their 'team'. A pair of identical twins in moth-eaten green cloaks. One had his hood up. A black scarf covering his mouth. Leaving only his eyes open to the world. The other had his down. Revealing his short white hair. Each twin had a crow perched on their shoulder. Between them was a Dalish woman, or rather ex-Dalish. As her Vallaslin, green facial tattoos, had been cut away. Leaving terrible scars on her otherwise lovely face. Framed perfectly by her long golden hair. It matched neatly with her bronze armor and rusted chain mail.
One thing united the three besides- they all held mage staves. Different designs sure. But there was no mistaking what they were.
"Alright you worthless peons, time to get to work." Elgar'nan, the leader announced. The mood of the group lowered, right there. White hair's smile flipped into a frown. The ex-Dalish glowered at him. Hood-boy... just kept staring. That last one creeped Elgar'nan out. "The new guy finally showed up."
"Just him?" Hood-boy asked, pointing at baldy wolf-boy standing behind the leader. His voice a little muffled by the scarf. "We're still down some members. Half the team hasn't even shown up yet."
"Remember what I said about back talk?" Elgar'nan asked, glaring hard at hood-boy. He stepped back. Turned away. Even the damn crow on his shoulder wouldn't look at the team's leader. Elgar'nan smiled, remembering the minute they met. The king of the gods slamming his fist in hood-boy's jaw for talking too much. He loved doing that. Really set the tone. "That's what I thought."
"Other members of the group?" Wolf-boy asked. Elgar'nan rolled his eyes. "How many more will there be? I was not informed of the full number of are confederates. Though, I assume I am still the 'new guy'."
"You're all the new guy!" Elgar'nan laughed, a spiteful smile on his face as he stared down wolf-boy. Fen'Harel simply looked forward, ignoring him. Again, no emotion. The leader allowed this. He knew he got wolf boy. "I hand-picked all of you for this. It had to be fast. This is a rush job and we've got a small window-"
"And you don't wanna split the pay any more ways." Bitchy Mc-scar face announced, rolling her eyes. "That's totally worth risking all of our lives."
"Yes." Elgar'nan answered, bluntly. "It is."
"Oh, the creators." The Rattus sighed, rubbing her temple. "What is the job, exactly? I know you've got more greed than sense, but if you expect us to pull it off with half the team... please tell me it's not that suicidal."
The whole group murmured agreement at that. Even the high and mighty wolf-boy. Elgar'nan grinded his teeth at the ex-Dalish. This girl simply stared back at him. Like he was an old alley cat, shrieking over its shrinking turf.
'Her too?' The leader thought, clinching his fists together. 'Its bad enough with wolf-boy. I'm going to have to kill one of them when this is over.'
"I'm with her." Short hair announced. "I'm all for more coin, but I wanna be alive to spend it."
Hood-boy said nothing, though he did whistle with a nod. Pointing at his twin. Elgar'nan was clinching his fists so tight his knuckles popped. Just as he reached for a weapon- wolf-boy stepped to his side.
"It would appear you are out voted." Fen'Harel observed, his tone helpful. "I advise you to inform us as to why we are here and how we shall proceed."
The king of the gods stared at this Rattus with a jaw bone around his neck. Anger swelled in his heart and his head. The leader's very vision became red with rage. He must kill. He must retain dominance. He must never be weak. Seen as less. Never!
"Dreadwolf spit, here we go." The lone female of the team sighed- and the only one armored at that. A coincidence, to be sure. Her tone revealing how young she truly was. "Oh great and powerful leader. Us lowly peasants and directionless, masterless fools would truly be lost without your wisdom and might... There, ya happy?"
"Phah!" The leader spat, turning to the side. His front away from all. The leader was not pouting. No. The rest of the group simply stared at him. They could wait. Elgar'nan was their leader. Mighty and strong. Smart. They waited on him. Not he on them. "Fuck you."
"So familiar." Fen'Harel sighed. "He mentioned the Carta."
"The Carta?" Short hair spat, shocked. He looked up at the mountain before them. The outline of a structure at its peak. His loose scarf fluttering in the wind. "Andraste's ass! No way in the deep roads."
"We came all this way to the middle of nowhere, just to cross the hardest cutthroats in Orzammar?" Hood-boy asked, also looking up at the mountain. "Couldn't we have just snuck into Tevinter and stolen the heart of the Summer Palace? Would've been easier."
"Gold, Lyrium, a blackmailer's ransom, all the sharp stabby sticks in the world- Every treasure under the sun on the top of a mountain." The Ex- Dalish whistled. "And the Carta, Dwarven criminals, picked a castle in the sky for all that? Odd choice for them. Isn't that the only thing those dirt worshipers will admit to being afraid of? Their only food are fungus and nug shit. oh, and darkspawn. Can't forget the Darkspawn. You want us to cross that?"
"Give us one good reason to stay, or we're out of here." The white haired twin said, folding his arms. His twin, hood-boy was already turning away. "And don't say 'I'm telling you'. You'll never be as scary as those brands."
The leader stared at his 'team'. He had never felt so insulted. The leader ground his teeth so much he felt a tooth chip.
'I am not weak!' Elgar'nan thought, reaching for his weapon. His vision gone completely red as he marched one step toward the twins.
"Yes, valuables. Of all shapes and sizes are above us. It is true." Fen'Harel announced, stepping in front of Elgar'nan- his leader. His voice serene. Calm. Confident. The leader stopped, staring at this... usurper. But then, just then, Elgar'nan felt, calmer. Calmer than before. He couldn't explain it. "But the threat is not so terrible as you assume."
"Uh, buddy. Look up. Its on a maker damned cliff." Short hair pointed, his accent growing thicker. Elgar'nan finally noticed him. He and his brother's skin was noticeably darker than the rest of the group. His voice smooth, deep, and silky. He was an Antivan. They both were. Elgar'nan looked closer at the crows on their shoulders. "And its covered in dirt worshiping, rock crunching, Darkspawn chewers up there."
"Think, my friend." Fen'Harel said, turning back around. Staring up at the mountain. "The power of this place, is not its fortification. It is the location. Position. Remote. So few know where it is. That is the vault for those valuables. Numbers? Walls? Resupply? Dangerous at the best of times. More importantly, expensive. A skeleton crew awaits us atop this mountain, little more."
The three nobodies looked at Wolf-boy for a moment. Then each other- Then back at the mountain. The ex-Dalish spoke.
"Why are you here?" She eyed Wolf-Boy. "Who are you?"
"I am here for fortune, such as you." Wolf-boy nodded. "As for my name, I am Fen'Harel."
"Ha!" The ex-Dalish snorted. "Picking the most hated god? Well, we'll all know who to blame if things go wrong."
"Curious." Fen'Harel said, turning back toward Elgar'nan. The king of the gods flared his nostrils at him. "He said the same, in a similar way."
The twins and wolf-boy looked at the Ex-Dailsh. Her face became hard. Her eyes focused on Fen'Harel. Elgar'nan felt his rage replaced with fear.
"Enough!" The leader shouted. "I'm in charge. And I say we're doing this! Its easy money. As easy as we're going to find. We go up there. Get the loot. Get out. Any of those dirt worshipers catch on, we put'em back in the ground. That's all! Understand?"
The group mumbled agreements.
"I said, does anyone have a problem with that?" Elgar'nan roared.
The entire cadre stepped back. Eyes wide in shock as they're gaze shot from him to the mountain. A few rolls of snow plopped down the slope. One of which rolled up right to them. The ball of snow and ice reached up to his knee. The god king stepped back from that. Pure fear welled in his chest as he looked back at the mountain. It's mile of loose snow and jagged ice. Just waiting for an excuse to bury everything below it. Elgar'nan turned back to his team. They were afraid- of him. Yes. Completely afraid. Terror and respect were in their eyes. As they should be.
"Th-That's what I thought. I-I'm in charge. Ne-Never f-forget that."
They stayed silent at that. A creeping feeling of dread crawled up Elgar'nan's spine.
"Impressive." Wolf-boy barked a laugh. The entire group turned to him. He carried the first true smile on his face any of them had seen. It lacked any mirth or joy as Fen'Harel stared at Elgar'nan. "You have truly chosen your name well."
"Hmmm, thank you." Elgar'nan smiled. He felt truly flattered. Maybe this 'Rattus' knew his place after all. "Now lets move. Dwarves see better in the dark. I wanna get this done before Sun down." The leader turned to the ex-Dalish. "How's our ride?"
The Ex-Dalish snapped her fingers. A moment later, four Halla strutted out of the treeline behind her. As if from a puff of smoke. Elgar'nan was amazed. They were wild beasts, and they were not ten feet from him. He had no idea. No. He could not let his surprise show. His loss of control. Luckily, he was not the only one. The twins. Even the high and mighty Wolf-boy seemed put off by their appearance.
"This is it?" Elgar'nan forced out, pointing to the Halla. "Everyone knows how defiant and stubborn they are. Ghilan'nain, do you expect us to ride them up the mountain?"
The rest of the group nodded at that. Well, the twins did. Wolf-boy simply stared at the glorified deer. The ex-Dalish was about to speak, then cocked her head at the leader.
"Ghilan'nain?"
"Blame the dread wolf. He put it in my head." The leader pointed to wolf-boy. "That reminds me. Call me Elgar'nan now. The king of the gods!" Sighs, moans, and grumbling from the group. None of them positive. Well, all but one. Fen'Harel simply ignored them all as the stepped toward the Halla. "Oh, and could you shits do any better?"
"Well, I'd like to be called-"
"You are who I say you are." Elgar'nan cut off white hair. Pointing at the bare headed twin. "You're Dirthamen. Hood-boy here is Falon'Din."
"I like it." Hood-boy said, unhelpfully.
"Of course you would." Dirthamen sighed. "But unlike those twins, we aren't fucking."
"Awwwww..." Ghilan'nain wined. Wolf-boy snorted at them, finally looking away from the beasts.
"Peons, focus." Elgar'nan groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. If only he was back in Tevinter. One strike from a line of chains to just one of their stupid faces would solve so many of his problems. The leader gripped his weapon regardless. It felt good in his hand. Elgar'nan would polish it later. Thoroughly. The leader pointed at the ex-Dalish. "How are the Halla going get us up a Dumat cursed mountain?"
"We'll ride them." Ghilan'nain announced like it was the simplest thing in the world.
Elgar'nan was about to yell at her again- she did something strange. The ex-Dalish reached for that strip of leather hanging from her right shoulder to her left hip. Elgar'nan had paid it no mind until now. A woman caring too much about clothes and whatnot. She was wearing bold bronze armor on a heist for Dumat's sake! But, as it turns out, that strip of leather was filled with rows of vials. All of them filled with different colored contents. The ex-Dalish grabbed a vial filled with bright crimson. She popped off the cork and- a stream of red hovered in the air. A gleaming heated glow embered in the liquid. A familiar fear and pain gripped the leader's heart. Rows upon rows of thin scars across his body ached at the very sight before him.
A freed slave knew what this was- blood magic.
The floating stream wasn't the only thing that was red. The ex-Dalish opened her eyes. Solid scarlet. She pointed at the halla. The beasts growled, baaahed, shrieked. They knew what was about to happen to them. Strangely enough, they made no attempted to run away. Elgar'nan recognized this. They... were ready for it.
Images flashed through the leader's mind. His memories. Barbed chains. Dark rooms. Bones everywhere. Some fresh. Some not. Bloody knives. Cackling magisters. Dead eyes. Some in the mirror.
Elgar'nan closed his eyes. He didn't want to see this. He heard it instead. The red stream soared into the sacred beasts of the elves. Their shrieks of terror and rage ceased. They were calm now. Forcing himself to look. The halla were still. Focused. Aimed at the great mountain before them. Their eyes the same serious scarlet as their master.
"W-Wow..." White hair coughed. Dirthamen's eyes glowed. Equal part interest and fear. "I gotta learn that!"
"You're a blood mage!" Hood-boy whispered, pointing at the Ex-Dalish. She shrugged, her eyes turning back to their natural leaf green hue. Falon'Din's crow cawed at her. "Should I ask how and why you lost your markings?"
"Gimme some of those vials!" White hair yipped, reaching for her sash. The ex-Dalish swatted his hand away. Hood-boy laughed at his grumbling twin.
'Amazing.' Elgar'nan thought. The worst kind of dark magic was just dropped in front of these two, and they treated it as some toy. A toy they wanted to play with. The faces of the magisters the leader had met flashed through his eyes. One by one. All of them. They each had that same glint in their eyes as the twins did right now. He gripped his weapon tighter. 'I will have to kill them.'
Predictably, that was when Fen'Harel finished his waltz to the beasts. Completely ignoring the antics of the rest of the team. The Rattus with a broken jaw bone around his neck was all but touching them.
'Well, maybe not all of them.'
"Problem?" The ex-Dalish asked.
"This is not the first time you have used blood magic to control this herd." Wolf-boy observed. His gaze narrow and focused on their solid scarlet eyes.
"Impressive. Most don't notice that." Ghilan'nain announced, smiling at wolf-boy.
"I also assume this herd was much larger than before." Fen'Harel turned his gaze to the beast's master. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Am I incorrect that these four are not among the herd's original numbers?"
The ex-Dalish said nothing. She simply folded her arms at this nondescript elf that had more muscle on his bones than the rest of the group combined. Mystical sacred deer included. The blood mage truly looked at him. Drinking in his sight. Elgar'nan knew how she felt.
"Your practice will eventually kill you." Fen'Harel locked his eyes with the blood mage, shaking his head. "As I can safely assume it did your slaves."
'Slaves.' The word echoed in Elgar'nan's mind as mixed emotions filled his heart. More flashes. All of chains.
"That's why I've got these." Ghilan'nain smiled, pointing at her belt of potions over her protected torso. Lazily camouflaged by the bright bronze armor. Wolf-boy scowled at her. "I'm not hurt'n nobody."
"It is wrong to control anything in such a way." Fen'Harel was glaring now. The ex-Dalish snorted at him, waving the dread wolf off. "I have heard the Dalish rarely, if ever, exile their own. But to chip away your Vallaslin. I imagine it was Cruel. Painful... and warranted."
It was Ghilan'nain's turn to glare. Her eyes blinked back to red as she grabbed another vial on her belt- it was black, of all colors. The leader was ready to pull out his weapon, end all of this and cement his dominance- The ex-Dalish took a deep breath, and backed away. Her eyes and snarl of death replaced by a mask of humor. It was so chipper it was acidic.
"How'd you guess?"
"That's it, the both of you." Elgar'nan announced, letting go of his weapon. "We have to get moving, and I'll hear no more bitching from any of you!"
"Awwww, its over already?" Dirthamen whined. White hair shook his head as his twin Falon'Din continued eating nuts out of a small pouch in his hand. Hood-boy swatted away his crow as the beast pecked at the snack.
The leader demanded an end, and so it was. The group ceased their pointless yammering as they all approached the possessed halla. Elgar'nan had to admit, internally, it was difficult. An absurd discomfort and wrongness washed over him in waves with each step toward them. The leader had grown up and trained with such twisted magic and cruel control. Quickly and quietly, Elgar'nan eyed his companions. Wolf-boy was as stone faced and serious as ever as he mounted the beasts. The jesters of the team became quiet, their smiles gone. As for Ghilan'nain... a stretched toothy grin appeared on her face. Combined with her scarred, chiseled face. It truly was the stuff of nightmares. The kind that would never leave you.
Elgar'nan had seen such smiles before.
Shaking it off best he could, best they all could, the group mounted their mystical deer. With but a snap of the Ex-Dalish's fingers, the small band jolted forward.
It was hard to describe. Elgar'nan had ridden horses, bulls, and even deepstalkers. None of them had been anything like this. The Halla were focused. Controlled. An intelligence behind them as their hooves landed and jumped exactly where they needed to gain the greatest amount of stability and left the least amount of tracks. It was truly uncanny. It was famous, even in the imperium, that Halla were as intelligent as the elves that rode them. Similar to the mabari for the worthless dog lovers in Ferelden. But the leader had to wonder, how much of it was the beast themselves, and how much of it was the blood magic controlling them.
That all said, just because the mystical beasts had an easy time climbing an almost vertical mountain of loose snow, jagged rocks, and slippery ice didn't mean their riders did. In truth, the leader and the twins were barely holding on for dear life- no pun intended. With every jump and jolt, all three of them were lobbed off their saddles and hovered in the air until the Dumat forsaken deer landed its hooves in the snow and stone.
Elgar'nan had the urge and instinct to berate the beasts, but it would do little good. Besides, he wanted his last breath cursing some magister or robbing some noble. At least spitting on some slave, or maybe peasant. But blathering at a creature that couldn't even understand him- what would be the point? So the leader clamped his mouth shut and held in his breath. The twins however? They never stopped cursing and blathering, both their arms wrapped around the Halla's necks. Even Hood boy.
It got so bad they were actually slowing down the cursed beasts. All three of them. Only the three of them.
Where were the other two?
"Dumat's silence!" Elgar'nan did curse, looking up. Wolf-boy and the scarred b*** were all but at the half-way point. Their control and balance matched the possessed Halla. They were perfectly in sync with those monsters. The twins were equally dumbfounded as they looked where Elgar'nan pointed.
"H-How?" One of them stammered, their halla jumping again. The leader squinted at his wayward servants. Their mouths were moving. One after and before the other. Pointing even. But not at the rest of the group.
"They're talking!" Elgar'nan howled. "You two. You're magic. Can you tell me what they're saying?"
They gave no answer. No verbal one. Turns out under White Hair's cloack were buckles after buckles attached to something Elgar'nan didn't want to know. His hand glowed a silver hue. Rope after rope. Chain after chain. They expunged out of those buckles. Wrapping around any part of the Halla it could before reattaching into those same buckles. The beasts didn't even seem to notice it continued on its journey. Elgar'nan was about to berate this fool before something ELSE strange happened. Dirthamen's bright blue eyes rolled back into his head. his body went limp- or as limp as it could get under all that hemp and chains.
Elgar'nan was about to ask, but then Falon'Din snapped his fingers. Gaining his leaders attention. Hood-boy pointed up. The empty sky hand nothing. Not even clouds. Just two specks of black- The crows!
"I'm impressed, Dread wolf." Dirthamen said, with Ghilan'nain's voice. Her tone curious, intrigued, and threatened. "All but everyone nearly kill themselves when riding halla the first time. Possessed Halla? What's your secret?"
"Elgar'nan has declared we not talk about our pasts." Fen'Hare's voice now Fen'Harel's. His tone stony and without heat. The leader snorted. He gave no official orders, though the sock to the gut earlier said much. "All of us. Some would call it unwise to disobey their king."
"Our King, is holding onto antlers for deer life." The ex-Dalish snorted. Her leader scowled as his grip tightened on the beast's horns- shut up!. "Besides, unless that has-been is close enough to push us around, I'm not gonna care what he says."
"Ohhh, I'm gonna have a wee chat with her." Elgar'nan announced. Both twins snickered at that. Wolf-boy himself stayed quiet as the two reached the halfway point. A horizontal rock on a vertical sea of snow. Just before they landed, Ghilan'nain put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. The two possessed beasts stopped- completely.
"You can stay quiet all you want, but I don't like secrets." Ghilan'nain announced, her eyes hard and focused on wolf-boy The halla below them? Frozen. Still. Completely unmoving. Closer to objects than living things. Elgar'nan wasn't even sure if they were even breathing. "Makes me curious. Distracted. I don't like that. Boss doesn't like that."
The leader shrugged as the slow trio leaped over a rock. "Whatever."
"Fen'Harel, the dread wolf, give me something or..."
Ghilan'nain, the mother of the halla, snapped her fingers. The beast under wolf-boy, its eyes. That solid scarlet- gone. Replaced with the natural golden green famous among its kind. The sacred deer, infamous for its hatred of riders they don't choose themselves, was- not happy to find that someone had mounted it. The halla juked, bucked, and hopped. Bhaas, shrieks, and roars. Dancing with daggers on its head, the beast wanted its rider off- even if it killed them both. Not a lot of room on that small island of rock so far into the sky.
Wolf-boy, the man with more muscle than all of their group combined, used every bit of his strength and skill not to fall off. And the mountain knew it. The vibrations from the juking and the roaring... More than a little snow started rolling down the hill. Which made the other three's journey upward even harder.
"She's going to kill us all!" The leader glared, gripping the horns of the halla so tight the beast would've cried out in pain if it still had its mind. Elgar'nan felt so helpless. His beast was racing so fast but still so far away. The very ground beneath him was crumbling at his mount's feat. He could die at any moment. All because some rotten Rattus was being stupid.
"Sali, raee. Viaren avae'mhaor nha lor nae dath. Vian lian's nha lor nae."
Falon'Din spoke, with Fen'Harel's voice. His tone as calm and collected as ever before. Even if he was a hair's breath away from death. Something especially bad for a bald man.
It stopped.
The halla stopped. It ceased its panicked dance of anger. The sacred animal of the elves stood calmly. Allowing its rider to sit comfortably on its back. Even licking Wolf-boy's hand.
Everyone stopped. Well, the elves did. The three halla they were riding still stayed on course. Closing the gap. The bronze bitch herself- pure disbelief- for about a moment. Then anger and jealousy.
"I've known you for all of five minutes- this." Ghilan'nain pointed at the halla. "You're shit at staying unnoticed."
The ex-Dalish snapped her fingers again. The halla's eyes were red again. It bit wolf-boy's hand- bucking him off in one go. The 'dread wolf' was off the stone island and hanging over the cliff of the mountain. His life decided by the skin of his teeth- the halla's teeth. Literally. The trio were finally close enough to see the faces of their two companions. For the first time, Elgar'nan saw a flash of fear over Fen'Harel's eyes. His smug, stony face gone!
The leader had to smile. Apparently Ghilan'nain enjoyed the site just as much. That savage nightmare smile returned.
"Did our 'king' give you the same speech?" The bronze bitch asked, that mad grin widening. A terrible glint in her eye. "The one about an 'accident' climbing up a mountain? Oh, and did ya get that kick between your legs too?"
"I received a gloved assault to the stomach." Wolf-boy answered, stoic. Though in obvious pain. His entire body weight held up by the clamped maw of a possessed wild animal.
"You're a brave one." Ghilan'nain said, equal parts angry, annoyed, and impressed. "Either of the twins would've pissed themselves by now- probably already have." The Ex-Dalish said, looking down the slope at their little trio. Closing the distance, but still a fair bit off. The leader chose not to look at the twins. "What makes you so special 'wolf-boy'? You're not Dalish. You've not been broken by the circle. Anyone can see that. You don't appear to be a Vint spell caster slave."
Fen'Harel continued to stay quiet. Just hanging there, off a cliff. Two rows of teeth away from death. He just continued staring at the sky.
"Here's a tip, for free. From a professional liar." Ghilan'nain pointed to the endless abyss below him. "Staying quiet won't help. Even on your way down. The worst way to die is quiet and alone."
Fen'Harel shot his eyes at Ghilan'nain. A true, full glare on his face. The master of the halla actually stepped back from that- her beast did, anyway. She sucked in a breath, waiting for him to spit something at her. They all did.
The dread wolf- laughed.
"You have my congratulations, 'Ghilan'nain'. You have certainly put on quite a show. You would have made your namesake proud." Fen'Harel laughed again. It was genuine. Heartfelt- and full of malice. The dread wolf swung his body back and forth over the abyss. A mad grin that matched Ghilan'nain's own on his face. "But much like your namesake, the goddess of madness and monsters, you're all talk. If you were really going to kill me, you would have done so already. Soooo, what do you want? Truly want?"
The ex-Dalish snapped her fingers. The possessed Halla lifted Wolf-boy back to his feet on solid rock. His hand free. A blank faced Ghilan'nain strutted her halla up to him. Fen'Harel stared back, equally as stone faced. They looked at each other. Even to the onlookers it felt like an eternity. Eventually, one spoke.
"Have you ever heard of a Canis Servus?"
The leader's eyes burst open. Fear and pain gripped his heart. Memories of shamed glory and twisted terror echoed in his mind. The scars on his body and soul stung.
"Canis Servus?" Fen'Harel asked, a thoughtful look on his face. "It is old Tavine for 'slave hound'."
"A slave that hunts down runaway slaves." The Ex-Dalish announced.
"Why would you ask such a thing?" The dread wolf asked. The goddess of the halla said nothing, but her eyes darted to the rest of their group. Finally making it to them on their stone island in the sea of snow. A mask of anger and confused suspicion on Elgar'nan's face at the front.
"What have you two been talking about?"
