"What took you two so long, anyway?" Daveth asked as he, Jory, Grayson, Alistair and I crossed the threshold into the Korcari Wilds. "It doesn't take that long to pick up some mail and a helmet. Nice helmet, might I add." He grinned and winked at me and I narrowed my eyes in response.

"Shut up." I clipped, airily. "Jealousy is an ugly trait."

"Not as ugly as that helmet."

I waved my sword at him in jest, but kept my expression serious.

"Would you like to be introduced to your entrails now or later?" I asked, politely. He held up his hands in mock surrender.

"So, come on, what took you so long?" He repeated. Alistair, who we had both assumed was out-of-earshot as he scouted a little ahead of us, answered for me.

"Well, apparently, not even the threat of the Blight is enough to deter Lauren from aiding injured animals. She stopped to help muzzle a wounded Mabari hound so that the people tending him could inspect his injuries. Poor blighter will probably be dead by morning, at any rate." He kept his eyes on our surroundings as he spoke, his keen eyes sweeping the area for any sign of Darkspawn activity. Daveth shook his head and muttered something about "women" and I shrugged.

"Maybe not. The man who was taking care of him said he might be able to heal him if I bring back a Wilds flower: which I will. And then he will be mine and I shall name him Larry, and I will train him to bite the ankles of all those who question my logic in future. So you might want to invest in some sturdier greaves, Alistair." I suggested, thrusting my chin in the air and trying my best to look aloof, a task which was not made easy by the anti-aloofness device propped on my head, and which was made even harder when said device, i.e. the Stupid Helmet, slid down over my eyes for the twentieth time since I'd agreed to wear it.

"Either way, that's a good thing that you did." Grayson said, thoughtfully. I smiled, gratefully, at him. "Not everyone could get close enough to a Mabari to muzzle it without losing at least a few fingers, even when it's not hurt and scared. He must have seen something special in you." His voice took on an affectionate tone when he spoke of Mabaris like that, and I wondered if he was already regretting leaving Kahn behind with Duncan.

"It's my animal-magnetism." I replied, grinning. "It only applies to dogs, horses and unemployed musicians in their twenties."

"I sense there's a story there." Alistair smirked as he doubled-back to re-join our group. I shrugged.

"Yes, a terribly interesting story which I might tell you some day. It really is fascinating. You'll laugh, you'll cry, it'll change your life."

"Really?"

"No."

"Wolves!" Jory exclaimed, and I glanced over at him, wondering if that was some Fereldan curse word, like "Crumbs!", but the unmistakable sound of a howl put an end to that theory. Without having to think about it, my swords were in my hands and I had slipped into a defensive stance – it was going to take some time for my brain to get used to my body's new battle-reflexes – and all of a sudden, the pack descended upon us from the densely-packed trees on our right. We slashed and dodged for what I estimated could have been no longer than two minutes before the last wolf was slain with a swift thrust of Grayson's long-sword. I felt my muscles relax and glanced at Alistair, who was sheathing his sword. If Alistair thought the danger had passed for now, that was good enough for me. His Grey Warden senses were my Fereldan equivalent of the canary down the mine, at least until the Joining where I would either be bestowed with my own set of Grey Warden senses, or I would no longer be in a position where I would need them, what with being dead and all.

I sheathed my own swords and shook my head, annoyed with myself. I should have seen that coming. What was the point of having all of the knowledge I did about this world, about these exact events, if I couldn't keep on top of things? I couldn't keep being taken by surprise, I had to think ahead. What was next? My mind was blank.

"Keep your wits about you: all of you. There are worse things than wolves lurking in these trees. Believe me." Alistair warned, darkly. Yeah, I thought, like Morrigan. I knew she would show herself at the Grey Warden ruins, and I was anxious to get there as quickly as possible. I had a bone to pick with her for abandoning me earlier. If she hadn't, then maybe I wouldn't have had to face that last Hurlock alone, and then I wouldn't have been infected with the taint, and if I hadn't been infected with the taint, I wouldn't have had to accept Duncan's offer of recruitment. It only took this thought for me to conclude that this whole thing was entirely her fault. I remembered her admission from the game that she had watched the Grey Wardens for "some time" when they were travelling through the Wilds…I shuddered as I scanned the trees, wondering what guise she would take, wondering if she was watching even now as a wolf or bird or some other woodland animal. Creepy.

We reached the mouth of the lake and worked our way around it. We walked for several minutes before the first group of Darkspawn appeared. There were only a handful, and we made reasonably quick work of them. Alistair despatched two Genlocks, Jory and Daveth took down another in a combined effort between them, and Grayson and I each slayed a Hurlock almost simultaneously, their large, grotesque bodies hitting the ground within seconds of one another. Alistair watched as the other recruits and I produced the vials that Duncan had given us and collected our Darkspawn blood as instructed. I held the vial full of black ichor in front of my face, wrinkling my nose in disgust at the foul-smelling, viscous liquid that I knew I would soon have to ingest. Gross.

"Good work, men. And lady." He added as an afterthought. "But we still have to get those treaties, and it will be dark soon. Let's get a move on, shall we?"

We moved swifter this time, my fellow recruits striding along with more confidence after their first successful encounter with Darkspawn. After almost thirty minutes, and two more brief encounters with the 'Spawn, the crumbling ruins of the Grey Warden tower were in sight. Alistair turned to say something to us, but we never found out what it was, as his words were cut short by the sound of a monstrous bellow from uphill.

"With me!" Alistair cried, readying his weapon and charging in the direction of the largest Darkspawn group we had seen so far. We were at an immediate disadvantage, approaching our enemies from downhill, and I had to dodge a few well-aimed arrows from a group of Genlock archers.

We surged forward as one, but our ranks were soon broken in the chaos of the fight. I slashed and parried and Darkspawn fell around me, but I was so preoccupied with my own battles that I had no time to even glance at the other members of my party and had no idea how they were faring. I could only hope that everyone was okay. When the last of the Hurlocks facing me fell to the ground with a blood-curdling shriek, I rose from my combat stance and scanned the area for my companions, the Stupid Helmet obscuring my peripheral vision just as I had predicted it would.

Alistair was closer to me than I had realised, only a few yards from my side, taking down the last of the Genlock archers in short order, and Jory and Grayson were locked in battle with what I assumed was the Hurlock Alpha – larger and more powerful-looking than the rest of the 'Spawn, it took both of their efforts to best him, but they appeared to be gaining the upper hand. None of them looked to be seriously injured and I breathed a small sigh of relief, my breath catching in my throat when I realised I had only accounted for four of us: I was missing someone.

Just as Grayson landed the killing blow, I heard a cry from behind me and whipped around in time to see Daveth fall to the ground, overwhelmed by the large Hurlock bearing down upon him. He was too far away for me to reach him in time and, without thinking too much about it, I ripped the Stupid Helmet off and hurled it through the air. It clipped the Hurlock on the back of the head and threw it off-balance, giving Daveth a chance to scramble to his feet and plunge his daggers into the beast's chest. I turned to Alistair.

"Hey, look at that. You were right! The Stupid Helmet did come in handy, after all." I beamed at him, shaking my hair out. "Ah, that feels so much better." I exclaimed, tossing back my head and massaging my scalp like one of those overly enthusiastic actresses you see in shampoo commercials.

Daveth jogged over to us and thrust the Stupid Helmet into my hands. My heart sank. I had just saved his life; he couldn't have just done the decent thing and left it where it was?

"Thanks." He grinned. I glared at him, yanked the offending article back onto my head and crossed my arms, huffily.

"You're welcome." I snarled through gritted teeth.

"Come on", Alistair chuckled, "let's get those treaties and get back to Duncan."

Once inside the ruins, I hung back and let the men examine the chest, already knowing that they would find…

"Nothing." Alistair shook his head, kicking the ancient stone chest in frustration. "There's nothing here. They must have been moved or…"

I watched her slow descent down the stone ramp before any of the men became aware of her presence, and I allowed a low growl of frustration rumble deep in my throat. Grayson threw me a questioning look, but before either of us could say a word, Morrigan spoke, and four heads snapped round to look at her.

"Well, well, what have we here?" She drawled, in that sinisterly seductive tone of hers. I hung back from the group and remained silent, letting her have her fun…for now. She hadn't noticed me yet or, more likely, hadn't recognised me with the Stupid Helmet obscuring most of my face. "Are you a vulture, I wonder? A scavenger, poking amidst a corpse whose bones were long since cleaned? Or merely an intruder, come into these Darkspawn-filled Wilds of mine in search of easy prey? What say you, hmm? Scavenger or intruder?"

"Neither. The Grey Wardens once owned this tower." Grayson replied, remarkably calmly given Morrigan's wild appearance.

"Tis a tower no longer. The Wilds have obviously claimed this desiccated corpse. I have watched your progress for some time." She spoke directly to Grayson now, his decision to speak up clearly singling him out to her as the leader, and she strode casually past the group, looking totally confident, relaxed and at ease with the situation. It was completely surreal, watching the scene play out exactly as I had countless times before. ""Where do they go?" I wonder, "Why are they here?" And now, you disturb ashes none have touched for so long. Why is that?"

I had had enough. I had had enough of her condescending tone, I had had enough of watching her toy with the men, and I had had enough of playing a silent partner. I stepped forward, removing my helmet as I went, and Morrigan turned her eyes to me, her pale face blanching even more as recognition dawned on her sharp features.

"You?" She looked taken-aback for a moment before gathering herself, and the mask of cold indifference slid back into place. "So…you survived your first encounter with the Darkspawn. Impressive for one who had "never even held a sword" before this afternoon." She remarked, slyly. Alistair frowned at me in confusion and I glared up at her.

"What does she mean, "never even held a sword" before? Lauren, how do you know this woman?" Alistair muttered quietly into my ear, keeping his eyes trained on Morrigan. "She looks Chasind. And that means others may be nearby."

"Ooh, you fear barbarians will swoop down upon you?" She mocked, gesturing emphatically.

"Yes. Swooping is bad." Alistair ground out through gritted teeth, as I had heard him do a thousand times before. "Lauren?" He whispered, pressing me for an answer. I waved a hand, dismissing his questions for now, my attention focused on Morrigan.

"You…you abandoned me in the Wilds, surrounded by Darkspawn, and all you can say to me is that you're impressed?" I hissed, ignoring Alistair's hand on my arm, restraining me. Morrigan shrugged, with an air of complete nonchalance.

"It was intended as a compliment." She said, simply.

"A compliment? How about you try an apology, you treacherous, arrogant, self-centred, little-"

"Lauren." Alistair interrupted, with a warning tone in his voice, bringing me back to my senses. This was Morrigan, after all. Despite my feelings towards her, I was well aware that she could quite easily kill me with a wave of her hand. It was a humbling thought, and I bit my tongue, turning away from her with a frustrated grunt and moving to the back of the group, my fists clenching and unclenching in anger as I tried to cool off. I closed my eyes, breathing deeply, and blocking out the sounds of the conversation now taking place between Morrigan and Grayson, as it was one I had heard before. I tried to force away the bubble of anger rising up inside of me, but it was proving to be more difficult to fight than I would have expected. I'm not generally a quick-tempered person: I've always been pretty laid-back and easy-going and, granted this was an exceptional situation, the fury building inside of me scared me a little.

And then, just as suddenly as it had come over me, the anger dissipated, leaving me weak and shaky in its absence. I swayed unsteadily as a wave of nausea hit me and a cold sweat broke out on my brow. My knees buckled and I bent double, gasping. Alistair's hand was on my arm in an instant, and I raised my eyes to his concerned face.

"Lauren? Are you okay?" He asked, softly. The rest of the men were looking down at me with worried expressions, all except Daveth who kept his eyes trained suspiciously on Morrigan, who was watching me with detached interest. I waved off their concern, although I was still struggling to breathe normally.

"I'm fine, I just….I don't know, I just feel weird…" I croaked.

"It's the taint." Alistair said, grimly. I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

"Oh, yeah…I forgot about that." I admitted, standing upright and shaking my head, trying to clear the spots that were swarming my vision. They all stared at me. "What? It's been a weird day." I said, defensively. Morrigan snaked her way through the group to approach me, her movements reminding me of a large cat stalking a mouse. She studied me for a moment and her eyes glinted, sinisterly.

"Ah, yes. I thought there was something different about you, Lauren Duval. Yes, I see it now…you have but a few hours left to you before you turn." Her arrogant smile faltered under my gaze and she sighed, reluctantly. "I am sorry to hear of your situation. My reasons for leaving you were my own. Perhaps I will share them with you someday…perhaps not. But what is done is done, and the blame for your condition does not lie with me." Her tone hardened, and I felt too weak in that moment to challenge her on that. "For now…what is it that you seek?" She asked, curiously. "Shall I guess your purpose? You sought something in that chest…something that is here no longer?"

"Here no longer? You stole them, didn't you? You're some kind of…sneaky…witch-thief!" Alistair accused, and Morrigan and I rolled our eyes in unison, before regarding each other with similar contempt at the prospect that we might actually agree on something.

"How very eloquent." She drawled. "How does one steal from dead men?"

"Quite easily, it seems." Alistair snarled. Before he could continue, I cut him off. The spots in my vision were growing larger and the dizziness was getting worse by the second, I couldn't waste any more precious time.

"I'm guessing your mother has the scrolls we are looking for?" I gasped, breathlessly. Morrigan blinked at me, looking somewhere between surprised and impressed that I had guessed accurately, but only for a moment before her expression grew suspicious. Of course I knew that Flemeth had the treaties, and of course Morrigan suspected that I knew, but neither of us said anything in the presence of the others. "Can you lead us to her?"

She looked like she wanted to argue, but I must have looked as bad as I felt because she sighed in resignation.

"Very well. Follow me, if it pleases you."

Alistair threw my arm around his neck and snaked an armoured arm around my waist, supporting my weight as I shuffled forward. The nausea had passed, for now, but a painful sensation not unlike pins and needles was spreading through my limbs and my legs felt like lead. Ser Jory approached me from the other side, and I dropped the Stupid Helmet on the ground to allow him to assist Alistair in supporting me. Alistair was so concerned with keeping me on my feet that he seemed not to notice as it rolled away down the sloping embankment.

I smiled as I watched it disappear into a thicket of brambles. Suddenly, I felt a little better.

AN: Rest in peace, Stupid Helmet. I'll always remember you as a cumbersome device used to provide slight comic relief and lighten up an otherwise boring filler chapter. I know I skipped a lot of details here, and rushed through the Wilds a little, but I figure if I'm bored to tears playing this part of the game after my hundredth play-through, a lot of you will be too. But it had to be done, and I tried to make it as painless as possible. I've started working on the next chapter already so it should be with you soon! Thanks for reading and reviewing, it keeps me motivated!

Thanks to writingNOOB, Midnight Alley, GoTeamLexana and Smugget for your reviews!

And to ElyssaCousland, I just started reading There and Back Again tonight and it's awesome, you have a new subscriber! I wasn't sure if I should read it or not while I'm working on this story in case I accidentally steal some of your intellectual property for my own fic, but fortunately it looks as though our stories are heading in pretty different directions, so that shouldn't be a problem! I'll keep reading tomorrow and review accordingly, but just so you know, so far so awesome!