So I wrote this back in January and it's finished, I'll be updating at least once a week.

I know my grammar and tenses are rubbish, I apologize in advance.

Chapter 1

They... seem to glitter. There were new scents that seemed to be unlike anything she had smelled before. It was... confusing but intriguing. Whether they were a threat or not she was yet to determine. Tilting her head, she leans forward from the rock that she was watching from. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark and she was able to easily pick out the different silhouettes, a small creature, looked similar to the average darkspawn height. A tall one, slim, with pale hair and a large weapon. With a huff she takes out her dagger, there was one she recognized. Dark curls, thick facial hair, broad shoulders that match his height. Fear pinged deep in her chest and she bared her teeth. Ducking down on instinct as she hears a high-pitched noise, her eyes catch the creature that's making it. A similar body shape to the pale haired one but smaller. Short dark hair and a lighter footstep.

They seem to be communicating, standing in a circle as they look at the weapon that the loud one brought over. A good ten feet above them she laid, watching, wondering what it all meant. There had never been creatures like this in the tunnels before. Spiders, yes, darkspawn, less recently but always present. Not to mention the bugs and deepstalkers that roamed. She had certainly been hearing more commotion in the larger tunnels but in survival she had stayed away and hidden herself from it all. She could hear what they were saying but didn't understand a word of what was being said. There were fuzzy memories that just brought forth fear when she dwelled on them, so repressing them seemed the easiest option.

'Hawke, look! Look, it seems ta be some sort of sword?' Merrill smiles as she shows him what she had found.

Garrett takes it from her and looks over the quality. 'That it is,' he agreed as he returns her smile. 'But uh, Merrill, it's broken,' he points out. 'It's um, not going to be any use to us.'

'Oh... oh aye, I dinnae see the end was gone,' she muses making Varric laugh and Fenris roll his eyes. The Tevinter elf tilts his head and looked around, he had the feeling that they were being watched. He ignores the conversation going on between the companions as he lifts his eyes noticing a movement on the rocks above them.

Fenris interrupts them, 'we should keep moving. I do not wish to be in these roads longer than needed,' he pointed out.

Varric nods, 'yeah, good point, come on. The sooner we find a way around the blockade, the sooner my brother might pull his head out his ass for a breather,' he jokes making Merrill giggle. 'Ancestors, this place smells,' he said conversationally as they walk through the ancient tunnels, it broadens out to a large cavern and the dwarf sighs. 'Why do I know something is going to go wrong?'

When the party had moved, she waited a moment before following, sticking to the higher crevices and ledges, careful not to make a sound. Years of practice and a natural agility kept her hidden and silent, able to observe without them knowing. She didn't like where the creatures were travelling, they didn't seem to pick up on the signs on the danger that was ahead of them. Hanging from a beam that was semi-rotted she risked a closer look. One looked like her, the dark haired, noisy one. Reaching up she touched her own ears and felt the points as she examined the other's features. The same pointed ears. The pale haired one had them too. Were they the same? Maybe?

The tell-tale chittering of spiders makes her move, climbing back into the shadows as she spotted them moving against the ceiling, drawn to the light. Baring her teeth, she bounces on her heels as she crouches in her crevice. The strange ones need to move. Darken the light. The light! Why didn't they notice the spiders coming? Did they want to die? Torn between wanting to reveal herself and stop them from attracting more danger and keeping herself safe she tilts her body back and forth.

Entranced she watched as they fight Moving their bodies in ways, she didn't know possible. Light, more than she ever knew existed filled the cavern and she shielded her eyes from the source, the dark haired one. Shaking her head, she felt the vibrations through the rocks as a larger threat appeared, a queen spider, one of the largest she had seen. They were rare but she had learned how to protect herself and how to avoid them. Looking over the new travellers she could tell that they were tired, slowing as their bodies wore thin. The queen drops into the middle of the cavern and she can hear the tone of the complaints from the intruders. Her heart quickens, they wouldn't survive this. They couldn't.

The descent of the queen had knocked a lot of rubble from the ceiling loose, causing it to fall separating the party into two. The pale haired one was completely blocked from his friends, gaining the attention from the queen. Curling her lip back she dropped from the walls, making her way over as she watched him fight, swiping at the spider's legs as it advanced. For some reason his skin was glowing, like the mushrooms she foraged in the deeper tunnels. She jumped onto the back of the spider with a yell, using her dagger to give her purchase as she drives it into the thick exoskeleton that covered the queen.

'What the-? Venhedis!' Fenris said in surprise as he saw a pale woman leap onto the spider. She seemed to reach into a pouch and throw something into the queen's eyes, making it hiss and shriek in pain as she slid off its back and ran over to him. Confusion was heavy on his features as he looks at her, some sort of ochre and charcoal covered her face and the back of her hands, like she had almost painted eyes on her skin. Her hair was matted and had several dreadlocks that she had tied up. Her chest was covered with what seemed to be a thick leather covered in short, coarse hairs. A belt, worn and stained with repaired pouches wrapped around her hips and she had a pair of thigh length leggings on, torn and frayed. He wasn't sure if she was some sort of mutated darkspawn or a literal unknown cave creature.

His markings were still lit and her eyes darted over his skin before looking back at the queen that was still reeling from her attack. She pushed him to the ground hard and grabbed handfuls of dirt, rubbing it across his arms and face, making him swear heavily as he tries to push her away. Slapping his hands from her she seemed to be determined to cover him in thick grime. Looking at where she was grabbing him, he realized. 'The light?' He asked. She didn't seem to understand him but when he was able to steady himself for a moment and his markings dim, she calms down. 'Hawke! The light! Diminish it!' He shouted across the rocks. She jumps at his volume and he felt her hand slap across his mouth as they regained the spider's attention. Thankfully Hawke had heard his warning and the lights flickered out, leaving only the natural glow from the lava pools that were around. The queen begins to climb down the boulders towards them and the woman moves forward slowly, approaching the spider.

She crouches and spreads her hands either side of her head, showing the designs she had painted on her skin on the back of her hands and arms. For some reason she begins to sway and Fenris realises that the hissing noise was coming from her. It sounded almost exactly like a spider and he stilled from where he lay in the dirt. The Queen, almost like it was in a trance it followed her movements, turning its head from side to side. It hissed back, baring its fangs as it raises its forelegs. She begins to stand and her swaying doesn't stop but she begins to mimic the chitter and clicking that the smaller ones made.

He can only watch as she gets close moving one hand down to the dagger that was sheathed roughly in her belt. The queen allows her to step into its personal boundaries, its fangs glistening with poison. With a deceptively quick motion she brings up her arm and thrusts her weapon into its mouth and killing it instantly. It screeches and its legs flail around as she twists the blade, making it curl up as it dies. She yanks her arm from its mandibles and exhales heavily. Fenris looks up as Garrett, Merrill and Varric come over the rocks having finally made their way through. The strange woman looks at them before climbing onto the back of the spider up to the thorax where she begins to skin it.

'Fenris! Are you...? …Okay?' Garrett asked as he notices the woman who seemed intent on taking the spider apart. 'You're covered in dirt and this is-?' He added as he helps the elf to his feet.

'She killed the spider,' he replied bluntly trying to brush the grime from his skin. 'And covered me in this filth trying to dim the light of my markings.'

Merrill looks over to where she sees the woman crouching behind the spider's corpse, the skin she had removed, rolled up and tied to her back. 'She's an elf!' Merrill said brightly as she notices her ears. 'Adaran atish'an,' she said in Dalish greeting making the woman's head tilt. 'Hi! I'm Merrill, this be Hawke, an' Varric an' the elf over there is Fenris,' she explained pointing to them.

Hawke stepped forward making her take a step back, her eyes darted between Merrill and Hawke and she lunges forward grabbing Merrill by the arm and pulling her to the side, almost protectively. 'Woah, hey, leave her alone!' Garrett snapped, worried for Merrill. The woman hisses and bares her teeth pulling out her weapon. She was slightly crouched as if ready to flee and her dagger was held with a straight arm, the look in her eyes made it clear that she wouldn't hesitate.

'It's okay, it's okay,' Varric said in a calm soothing voice, moving himself between the warrior and the stranger. 'We're all friends here.'

Merrill looks at the woman who's grip on her forearm was tight but the whitening of her knuckles gave her away. 'She's scared,' Merrill said quietly. 'Hawke, meybbe step back a bit,' she suggested. Hawke scowls but does as Merrill asks and with each step back, she felt her fingers loosen. 'She dinnae like humans? Men?'

Fenris takes a step forward and manages to get a lot closer before the weapon and hissing is raised once more. Varric realises what he's doing and gets about as far as Hawke did originally before the volume increased and she snarled at them, pushing Merrill back. 'It is men she does not like, though she seems to be more trusting of elven men than humans or dwarves,' Fenris said as they begin to back up. While he didn't care that Merrill had been taken hostage, he didn't like complications.

Merrill touches her shoulder making her turn around to face her, she was toned but didn't carry a lot of weight. Numerous scars crossed her skin, and Merrill wondered what she was doing down here. 'Ma melava halan, garas quenathra?' She asked.

'Uh, Merrill, for those of us who don't speak Dalish?' Garrett asked as he leans against a wall.

'I ah, I asked her what she be doin' down here. An', said that she helped me,' she explained. The woman's eyes dart over to the men but when she's sure they're not going to move she looks at Merrill as she repeats her earlier words of Dalish.

The woman tilts her head, her words were familiar and a smile breaks across her face as she grins. A noise of happiness comes through her teeth as she grabs Merrill's hand making her smile. 'Emm'asha!' She giggled.

'Emm'asha?' Merrills repeated as she wonders why the woman called her a little girl.

'A-... Abelas... Ar... asha?' She asked as she places her hand on her own chest. Merrill nods and laughs a bit.

'Aye, you be a woman,' she confirmed.

She grins once more and touches Merrill's chest, 'asha?' She asked. Merrill nods again. With a moment of deep thought, she nods as well. 'Ar... len … isala mamae... mana melava. Ar numin.'

'I... child... in need of mother, long distant past... I cry,' Merrill translated making everyone wonder what this strange woman was going on about. The woman jolts as she feels something through her feet and pulls at Merrill's arm telling her to follow with her hand. Merrill looks back at Hawke and shrugs a shoulder as she allows herself to be dragged along. The others have no choice but to follow where this woman lead.

It was a good half an hour of traipsing through trails and around hidden passageways before she climbed up an impossibly high ledge. She helped Merrill up, who in turn helped up Varric. Garrett and Fenris soon managed to climb up with a helping hand. The woman kept her distance from the men and at every chance pulled Merrill closer, she took them down a tunnel to a large boulder that once she shoved aside enough there was a gap that they could slip through. On the other side of the rock was a large enclosed cave with what seemed to be a natural spring that trickled down one of the walls into a small pool. Other than that bit of normality the rest was not the cleanest or nicest smelling sight. Garrett looked around and noticed the spider fangs, deepstalker teeth and other various animal parts that were in a large bag made of spider skin.

Garrett shares a look with Varric who seemed to be inspecting a bed. 'Seems, … lovely,' he said in an effort to be polite. Her bed seemed to be on a ledge, covered in tattered cloaks and more skins. A collection of weapons and other pieces of armour were stashed in a corner and there were several large chipped pots with coloured paste inside. Fenris raised his brows as he was the last to enter and wears a strained expression.

'This is...-' He starts to say.

'Yeah, pretty much,' Varric nodded as he tactfully covers his mouth and nose with his face.

Merrill took it in her stride and was amused by the way the woman kept picking things up to show her. Her enthusiasm incredibly infectious. She was shown a shield and the woman smiled brightly, 'bang!' She mimicked as she slapped her hand against it. Making a couple of fake jabs she shoved it into Merrill's hands. 'Bang! Bang!' She laughed.

'Aye, ya can hit things wit it,' Merrill smiled as she sits, making the woman crouch next to her as she examined her foot wrappings. 'I think I ken what be goin' on,' Merrill said looking at the other three who were standing near the ''door'', desperate for any breeze that came through. She squeaked as the woman started to undo her foot wrapping but Merrill left her to it.

'What do you mean?' Garrett asked, his eyes watering. It smelled like spider and deepstalker, potently.

'She has been 'ere a long time,' Merrill said as she remembers the words that the woman had spoken. 'Since she be a child. A child, in need of a mother, fer a long time, she cries. The way she speaks be like a child an' I dinnae think she came here on her own. The way she dinnae let Hawke near makes me think that meybbe she was taken, from her clan. Brought here. An' she been here ever since. She recognises the Dalish I speak.'

'That is unlikely, to have survived down here for years, she would have ended up tainted by the darkspawn,' Fenris pointed out. 'She needs to eat and there is nothing down here that you can survive on.'

Merrill looks at the woman who was happily trying to place the foot wrap on her own ankle. She taps her on the shoulder and gains her attention. Merrill asks her if she has any food and the woman nods as she walks over to the pool, Garrett gets a little too close and she snarls at him, a deep growl until he backs up. She places her hand in the water and pulls out what seemed to be a little crab, holding it carefully she brings it over to Merrill. 'Ya eat the crab?' She asked pulling a face at its tiny pincers.

The woman smiles and motions her over to a small area free of skins and furs. She starts a little fire in an indent in the rock and places another large flat stone on top. Waiting for it to warm. 'What else does she eat?' Varric asked trying to look around Hawke's elbow but not get too close. Merrill asks and she's shown a bowl filled with different mushrooms and even some sort of meat that looks dried and smelled suspiciously of spider.

'That explains that,' Fenris said looking in the pool where there seemed to be tunnels at the bottom, presumably how the crabs got in and out. 'Well, what is out next step? If we dawdle here any longer, we will be assumed dead.'

'We cannae leave her!' Merrill shakes her head. 'She has to come wit us.'

'Merrill she can barely function. She doesn't even let me near her. How is she going to react if we try to take her to camp?' Garrett replied making her eyes well up, his had a very soft spot in his heart for Merrill and he hated to upset her.

'I'll look after her!' Merrill replied, holding the woman back from where she was trying to interfere with Garrett and his raised voice. 'I promise. But I cannae leave her here. I jus'... can't.'

Garrett runs his hand through his hair and looks at the other two. Fenris shrugs, as long as she didn't try to hurt him, he didn't care and Varric looked torn. 'Alright, alright, fine. If you can convince her to come and if she behaves then she's welcome to join us. Who knows, maybe her knowledge of this place could work in our favour.'

Merrill smiles and claps her hands as she looks at the woman. 'Falon, eth,' she said slowly knowing that the woman's Dalish wasn't great. She takes her hand and motions for her to put the crab down. 'Falon, garas, ar halani, garas,' Merril said softly feeling her unease. The others leave and the woman looks around her home and points to it all.

'Ven?' She asked.

Merrill nods and pulls her hand a little. 'Ar halani ma shiral vhenas,' she said reassuringly. 'I'll help you journey home.'

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