Chapter 12

Without hesitation, she raced towards the ramp leading to the highway, a ball of fire already growing in her hand. She released it as she reached the top, hitting the first darkspawn that came into sight. Maker, these things were ugly as sin and smelt like rancid meat. The rest of the group soon joined her, and the darkspawn went down quickly. As the last creature fell, a feeling of exhaustion swept over Emma. Her skin was cold and clammy and a trembling had seized her limbs. She hung on to her staff, afraid that she would fall if she took a step. Even so, her hand started to slide down as her tired body pulled her towards the ground.

"I've got you." Aedan was there, his arm around her waist as he held her upright. "When was the last time you took a lyrium potion?" She let out a groan, how could she have forgotten something as important as lyrium potions? "I'm guessing that sound means it's been a while." He held out a small blue vial, flicking off the cork with a thumb. "Drink this, you'll feel right as rain in no time at all."

She took the bottle, staring at it warily as she lifted it to her lips. Changing her mind she took a tentative sniff first. A rather sharp, but not unpleasant, aroma tickled her nose. "You're acting like this is the first time you've taken lyrium," Aedan said, clearly bewildered by her actions.
Emma forced a smile to her face. "Don't be silly, I was just checking it hadn't gone off."
His brows pulled down in obvious confusion. "Gone off where?"
Emma blinked as she fought back the urge to giggle. Maker knows this wasn't the time. She cleared her throat and tried to explain. "I meant I was checking to see if it had spoiled. You know, like when meat goes rotten or milk sours."
"Ah, I see what you mean. Some of your expressions are a little hard to understand." He glanced at the bright blue liquid. "Can it spoil?"
Morrigan's voice rang out clearly. "No, it cannot! Do stop procrastinating and drink. Your colour is making me feel positively ill."

Left with no room to manoeuvre, Emma put the vial to her lips and swallowed it quickly. She tensed in anticipation of... something. She wasn't sure what to expect, pain perhaps, a vile taste in her mouth? What she hadn't expected was a burst of energy and power to flare throughout her body, from the tips of her her toes to the tips of her fingers. Bloody hell, it was like drinking ten cans of an energy drink, though in this case, she wouldn't have been at all surprised to have sprouted wings.

"A much more preferable colour." Morrigan commented as she walked away. Aedan smiled. "For once I have to agree with her. You're looking much better." His eyes lingered on Emma's mouth for a moment before meeting her eyes. She was stunned to see a smouldering heat simmering in the deep blue depths of his gaze. "Maker, I want to kiss you so badly right now." His hand came up to push back a loose strand of hair that had escaped the pony tail and she swallowed, nervous and aroused in equal measure.
"Mighty timely arrival there my friend. I'm much obliged." The sound of Bodahn's gruff voice halted any further conversation. Emma smiled at Aedan's annoyed look as she tried to placate him. "I'm sure we'll get some alone time soon."
He tucked the strand of hair behind her ear, grumbling as he walked off. "I bloody hope so, these trousers won't be able to stand the strain for much longer."

Emma chuckled as she watched Aedan walk over to the merchant dwarf, but the sound died in her throat as she followed the line of his muscled back, the sexy movement of his hips with each confident stride, the firm roundness of his backside leading to those long, hard thighs. Her fingers twitched with the need to touch him, and her mouth watered at the thought of tasting him.
"Would you like a tissue? I believe you have some drool on your chin." Emma turned towards the voice and saw Leliana's eyes twinkling with barely suppressed amusement. Instinctively, Emma reached up and wiped at her chin as her cheeks blushed a deep red. The rogue giggled. "I'm joking, you just had such a naughty look in your eyes that I couldn't resist."
Emma shook her head as she smiled, then deftly changed the subject. "Did we find any interesting loot?" Leliana held up a small wooden box. "Indeed we did. It seems this is to be delivered to an address in Denerim." She smiled as she dropped the item into her pack. Ah, the box for Red Jenny, always good coin from that quest.

Aedan and Alistair had rejoined the group. "Well, it seems they're going to travel alone. Bit of a shame, having a merchant on standby could have been useful." He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "I think it's time to find a place to make camp, we could all do with some rest." He stopped by Emma and leaned in. "And some time alone."
Her stomach did a nervous swirl and her loins tightened. Oh, Maker!

The two merchant dwarves showed up shortly after the Grey Wardens had found a decent spot to camp. As everyone prepared to settle down for the night, Emma looked around at the familiar location, the lake off to the side, the camp fire burning brightly, and of course, Bodahn and Sandal. Aedan had already spoken to them and gotten a few weapons enchanted, and was now walking around talking to the companions.

This was all a bit strange for her though, because normally this scene started with her Warden waking up from a nightmare. She felt a bit lost and was unsure of where to go as she watched everyone find their places in the camp. Hell, she didn't even have a tent. Deciding that this was the first thing she should deal with, she made her way over to the dwarves.

Their friendly and familiar faces made her feel a little less out of place as she smiled warmly at Bodahn's greeting. Again, this was a whole new experience for her as no inventory screen popped up. Instead, she was taken to the cart and shown the various goods available. Her eyes alighted on a folded piece of thick material. "Is that a tent?"
"Yes, and a nice quality tent it is, too. Keeps out those pesky bugs and the chilling winds."
After adding in some soap, wash cloth and a towel, she was faced with a new problem. How the hell did people clean their teeth? She decided the best option would be to ask Bodahn.

"Ah, now then, we have some very nice potions for that." Emma perked up, maybe it was like a mouthwash. Bodahn reached into a crate and pulled out a fairly large bottle, filled with a pale green liquid. "This is a mix of vinegar and mint. It's great for rinsing out your mouth after you give your teeth a rub with a wet cloth." He reached into the crate once more and came out with a small leather pouch. "And this here contains a mix of mint leaves and cinnamon. Gives you nice fresh breath every day."
She grimaced, but realised it was better than nothing, although she'd have given her left arm for a toothbrush and some toothpaste. Well, maybe not her whole arm, perhaps a finger or two.

After negotiating a decent price for her new purchases, she looked around for a space to set up her tent, weighing the pros and cons of each patch of grass. In the end, she decided to go for an area that was a little bit away from the centre of the camp. The hope that she would have mind blowing sex with Aedan had nothing to do with her decision... really, it didn't.

She picked up one of the sturdy wooden poles and found that one end was a little more pointed than the other. Okay, this seemed easy enough. She stabbed it into the ground, jumping back a little to avoid piercing her own foot. She repeated the same action with the second pole. Feeling pleased with her efforts so far, she confidently picked up the heavy canvas. Emma had a bit of a struggle trying to hold up the large and heavy material, however, she finally managed to locate the little notch where the pole would fit and carefully stretched it over the top of the wood. So far so good. Carefully, she found the second notch and went to hook it over the second pole, only to find that she'd set them too far apart. Damn it! She clambered out of the half-finished tent and laid the material gently down so as not to disturb the first pole. Grabbing the second pole, she made her way back under the canvas and attempted to push it into the hard ground.

After about half an hour, she was hot, tired, and pissed off. The canvas lay heavily on her shoulders making it difficult to lift the pointed stick high enough to get the force needed to push the pole into the ground. Her swearing was becoming ever more creative with each failed attempt. "Come on you nug humping, vashedan piece of shit!"

Suddenly, it was as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Looking up at the canvas, she realised that was the literal truth. Turning, she saw Aedan struggling not to laugh. His long arms reached up, holding the material off her head and shoulders. She threw him a grateful smile and with all her pent up anger, slammed the pole down and lodged it securely within the earth.

He lowered the canvas over the pole, fitting it easily into the notch. She blew out a long frustrated breath. "Thank you, I was getting to the point where I was just going to look for a low hanging branch." His chuckle was deep and sexy, making goosebumps rise over her flesh. She was so distracted that she didn't notice him move closer, until his arm came around her waist, pulling her against his warm, hard body.

She lifted her gaze, feeling breathless and even more heated than before. Say something sexy, Emma. She opened her mouth. "Hi."