Linn stared at the water with irritation. She had fought demons and werewolves and the undead, but making her go into this stagnant water… This was too much. These damn werewolves were not making this easy for her. Linn turned to check on the others when she almost ran into Zevran.
"Oh, sorry," Linn mumbled and moved to walk around him when he held out a set of armor to her. "What's this?"
"Ancient Elven Armor. I found it… nevermind where. Look, it is still in good shape," Zevran said quickly as he handed it to her. "I am sorry."
Linn raised an eyebrow and asked, "About?"
With a sigh, Zevran continued, "About how our conversation ended. I… I did not mean to upset you. I just… I…"
"I know," Linn gently interrupted his embarrassed rambling. "I know. Thank you. It's… actually quite beautiful. Why don't you keep it? I'm not even sure if it would fit me."
"It will fit," Zevran replied with a cheeky smile. "Trust me, I have a talent for these kinds of things, and… I'd rather you have some protection before we go any deeper."
Zevran's smirk faltered for a moment as his attention briefly turned to the entrance to the Werewolves' Lair. Linn put a hand gently on his arm to reassure him.
"Hopefully, we can talk some sense into these wolves… But I'll wear the armor. Just in case. And if you don't mind…"
Linn gave him a pointed look, and Zevran started walking to the door while offering, "I can always assist if needed. Just call for me."
"Hilarious," Linn muttered while quickly getting changed. "Okay, I'm ready now. How do I look as a knight in shining armor?"
Zevran walked back into the room with a smirk that quickly vanished as he looked at her.
"Oh, come on. It can't be that bad," Linn said defensively as she crossed her arms.
"A goddess," Zevran murmured as he looked at her.
"You've said that before," Linn retorted with a laugh. "Clearly, you need more material."
Zevran seemed to be deep in thought as Alistair walked into the room. Upon seeing her, Alistair suddenly stopped.
"Does it really look that bad?" Linn asked, worried that she may have put it on wrong.
"You look like a knight from one of the Orlesian tales!" Leliana gushed as she entered the room, and Linn smiled in relief.
Giving Leliana a bow, Linn replied with a playful grin, "My lady."
Leliana giggled with a slight blush spreading across her face, and soon Shale, Sten, Wynne, and Morrigan wandered into the room.
"Ah, good," Shale said, and Linn waited for what was sure to be a backhanded compliment of some kind. "It has found something sturdier than those awful robes. Perhaps it will have a better chance of survival now."
"I certainly hope so," Linn replied in a tired voice. "Is everyone ready for more werewolves?"
"If I were to say 'no', would we go back to camp?" Morrigan asked with a smirk.
"Nice try, but no. We would simply wait until you are ready," Leliana replied, and Morrigan scowled at her.
Wynne quickly spoke up to diffuse the tension, "I am ready when you are."
"Okay then," Linn muttered anxiously before plunging into the water.
The sound of splashing made her flinch, but she didn't feel wet. The illusion gave way to a set of stairs, and Linn hesitantly followed them into a tunnel. Linn created a small ball of fire to light the way as she followed the twisting paths. A light at the end of the tunnel made her pause. She extinguished her fire and crept toward the opening.
Bodies littered the floor, but she couldn't see any werewolves. Linn kept low as she crept toward the door. Slowly, she opened the door just enough to peek inside. Werewolves patrolled the room. Strange shadow magic gave Linn pause, and she ever so gently and quietly shut the door. Turning to the others, she motioned for them to follow her to the back of the room. Quickly and quietly, she whispered the plan to them.
"That would put you in danger," Alistair argued in a low tone. "Can't we just–"
"You guys going to the door would make too much noise with your heavy armor," Linn explained in a whisper. "They're wolves. Odds are they have better hearing than we do. If I can hear you, so can they. Just wait to ambush them."
"What about me?" Zevran whispered, and Alistair gave him an irritated glare. "I can be quiet."
"Which is why I need you as part of the ambush… Just trust me, okay?"
There was some slight mumbling of disagreement, but no one could think of a better plan. Linn crept to the door as the others hid in the passageway or behind the columns. Stopping in front of the door, Linn gathered her magic. She took a step back as she unleashed an inferno into the room full of werewolves. Howls of pain told her that it had worked, and Linn quickly sprinted for the back of the room. Chills went up her spine at the gust of air from the door bursting open behind her.
Growling came from behind her as she felt one of the wolves grab her arm. It threw her to the ground and raised its arm, and Linn quickly threw up a barrier. As the werewolf tore at her defenses, a boulder flew into the creature. The crack of bones made Linn flinch, and the werewolf fell backwards and stopped moving. Linn yelled a thanks to Shale before drawing her blade.
Howls of pain rang out in the small room. Most of the werewolves were heavily burned by the blaze, but they channeled that pain into rage as they lunged at the group. Sten, Shale, and Alistair took the lead, trying to draw most of the werewolves to them, as Wynne stayed with Leliana at the back to heal the warriors. Morrigan used her magic to freeze the werewolves in place as Leliana fired arrows. Zevran used the shadows to make quick attacks before leaping back and maneuvering around the lumbering werewolves.
Linn focused on her magic before concentrating it into her blade as a werewolf ran at her. The blade went through the air and into the werewolf's face. It growled menacingly as it jumped back. Blood streamed down its muzzle as its dark eyes watched her. Suddenly, the werewolf lunged at her, knocking her back, but she kept on her feet as it slammed her into a pillar. There was a spray of blood as the werewolf was stabbed from behind. It screamed and turned around to lunge at Zevran. Using its lack of focus, Linn gripped her blade with both hands and lunged. The werewolf let out a groan as it fell to the ground.
"Are you hurt?" Wynne asked as she maneuvered around the dead bodies of the werewolves.
"Mainly just bruised," Linn replied as she rubbed her shoulder. "How about you guys? You good?"
"Been better, been worse," Alistair replied with a shrug before looking around the room. "How about we have a little rest before we go any further?"
Linn looked around the room. This was a less than ideal place to take a break, but the only other option was to go back. And Linn liked that idea even less. The group agreed and found places to sit away from the charred bodies as Wynne used her healing magic on Linn.
"Good thing I found that armor," Zevran said cheerfully with a smirk.
"Yes, good find," Linn agreed with a wince as Wynne focused on a particularly sore spot.
"I feel like the elf is looking for a reward," Morrigan snarked with a smirk of her own.
Zevran pretended to be wounded by the accusation with his hand in front of heart before he replied, "How could you think of such a thing? I did it merely to protect my beautiful benefactor. However… if she were to reward me… I would certainly not refuse."
Alistair crossed his arms and glared at the elf, and Linn quickly spoke up, "If there's something you need, you can just ask me, Zevran."
"Not a need per se," Zevran said as he smirked at Alistair. "More of a want. But I would hesitate to ask when there are so many present. I'm quite shy."
Morrigan snorted with derision, and Sten scowled at Zevran with impatience.
"We can address that when we get back to camp. Now… I think it's probably best that we keep moving," Linn spoke up quickly. "The werewolves know we're here. Let's not give them time to launch another attack."
Linn led the group into the chamber where the wolves had been. It was eerily quiet as Linn navigated around the barricades. As she reached the door, she checked around the room nervously. A shadow moved at the edge of her vision, and Linn lunged for it with her blade. There was a howl of pain as more werewolves formed from the shadows.
"Wonderful," Alistair muttered and drew his blade.
There were less of the werewolves this time, but they were far more vicious than the ones before. Desperation made them claw at the group even after they had fallen to the ground. As the last one fell, Linn walked over to the door. With a nod at Alistair, she opened it to find another chamber. Werewolves growled from the shadows as Linn walked into the room with her blade drawn.
"Stop! Brothers and sisters, be at ease!" the werewolf at the room's center shouted at the other werewolves before he turned his attention to Linn. "We do not wish any more of our people hurt. I ask you this now, outsider: are you willing to parley?"
"So now you want to talk…" Alistair muttered gruffly.
"Well, we're talking now," Linn pointed out to the werewolf. "So can the two of us come to some kind of agreement?"
"Not with me," the werewolf said, and Linn stared at him with irritation. "I have been sent to you on behalf of the Lady. She believes that you may not be aware of everything you should be. She means you no harm, provided your willingness to parley in peace is an honest one."
"If you were willing to talk, why didn't you earlier?" Leliana asked. "There were so many werewolves… they did not have to die."
The werewolf bowed his head and admitted, "Swiftrunner did not think it would matter. The Lady disagrees, and since you have forced your way this far, we must acquiesce to her wishes."
"Then take us to this Lady," Linn replied with a sigh.
Shale spoke up with frustration in its tone, "It wishes to speak to these creatures? What is the point? We've slaughtered our way this far, what's a bit further?"
"It is never a weakness to seek out alternatives, Shale," Linn chided the golem.
"Fine, fine. Arguing with that logic will just give me a headache, I swear."
The werewolf motioned for the other werewolves to keep their distance before he told Linn, "Follow me. But I warn you, if you break your promise and harm her, I will come back from the Fade itself to see you pay."
"Very well," Linn replied before following him into the room.
The werewolf led the group into the inner chamber as Linn took a moment to scan the room. Inside the chamber there are ancient trees stretched upwards to the broken ceiling where small bits of sunlight lit the room.
A woman stood in the center of the room surrounded by werewolves. Long black hair covered her chest, and roots grew up her legs covering her lower body. Linn glanced at the group to see Alistair trying desperately to look somewhere decent as the woman spoke, "I bid you welcome, mortal. I am the Lady of the Forest."
Linn watched the werewolves warily as she answered, "Admittedly, I was kind of expecting another werewolf… not a spirit."
The Lady's eyes widened for a moment before she answered, "No, a werewolf I am not. If I could have revealed myself sooner, I would have."
One of the other werewolves spoke up angrily, "Do not listen to her, Lady! She will betray you! We must attack her now!"
"Hush, Swiftrunner," the Lady soothed the beast. "Your urge for battle has only seen the death of the very ones you have been trying to save. Is that what you want?"
"No, my lady," Swiftrunner replied with a whine. "Anything but that."
The Lady smiled at the werewolf and said kindly, "Then the time has come to speak with this outsider, to set our rage aside. I apologize on Swiftrunner's behalf. He struggles with his nature."
"As do we all," Linn replied, and the Lady looked into Linn's eyes with a strange sadness.
"Truer words were never spoken," the Lady replied as she stepped closer. "But few could claim the same as these creatures; that their very nature is a curse forced upon them. No doubt you have questions, mortal. There are things that Zathrian has not told you."
"Is that so? Such as?" Morrigan spoke up with irritation.
"It was Zathrian who created the curse that these creatures suffer, the same curse that Zathrian's own people now suffer. Centuries ago, when the Dalish first came to this land, a tribe of humans lived close to this forest. They sought to drive the Dalish away. Zathrian was a young man then. He had a son and daughter he loved greatly, and while out hunting the human tribe captured them both."
Swiftrunner growled and spoke up, "The humans… tortured the boy, killed him. The girl they raped and left for dead. The Dalish found her, but she learned later she was… with child. She… killed herself."
"So Zathrian cursed them?" Leliana asked with a gasp.
Swiftrunner continued with another growl, "Zathrian came to this ruin and summoned a terrible spirit, binding it to the body of a great wolf. So Witherfang came to be."
Swiftrunner seemed to have difficulty speaking further, so the Lady continued, "Twisted and savage just as Witherfang himself is. They were driven into the forest. When the human tribe finally left for good, their cursed brethren remained, pitiful and mindless animals."
Swiftrunner looked at the Lady with gratefulness as he said, "Until I found you, my lady. You gave me peace."
"So the Dalish leader misled us?" Shale asked with a tired groan.
"Tis not surprising…" Morrigan muttered as Alistair asked the golem, "Are you really surprised? You?"
"No," Shale answered as its glowing eyes narrowed. "Just trying to picture his little elf head… squishing… ah, there we go."
The Lady looked to Linn and continued, "I showed Swiftrunner that there was another side to his bestial nature. I soothed his rage, and his humanity emerged. And he brought others to me."
"Then why did you attack the Dalish? Isn't that risky? Why would you go so far to hurt innocent people for revenge against one man?"
"In part…" The Lady muttered as she turned her attention to the werewolves. "We seek to end the curse. The crimes committed against Zathrian's children were grave, but they were committed centuries ago by those who are long dead. Word was sent to Zathrian every time the landships passed this way, asking him to come, but he has always ignored us. We will no longer be denied."
Swiftrunner growled, "We spread the curse to his people! So he must end the curse to save them!"
The Lady turned back to Linn with a pleading look as she said, "Please, mortal… you must go to him. Bring him here. If he sees these creatures, hears their plight… surely he will agree to end the curse."
"I very much doubt that Zathrian will agree to come here alone," Linn retorted, not looking forward to the journey back to the Dalish camp just to get the elf.
"If Zathrian comes, I shall summon Witherfang," the Lady promised. "I possess that power. I also have the power to ensure Witherfang is never found. Tell Zathrian this. If he does not break the curse, he will never find Witherfang, and he will never cure his people."
"Fine," Linn said irritably. "I'll go to Zathrian and try to get him back here, but no more attacking us! It'll be hard enough convincing him to come here without the threat of werewolves."
"I will provide you with safe passage," the Lady promised. "Then we shall await your return. Outside of this chamber, the passage leading back to the surface has been opened for you. Return with Zathrian as soon as you can."
