Screams filled the air as Linn let loose her fire magic. She concentrated on the ogres, trying to make sure the others didn't get caught in the blaze. As the last ogre fell, Linn fell to the ground to catch her breath. After dealing with an insane mage for an acorn, fighting tree monsters and darkspawn, and finding her way through this damn forest, Linn was ready to go back to camp. She turned to the others to see that Wynne was also on the ground. Linn quickly got to her feet and hurried over.
Wynne was pale, but she kept insisting that she only needed rest. Linn turned to Leliana and Morrigan, and they both nodded tiredly. The group would need to split up for now. Sten walked over and picked up Wynne gently. After a brief nod to Linn, he led Morrigan and Leliana back to camp. As much as Linn wanted to follow them, she couldn't leave just yet.
"We at least need to find where these werewolves are coming from. If we can find where they're hiding, then we can head back to regroup and come back another day."
"Very well," Shale said in a tired tone.
Alistair and Zevran gave her a nod, and Linn led the way to the barrier. Wielding the branch from the talking tree, she took a step into the mist. There was an odd tension before the barrier broke allowing her entry. With a smile, she turned to Alistair in relief. He returned her smile before his attention was caught by something in the distance. Linn felt herself being pushed back as Zevran got in between her and another group of werewolves. These ones growled, but they didn't attack.
"The forest has not been vigilant enough. Still you come," one of the werewolves growled menacingly. "You are stronger than we could have anticipated. The Dalish chose well. But you do not belong here, outsider. Leave this place!"
Linn briefly wondered if this was the "Swiftrunner" that she had met earlier, but she figured that it might be a bit rude to assume. And with this much tension in the air, Linn didn't want to anger them any further.
"I just want to talk," Linn said calmly as she took a step back. "Why don't you just take a deep breath and settle down? I'm tired, and I really just want to talk this out, okay?"
The werewolf growled and accused her, "You are sent by the treacherous Dalish to kill Witherfang! I will not stand by and allow that to happen!"
"Hey now! I have no intention of hurting you or your friends. I just want to talk this out."
The werewolf stared at her for a moment before it shook its head and replied, "I do not believe you. I will not risk believing you." With a growl, the werewolf snarled at her and shouted, "You are an intruder in our home! You come to kill, as all your kind do! We have learned this lesson well."
The werewolf ran forward at the group, and Linn focused her magic on the one that had spoken to her. Using her ice magic, she froze him in place. Suddenly, she felt herself thrown off balance as something collided with her. Linn dropped to the ground to see a white wolf approaching the frozen werewolf. As Linn's spell faded, the white wolf ran deeper into the forest with the other werewolves following it.
Linn jumped to her feet and sprinted behind them. There was a large stone building in the distance, and as she approached, she could hear the werewolves telling the others to retreat inside. Linn took a moment to gather herself before turning back to the others. Alistair was looking up at the ruins with amazement.
"Was there a city here, once?" Alistair asked breathlessly as he walked closer to the ruins. "Was it built in the forest, or did the forest come later?"
"Humans do seem to love leaving their trash lying around everywhere, don't they?" Shale responded, and Zevran snickered.
Linn tried to ignore them as she examined the old building. With a glance at Alistair, she said, "Well, it would seem that we found their home base… I think that we should peek around inside to see just what we're dealing with?"
Alistair nodded in agreement, and Shale let out a resigned sigh.
"The werewolves live in an old ruin?" Zevran asked with a glance at Linn. "Hmmm... I wonder if there are other treasures to be found here besides wolf droppings?"
Linn and Alistair shared a look of frustration before Linn led the way into the old ruins. The doors creaked as she pushed them open to reveal a chamber.
"Woah," Linn breathed as she looked around the old ruins. There was a strange, sad beauty about the ruin. A place that had once been full of life was listless… A shadow of what it had once been.
The sound of footsteps snapped her back to attention as a group of werewolves blitzed them from the shadows. Shale charged forward, and the sound of yelps echoed through the ruins. Anything in the ruins would know exactly where to find them. As the last werewolf fell, Linn followed the stairwell down to a door.
"Locked," Linn muttered before turning to Zevran.
"It appears to be sealed from the other side," he said with a shrug after fiddling with the door.
Linn closed her eyes and focused on the door. There was a strange magic sealing the door shut, but behind the door… an even older magic ebbed through the door's cracks. Linn felt an odd sense of peace from the magic.
"Damn, he's right," Linn muttered before leading them back up the stairs. "They're definitely in there. We'll have to look around and see if there are any other passages leading us to them."
Shale let out another large sigh, but Linn chose to ignore it as she led them in a different direction. Large webs covered the walls. Linn slowed as she noticed a large shape emerge from the darkness. She couldn't hold back a scream as she quickly jumped back to take cover behind Shale. Giant spiders emerged from the darkness. Linn used Shale as cover and threw fire at the spiders until they stopped moving. As Linn struggled to catch her breath, she noticed that the others were staring at her. Alistair looked concerned, and Shale watched her with what Linn assumed was annoyance. Zevran, on the other hand, looked as though Christmas had come early.
"That's– I, um…"
"It's okay," Zevran reassured her in a sickly sweet voice. "The next time you are scared you may jump directly into my arms. Although I must ask… is it all spiders or just the large ones?"
"My world doesn't have spiders the size of LARGE DOGS, DAMMIT! I just… I wasn't expecting it… I need a moment," Linn finished as she leaned against the wall.
"My offer is still open," Zevran said cheerfully, and Linn glared at him in response.
"Do you need to go outside for a few minutes?" Alistair asked as he elbowed Zevran out of the way.
Linn gave him a grateful look before she gripped her staff in determination. "No. Let's keep going. I want to see where this leads."
"Lead the way," Zevran said sweetly with a smirk.
Ignoring him, Linn continued following the corridors. A dark shadow on the ceiling made her stiffen, and Alistair gently pushed her behind him. Shale rushed forward. The sound of the spiders being crushed under Shale's stone feet made goosebumps go up Linn's spine.
"Done… Disgusting things, these spiders," Shale said as it kicked the spider's carcass out of the way.
"Thank you, Shale," Linn said with a shaky smile, and the golem shrugged.
"Let us continue," Shale said as she began to lead the way further into the ruins.
As they descended down the corridor, a loud shriek echoed through the ruins, causing everyone to immediately stop.
"What the hell was that?" Linn whispered in horror.
"No idea," Alistair answered, equally terrified. "I don't want to scare you, but that sounded… big."
"One of us should go down and check," Zevran said. "I offer Alistair."
"Hey, what?!" Alistair whispered angrily. "Why don't you go?"
"The lovely Warden and I are too pretty to die," Zevran whispered back with a grin. "Although… I suppose our golem friend might be brave enough to take a look."
"Should I simply throw you into the room, Painted Elf?" Shale asked in a tired voice. "Perhaps it will eat you and we may simply walk around it?"
"Nevermind. Alistair it is then," Zevran quickly replied as Alistair shot him a dirty look.
"I think… I'm too tired for whatever the hell that is," Linn said with a heavy sigh. "Let's head back to camp. We'll come back tomorrow with everyone."
As they walked back through the ruins, Linn maneuvered around the various spider webs while fighting the urge to shiver. A dark shape dropped from the ceiling, and Linn jumped back. Her foot slipped on the tile, and she prepared to hit the floor… Arms wrapped around her before pulling her back into an embrace as she steadied herself.
"Easy there, my Warden," Zevran said cheerfully as he let her go. "It is just the spiders' previous supper. Some poor adventurer it would seem."
Linn looked to see that it was a body, tightly wrapped in spider silk. After quietly thanking Zevran, she continued through the hallways.
"You were not this scared when we were attacked by the werewolves," Zevran spoke up thoughtfully. "Or the bear. Why the spiders?"
"I'm not saying my fear is rational," Linn replied through gritted teeth. "I just… don't like them. Is that okay with you?"
"Certainly… Especially if you were to feel the need to feel the comfort and safety of my embrace."
"Can I hit him?" Alistair asked in a whisper. "Just once?"
"No… Just ignore him for now," Linn replied in a low voice.
"I could throw the elf into the room tomorrow as well," Shale spoke up, and Linn couldn't help but laugh.
"Thank you, Shale, but that won't be necessary. I'm working on a plan…"
"I am sure that will go swimmingly," Shale replied sarcastically.
"Your faith truly astounds me, Shale," Linn retorted with a smirk.
Shale merely looked at her dismissively with those glowing eyes before taking the lead. The group slowly made their way out of the ruins with Linn and Zevran grabbing what valuables they could find as they went. At least this trip wouldn't be a complete waste of time.
As they emerged from the ruins into the forest, Linn took a deep breath of the fresh air to calm herself. She focused on the light shining between the tree limbs to the forest floor and felt her heart start to beat slower.
"Okay…" she mumbled to no one in particular. "I'm fine now."
As the group started walking to the camp, Linn couldn't help but feel like they were being watched. She glanced at Alistair to see that he seemed to be feeling the same way. The hairs went up on Linn's arms as they found something that they had not seen on their way into the forest. A camp.
"Now this is peculiar," Alistair mumbled. "It looks recently abandoned, but… I didn't notice this on the way in. Did you?"
Linn closed her eyes and reached out with her magic. With a flinch, she opened them and grabbed Alistair's arm.
"We need to leave. Now!"
A ghostly wail put Linn on edge as a demon materialized from the darkness. Unfortunately for it, Shale was about a foot away. The demon stumbled as Shale punched it out of the air. Zevran attacked the shade as it stumbled while Linn blasted it with lightning. As the demon regained its balance, Alistair slammed into it with his shield. With one more shriek, the shade dissipated.
"Is everyone alright?" Linn asked as she helped Alistair back to his feet.
"I am tired but unharmed," Zevran spoke up cheerfully. "How did you know it was a trap?"
"I… I'm pretty good at finding demonic energy."
"That is useful," Shale said as it looked at the corpses around its feet. "Not for them."
"Ah… Creepy," Alistair said as he looked around the camp. "The demon must have fed on unwary travelers… Like a spider in its web." Alistair's eyes widened for a moment, and he glanced at Linn sheepishly. "I didn't mean…"
"It's fine," Linn replied and gave him a reassuring smile. "The word 'spider' doesn't scare me."
Linn turned to leave when her foot caught on something. She bent down to discover a small chest. Upon opening it, she found some elfroot and a pair of gloves. Dalish by the look of them. The others had wandered around to inspect the camp, so Linn quickly put them into her bag. There was a tiny part of her that wanted her to give them to Zevran. He had mentioned that the only item he'd had of his mother's was a pair of Dalish gloves that were taken from him, but… he had gotten on her nerves one too many times today.
After checking the place for valuables, they continued back toward the Dalish camp. At the edge of the forest, Linn saw Sten waiting. She quickened her pace to meet him.
"What's wrong? Is Wynne okay?"
"She is doing better, kadan," Sten reassured her. "I did not expect you to wander."
"Oh? So you were worried about us?" Linn asked playfully as the large man kept a straight face.
"That you may burn down the forest… Yes, a mild concern," Sten retorted before leading them back to the Dalish camp.
"How rude," Linn mumbled as she followed, and Alistair chuckled. "Although… If I had been alone with those spiders… that entire ruin would be in flames by now," Linn admitted to Alistair.
"I would never leave you alone," Alistair said before his face started to flush. "You know… because we're a team…"
Alistair rubbed the back of his neck as Linn giggled at his embarrassment. After putting an arm around his shoulder, she replied with a grin, "Of course, teammate."
"You… you can be so mean sometimes," Alistair muttered as the redness deepened at her contact.
"Sometimes? My brothers would say all the time," Linn joked but removed her arm.
Alistair looked at her as though he wanted to say something when Zevran spoke up, "Am I also your teammate?"
Alistair's eyes narrowed at the elf, but Linn quickly said, "Of course you are… Just not my favorite."
"Who is your favorite?" Zevran asked with narrowed eyes.
Linn peeked at Alistair. Even though he was looking straight ahead, Linn could tell that he was waiting for an answer. Linn pretended to think about it for a minute before she answered, "Rabbit."
"The dog?" Zevran asked with disbelief. "Not exactly one for conversation."
"You'd be surprised," Linn answered in a singsong voice. "He's smarter than you think."
Alistair and Zevran traded glances as Linn jogged to match Sten's pace. After she caught up to the Qunari warrior, she couldn't help but notice a slight smile on his face.