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Blood Bond	By : Hikari86 Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 4278 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Bioware owns everything Dragon Age. I claim no ownership and make no money/profit.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
Intruding

They had been traveling for hours, or it could have been days for all Zelda knew. The gloom of the Wilds never seemed to lift, making it a constant and impenetrable dusk. She was unsure of the time of day, and had no way of telling how long they had been in the Wilds. The cold wasn’t getting any better either. The fire cloth was beginning to not work. Even though it kept it’s warmth, the cloth was too small, and Zelda had to replace it on a different frozen body part at least every five minutes.
“I think we’re lost,” she heard Daveth say. They had stopped for a moment. Each of them rubbing their hands together. Arawin was even beginning to show signs with chills, but she still refused a fire cloth or anything that might help her. “That rock looks awfully familiar.”
“All the rocks in this place look alike,” Arawin spat, her mood not getting any better. It may have been the cold or, most likely, from them traveling for what seemed like forever. The only time when she seemed happy was when they ran into darkspawn. After their first encounter, and once the shock wore off, the five of them were easily able to kill the darkspawn now.
“No, he’s right,” said Ser Jory. “We’ve passed that rock at least seven times. I recognize the moss pattern. I remember because I thought it looked a lot like the herald of Redcliffe.”
“It does have some resemblance,” said Alistair as he peered at the rock. He then turned to Arawin. “So, fearless leader,” he said mocking her. “Where to now? If this is the same rock we keep passing that means we’ve been in every direction.”
Arawin sighed and sat down on the rock. She was getting stiff. The cold wasn’t helping, and she could feel herself starting to get sluggish.
“I say we go back,” said Zelda. “We can’t find the tower, and I’m sure Duncan doesn’t want us to freeze to death out here.”
“Huh, Princess, getting cold?” Arawin said sarcastically.
“I’ve been cold, I just don’t want to turn into an ice sickle. And I’m really starting to get tired of your attitude. We’re all here suffering the same as you are.”
“Whatever.” Arawin waved her away and stared straight up at the sky. She knew Zelda was right, they should head back to the camp, but Arawin for some reason felt they were close to where the treaties were laid. All she needed was a clue, and they could find them.
It was as she closed her eyes to think that she thought she heard a sound. A bird chirping. At first she thought it was her imagination, but when she opened her eyes and looked up at the dead tree in front of them, she saw something. It was a little bird sitting on a limb, staring down at them. A sparrow.
It chirped again, and this time everyone heard it and turned to see the sparrow bob it’s head up and down.
“I thought I heard something,” said Ser Jory. “Could that really be a bird? Or am I having a hallucination?”
“No, it’s real,” said Arawin as she stood. She walked to the tree, never taking her eyes from the sparrow. The bird chirped several times before it fluttered it’s wings and took off, but it didn’t go far. It landed in a tree only a few feet from them and chirped once more.
“Come on.” Arawin gestured for the others to follow as she went after the bird. As she had thought, once they reached the tree, the sparrow took off again and landed in another tree. As Arawin and the others followed, the sparrow lead them through the Wilds, all the way until they got to a hill. The bird circled through an entrance in the trees that lead up a hill. It chirped one last time and disappeared in the sky.
Arawin gazed at the spot where the bird had vanished, mouthing the words Thank you before staring at the path.
“That was weird,” said Alistair as he came beside her. “Did that sparrow really lead us here?”
“Stranger things have happened.” Arawin peered through the trees when she realized they were not trees at all. Instead, they were blocks of stone piled on top of one another. They were covered in moss and vines, giving them the appearance of being a part of the swamp. Similar structures could be seen all along the pathway as they walked through. It was a site in close resemblance to Ostagar, except covered in more vegetation and with more broken stones.
“No wonder we missed it,” Zelda commented. “It was all covered. We could have been looking for days and never found this place.”
They were making their way up the hill. As the moss covered stones gave way, a tower loomed in their sights. It was tall and also broken at the top. The walls were jagged with no roof. Much of the stones that belonged to the walls were now on the ground, covered in mud and vegetation. It appeared as though the tower was built on a cliff, overlooking a large wetland. The smell of the swamp was powerful. It seemed to even be seeping through the ground.
“Ah, finally,” said Arawin as she sprinted up the hill to the tower. She soon stopped as a darkspawn burst forth from behind a rock pile and landed in front of her. It hit her legs, sending her cascading to the ground and skidding through the mud.
“Arawin!” Zelda cried as she ran to her. She drew her sword and slammed her shield on the darkspawn’s head. It screamed as it shook it's head before going after her and smashed it’s shoulders into Zelda’s shield. She went flying, landing on her back in the mud. The darkspawn came at her, raising it’s blade to strike. Zelda screamed, but then the darkspawn stopped and choked. Black blood came oozing from it’s mouth as a shining blade went through it’s heart. The darkspawn fell, and behind it stood Arawin.
“Come on,” she said giving Zelda her hand. “This is no time to be playing in the mud.” Arawin lifted her up and they both nodded towards each other before making their way back to the fight.
Darkspawn were flooding out from all over the place. Many more of them this time than they had ever fought at once. It was chaotic as they all were separated from each other. Each of them fighting at least three darkspawn at once. It was only Arawin and Zelda who were together, back to back, fighting with their every strength. It was the first time the two women seemed to work together, becoming a menacing pair. No darkspawn could get by either of their defenses.
It wasn’t long before all the darkspawn were defeated. Their bodies strewn on the ground, blood soaking into the mud.
“That was almost like a nightmare,” Ser Jory panted. “I thought you said they wouldn't surprise us like that?”
“I know, I'm sorry” Alistair commented in between breaths. “I was... distracted.”
Arawin stood breathing hard and deep, Zelda doing the same beside her. For once, Arawin was grateful for the human. She was able to cover her back. The fall Arawin had taken had bruised her knee and she was unable to maneuver very well, which made her more vulnerable to attacks.
As everyone stood, catching their breaths, Arawin and Zelda stared at the tower that was now looming before them. Together, they walked up the rest of the hill, and came to what might have been the doorway to the tower. It was now broken, the wooden door taken by the elements, and the arch only half there. When they looked inside the tower, it was the same on the inside as the outside. Mud covered the whole floor with vines and moss covering all the stones. Towards the back was what remained of a stairway, now crumbled and only the bottom of the stairs still in tact. The room was also empty of anything except vegetation, but there was something underneath. Next to the stairs, both Arawin and Zelda noticed a small chest, almost completely covered by the vines. They both ran to it, Arawin arriving first, and knelt herself next to the chest. It was rusted and the lid was broken, severed in two, making it easy for her to open once she cleared the vines away. When she did peer inside, she found nothing within.
“They’re not here,” she whispered.
“What?” cried Zelda in disbelief. “How can they not be here?”
Alistair, Daveth, and Ser Jory had joined them next to the chest. They all stared down into the emptiness, wondering the same thing.
“What happened to the seal Duncan was talking about?” Zelda asked Alistair.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe something happened to them. These Wilds are full of strange things. The Maker only knows what might've took them.”
“So we searched all that time for nothing,” Arawin groaned. “Uh! Why can’t anything go right?”
“Well, well, what have we here?” Everyone looked up at the voice. They stared at the top of the broken stairs at a woman. She stared back at them with interest and suspicion. Her raven black hair was held in a high bun. Her eyes the color of liquid gold, round as a cats. She wore a black leather skirt, and a maroon colored robe that could barely be called a robe at all. It only reached to her midsection, with a deep bust line that was nothing more but two pieces of fabric covering her breasts. On the back was a hood, along with a wooden staff that appeared to be nothing more than a tree limb. Zelda knew better. That staff meant she was a mage, possibly an apostate, a mage outside of the Circle of Magi. Or even worse, an malificar. A mage turned evil, and who used blood magic.
“Are you a vulture, I wonder?” the young woman continued. She made her way down the stairs, closely keeping her eyes on all of them. “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?” She stopped once she reached the ground and stood, fixed on Zelda and Arawin. “What say you, hmm? Scavenger or intruder?”
Arawin stood from where she had been and met the woman’s gaze. “Intruder? And just how are these your wilds?”
The woman laughed. “Because I know them as only one who owns them could. Can you claim the same? I have watched your progress for some time,” she continued as she made her way through their group, the men giving her plenty of room. “‘Where do they go,’ I wondered, ‘Why are they here?’ And now you disturb ashes none have touched for so long. Why is that?” She stopped and stood on the broken wall that over looked the cliff. It would have been a deadly fall, but she walked upon the stone with no fear.
“Don’t answer her,” Alistair whispered as he crept toward the front of the group, ready to pull out his blade if need be. “She looks Chasind, and that means others may be nearby.”
“You fear barbarians will swoop down upon you?” she cried, flinging her arms and laughing.
“Yes, swooping is bad.”
“She’s a Witch of the Wilds, she is!” exclaimed Daveth, looking frightened. Even more so than when he faced the darkspawn. “She’ll turn us into toads!”
“Witch of the Wilds?” the woman questioned with humor. “Such idle fancies, those legends. Have you no minds of your own? You two,” she said gesturing to Zelda and Arawin. “Women do not frighten like little boys. Tell me your names and I shall tell you mine.”
Arawin made her way to the front. She and the mage locked gazes, testing each other. “I'm Arawin,” she finally said.
“And my name is Zelda.” Zelda had made her way to Arawin’s side. She did not trust this mage but Arawin seemed to be making a connection with her.
“And you may call me Morrigan, if you wish,” said the mage. “Shall I guess your purpose? You sought something in that chest? Something that is here no longer?”
“‘Here no longer?’” repeated Alistair. “You stole them, didn’t you? You’re... some kind of... sneaky... witch-thief!” he said with frustration that only made Arawin snicker.
“How very eloquent,” Morrigan said with grace. “How does one steal from dead men?”
“Quite easily, it seems,” said Alistair. He looked at her with distaste. “Those documents are Grey Warden property, and I suggest you return them.”
“I will not, for ‘twas not I who removed them. Invoke a name that means nothing here any longer if you wish; I am not threatened.” Indeed she wasn’t. Zelda noticed that her stance was relaxed while every one else was tense.
“Then who removed them?” Zelda asked relaxing her own stance. She did not want to cause trouble with Morrigan, but she did want to get to the bottom of what the mage wanted and where the treaties were.
“‘Twas my mother, in fact,” she said crossing her arms and swaying back and forth.
“Your mother?”
“Now that’s an answer I didn’t expect,” chided Arawin.
“Yes, my mother,” Morrigan said sounding annoyed. “Did you assume I spawned from a log?” She leaned herself against the higher point of the wall.
“A thieving, weird-talking log, perhaps,” added Alistair. Zelda turned to him and gave him a look that said Be quiet! Alistair saw it and shut his mouth.
Morrigan didn’t notice or she didn’t care. Instead she stared out at the view of the swamp the cliff provided. “Not all in the Wilds are monsters. Flowers grow, as well as toads.” She sounded as if in a daydream, gazing longingly at the sky. But soon she broke from her gaze and standing up straight turned back to them. “If you wish, I will take you to my mother. ‘Tis not far from here, and you may ask her for your papers, if you like.”
“We should get those treaties,” Alistair ventured to say. “But I dislike this... Morrigan’s sudden appearance. It’s too convenient.”
Zelda agreed, and wanted more answers. “Tell us more about your mother, first.”
“She prefers her privacy,” Morrigan said jumping down from the wall and walking in front of Zelda and Arawin. “But I imagine she will be curious enough why you are here. Come. See for yourself.”
“Why are you interested in helping us?” Arawin asked. It was something she had been contemplating. The mage had been acting so strangely.
“Why not?” Morrigan said casually. “I do not meet many people here. Are you all so mistrustful?”
“Only to those who suddenly show themselves in a cursed place like this. For all we know, you could be leading us into a trap.”
This only made Morrigan chuckle. “Trust me, my dear elf, if that ‘twere so, then you and your friends would already be dead.”
Arawin thought for a moment, looking towards Zelda and the others. She could see that Zelda was thinking the same thing.
“She’s right,” said Zelda. “And it would be best to corporate than not. I say we go with her.”
Arawin lifted her eyebrows, surprised by Zelda’s response. She was just about to suggest the same thing for the same reason.
Daveth shrieked, causing everyone to jump and look in his direction. “No, no!” he cried. “She’ll put us all in the pot, she will! Just you watch.”
“Now look who’s scared,” cracked Arawin.
Ser Jory hit Daveth in the head, calming him down. “If the pot’s warmer than this forest, it’d be a nice change. Now stop your whinnying.”
Daveth nodded as he rubbed the back of his head.
Morrigan only rolled her eyes and made her way to the archway. “Follow me, then, if it pleases you.” Everyone reluctantly followed her. Zelda and Arawin hoped they had made the right decision.
***
It didn’t take them long to reach a clearing in the swamp where they came up to a small hut. It was old, and looked to be uninhabited with the wood rotting and vines growing all along the walls. But signs of life could be seen. One was that of an old woman sitting in a rocking chair out side of the hut. She was wrinkled with salt and pepper hair. Her eyes a dull gray, but behind them a vast amount of wisdom and knowledge.
As the group approached, the old woman placed down the knitting she was doing and stood to greet them.
“Greetings, Mother,” said Morrigan as she walked to her. “I bring before you five Grey Wardens who-”
“I see them, girl,” the old woman spat. As Morrigan made her way behind her mother, the old woman studied each of them in turn as they stood before her. Arawin and Zelda in front as it had come to be. “Mmm. Much as I expected,” she said once she was done analyzing the two.
“Are we supposed to believe you were expecting us?” Alistair questioned.
“You are required to do nothing, least of all believe,” said the old woman narrowing her eyes at Alistair. “Shut one’s eyes tight or open one’s arms wide... either way, one’s a fool!”
“She’s a witch, I tell you!” Daveth said while cowering behind Arawin. The elf nudged him off, forcing him to be exposed. “We shouldn’t be talking to her!”
“Quite, Daveth!” Ser Jory spoke, making to hit him again, but Daveth moved out of his range. “If she’s really a witch, do you want to make her mad?”
“There is a smart lad,” the old woman cackled. “Sadly irrelevant to the larger scheme of things, but it is not I who decides. Believe what you will.” She moved her gaze to the two women standing before her. “And what of you?” she asked Arawin directly. Does your elven mind give you a different viewpoint? What do you believe?”
Arawin met her gaze, just as she did with Morrigan, not afraid. “I’m no fool, if that’s what you’re asking.”
This made the old witch laugh with delight. “If you must protest so quickly, perhaps I need not ask?” She then took her dark gaze to each one of the men, but asked them nothing. When she came to Zelda, the same question emerged. “And of you? We already know what the boys believe. Does your woman’s mind give you a different viewpoint as well? Or do you believe as these boys do?”
Zelda felt cornered. She was unable to look at the old woman without fear like Arawin could. “I’m not sure what to believe,” she finally said. “I’m not even sure what we’re suppose to believe.”
The old woman smiled slowly. The wrinkles in her face cracking as it crept up her checks. “A statement that possesses more wisdom than it implies. Be always aware... or is it oblivious? I can never remember.” Her gaze then became more intense as she looked at the two women. They were unsure who she was staring at precisely. “So much about the both of you is uncertain... and yet I believe. Do I? Why, it seems I do.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Zelda.
She laughed again. “Oh, don’t mind an old woman’s soliloquy. Just thinking out loud.”
“So this is a dreaded Witch of the Wilds?” Alistair scuffed. “I am not impressed.”
The old woman kept her smile as she turned her attention on Alistair. Both Arawin and Zelda were relieved to have her stare off them. “Witch of the Wilds, eh?” she mused. “Morrigan must have told you that. She fancies such tales, though she would never admit it. Oh, how she dances under the moon!” Her laugh resounded through them all, making their spines tingle.
“They did not come to listen to your wild tales, Mother,” said Morrigan. She had been quiet for some time and Zelda had almost forgotten she was still there.
“True,” her mother said. “They came for their treaties, yes?” She reached into the front pockets of her dusty apron and pulled out several rolled parchments and handed them to Arawin. “And before you begin barking, your precious seal wore off long ago. I have protected these.”
Alistair’s eyes went wide. “You... oh. You protected them?”
“Why did you do that?” asked Zelda. “Not that we aren’t grateful, because we are. But...”
“Why not?” said the old woman. “They are important, are they not? Why else would you be out in the Wilds, risking your own lives, looking for them? Take them to your Grey Wardens and tell them this Blight’s threat is greater than they realize.”
“What do you mean the threat is greater than they realize?” Zelda asked confused by the statement.
“Either the threat is more or they realize less. Or perhaps the threat is nothing! Or perhaps they realize nothing!”
Arawin rubbed her eyes, not sure what to take from her statement. “How do you know all this? And can you please say something that makes sense!”
“If I don’t make sense, then perhaps neither do you. I am simply just an old woman with a penchant for moldy old parchments.” Another cackle came from her throat. “Oh, do not mind me. You have what you came for.”
“Time for you to go, then,” said Morrigan as she stepped beside her mother.
“Do not be ridiculous, girl. These are your guests. You should lead them out. I’m sure they are lost as most become.”
Morrigan looked at her mother annoyed. A silent conversation conspired between them before she finally gave in. “Oh, very well. I will show you out of the woods. Follow me.” Morrigan made her way past before turning and yelling at them again to get a move on. Zelda and Arawin looked back one more time at the old woman, only to see that she was no longer there. The rocking chair only swaying gently with the wind.

Paraphrasing from Dragon Age: Origins
- 10
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- 12
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Blood Bond