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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
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Tomb Raiders

It was early in the morning when they packed camp and started heading back to the barrier. Arawin had the enchanted werewolf pelt tucked away in her pack. She didn’t take the lead, instead, allowing Lisha and Morrigan to take them back to the barrier. A reason was because she didn’t really know where it was after Morrigan lead them away, but the main reason was because she wanted to talk to Zevran. When she came to his side, she noticed he was quiet and inward. He appeared to be trying to keep his gaze away from the front.
“So,” Arawin began, trying to act nonchalant. “About last night...”
“I wasn’t in the mood,” he said with a little force. He didn’t seem to want to talk.
“I’m not talking about that,” Arawin said. “I’m talking about what I overheard.” He didn’t say anything. “I didn’t mean to overhear, but you guys were right next to my tent.” He still didn’t say anything, nor did he look at her. Instead, keeping his eyes fixed on a point before him that was far from Lisha. Arawin looked at him curiously. Despite the fact she barely knew him, she could tell something was wrong. “I just wanted to know how you feel about it? I mean, I would be jumping for joy if I found a long lost relative. I don’t understand how you can act like this and not be excited.”
This time he did look at her, and the look in his eyes was rough, almost making Arawin jump back. “I am not you,” he said in a calm, but stern voice Arawin was not expecting. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Understand what? That you found someone you can call family, yet you’re acting like it’s the worst thing in the world. Back at home my family is everything to me. I can’t imagine a world without them.”
“You just don’t get it, do you?” he said, his voice becoming more cold. “I grew up with nothing. No mother, no father... nothing. Then I was taken in by the Crows and lost even more than I had. So don’t talk to me about family.” Zevran stalked away from her, making his way over by Sten who was in his usual position in the back of the group.
Arawin didn’t follow him, nor did she try and argue. He was obviously not in the mood to talk. She still didn’t understand why he was acting like this, but she wasn’t going to force him to do anything he didn’t want. That’s not how she was with her friends.
“Da’len, my I speak with you?” Arawin heard Lisha ask. She made her way up front and by Lisha’s side. When she got there, she saw that the older elf was looking at her with a neutral face. Throughout their trip together, Arawin had found it nearly impossible to read her, and that didn’t seem to have changed.
“Da’len, I want you to let him be,” Lisha said. “He needs time to let it sink in first.”
“You’re not upset about it?” Arawin asked. “I don’t know the complete story, but I would think you would want to do whatever you could to get through to him. He’s your nephew after all.”
“Yes, and that is why I must let him come to terms with it on his own. You know his story. You know how he grew up and how hard life was for him. Let him be.”
Arawin snorted. “I understand, but I still wish I could talk some sense into him.”
Lisha lightly chuckled. “You can still do something, you know.”
“What?”
“Be his friend. If anything, a friend is what he needs right now. Talk to him, let him know that he is not alone in this world anymore. But whatever you do, don’t force anything on him. Zevran is just that way. He does need to be pushed in the right direction, but only a little.”
It made sense to Arawin, and she knew she could do that. She was already his friend, or at least she considered him such. She chanced a glance back at him and saw he was looking off in the distance. Arawin liked him, and if she could do anything to help him then she would.
When they finally reached the barrier, Arawin took out the pelt and unfolded it on the ground. It didn’t look any different than before, and was definitely not big enough to cover everybody at once. They decided to place Sten in the middle and drape the pelt over him since he was the largest. The others crowded around him in a circle, grabbing on to a piece of the pelt and staying as close as they could.
“This is so humiliating,” Morrigan moaned. “We must look incredibly stupid.”
“Yes,” Arawin agreed. “So let’s hope the trees are as stupid as the hermit said they were.”
They began to move forward, having to move in unison in order to stay together and keep from falling over. It was slow work at first, but once they reached the barrier, they became better and moved together in good strides. When they went through the smoke screen, it began to swirl around them, going faster and faster before finally stopping and clearing. Once the smoke cleared, they found themselves on the other side of the trees.
“Yes!” Arawin cried as she pushed the pelt off her and jumped to the front. “I could kiss that hermit!”
“Please don’t,” said Morrigan. “That is one thing I think I would have to stop you from doing. Who knows what diseases he could be carrying.”
“So kind that you care about me, Morrigan.”
“Are you mocking me for doing such?”
Arawin gave her a broad smile. “No, it’s just weird hearing it from you.”
A loud, long growl broke their banter and everyone looked to see a group of werewolves standing before them. The werewolves were crouched, ready to strike. Only the one in the front stood on his hind legs. His lips curled over his teeth in a snarl.
“Apparently the forest has not been vigilant enough. Still you come,” he said in his deep, growling voice. “You are stronger than we could have anticipated.”
“There have been many things not anticipated, Swiftrunner,” said Lisha. The werewolf growled, glaring at her.
“So you have returned, have you?” he said. “Come back to finish what you’ve started? How fairs your mate?”
“He still breathes. How fairs yours?”
Swiftrunner growled louder, snapping his teeth together. The others behind him doing the same. “That is none of your concern,” he barked at her. “Leave now, or face the consequences.” He sank low to the ground and flexed his claws.
“Wait, are these the werewolves who attacked your clan?” Arawin asked.
“And the ones that attacked our camp,” Lisha answered.
Arawin took the lead, staring at the werewolf in front. “You’re lucky I was unconscious when you did that, or else none of you would be standing here right now.”
A low chuckle escaped the werewolf’s throat. “So you are the one the Dalish chose. We have been watching your progress, and I will say that I am impressed. But you do not belong here, outsider. Leave this place!”
“You don’t actually expect me to leave, do you?” Arawin said crossing her arms.
Swiftrunner stood back to the full extent that he could. “You came even though we warned you not to. You are as treacherous as the Dalish. We will not allow harm to come to Witherfang!”
Arawin took a step forward. “And what will you do to stop me, exactly?”
“Hrrr. We are not afraid of you, intruder. Here Witherfang protects us. Here we learn our names and are beloved! We will defend Witherfang and this place with our lives!” Swiftrunner went back into his crouch and leaped at her, but Arawin was ready. She swiftly stepped to the side at the right moment, grabbing Fang and then sinking the blade into Swiftrunner’s backside. The werewolf howled with pain, then turned on her. Arawin already had Dar’Misaan out and was ready to fight him, tooth and claw to dagger and sword. The others were ready as well, swords out and attacking the other werewolves.
Swiftrunner swiped at Arawin, bringing out all his claws and stretching for her exposed midsection. Arawin blocked him by crossing her swords. Sweeping them in front, the werewolf stepped back, but not without getting cut in the hand with Dar’Misaan. Taking the advantage of his retreat, Arawin pressed forward, swinging her swords in unison at him. She stabbed, swiped, and parried, bringing a furry of blades down on Swiftrunner with every gap. Arawin didn’t give the werewolf an inch to recover or to try and attack. She kept pushing, kept cutting, and kept striking.
Something white then flashed before her eyes and struck her hard in the stomach, knocking her down. Arawin slide back and stopped before she could see what had just happened. A great white wolf stood over her, growling and raising it’s hackles. The other werewolves, plus Swiftrunner ran behind it. Arawin could hear Kunjo barking behind her as well as feel the others gathering. The wolf then howled and ran off down the path after the werewolves. Arawin stood and gaped at the empty scene.
“What in the sodding Fade happened?”
“That was Witherfang, wasn’t it?” Morrigan asked.
“I believe so,” said Lisha. “The white wolf of the forest.”
Arawin replaced her swords and looked back at everyone. She saw they all were okay and decided to move on. They needed to hurry. If that was Witherfang, then getting to him and taking out his heart was their main goal.
They made their way down the path, the forest beginning to open before them. Soon they came to the end, and to a sight that took all of their breaths away. At the end of the path, at what seemed like the edge of the forest, was a huge temple structure. It reached high and was covered in vines and plant life that broke the stones and masonry apart. The forest was growing all around it, trying to reclaim what had been taken long ago.
“This is... This is... incredible!” Lisha stated. Her eyes huge as she took in the sight of the temple. “These ruins... Are they...?” But she was cut short when a howl broke through the forest. Werewolves came from the trees surrounding the entrance and growled at them.
“We are invaded!” cried one of them. “Intruders have deceived their way into the forest’s heart! Fall back to the ruins! Protect the Lady!” All the werewolves did so, running into the ruins and out of sight.
“The Lady?” said Zevran. “What’s this talk about a Lady now?”
“Let’s go find out,” Arawin said as she ran after the werewolves. She followed where they had entered. Once inside, she then descended down a long staircase before entering a large room.
The room looked to be a welcoming hall. It was huge and decorated with statutes and paintings on the walls. Nothing in the room was intact, however. The statutes were crumbling, and the paintings faded and yellowed. Large tree roots had made their way through the floor, even allowing them to climb down to the level below the entrance. Arawin climbed down the tree root with ease only to notice two werewolves staring at her. In a quick flash she had Fang out and ran for them. Neither of them readied to fight, only turning around and making for a doorframe. Arawin followed them through the door and down even more stairs. She wasn’t fast enough, however, as the werewolves were able to leap down several steps at once. They reached the bottom in record time and went through a door, slamming it behind them. Arawin ran into the door, banging and shaking it, but the door wouldn’t budge. After realizing it was useless, she soon went back up the stairs to find the others climbing down the tree root.
“Stupid werewolves,” she muttered. “Where’s a vampire when you need one?”
“I believe you have one right here,” Zevran said gesturing to Morrigan. Arawin was glad to see that he seemed to be acting like his old self again.
Morrigan glared. “I believe the correct term is succubus.”
“I thought they were the same thing?” said Zevran.
“Not when you’re dealing with werewolves.”
“Parshaara,” said Sten as he got in between them. He then turned to Arawin. “What did you find?”
“I saw two werewolves run down those stairs then through a door they shut on me. I think that is where their hideout is, but they have the door barred. I don’t know how we’re going to get in.”
“There should be another way,” said Morrigan. “Perhaps we should look.”
“Maybe. Lisha, what do you think?” Lisha didn’t answer, and when Arawin went to stare at her she found the older elf standing in the middle of the room, mesmerized.
“This is elven,” she whispered. “Old. Very old. Perhaps even before the time of the--”
“Lisha?” Arawin said going to her. Lisha looked at her and blinked, as if coming out of a dream.
“Da’len?”
“I know this might be a huge find for the Dalish, but we don’t have time,” Arawin explained. “Don’t forget about Dayno and the others. We need to take care of them first.”
Lisha nodded her head. “Yes. You are right.” She looked around again, but not with the wonderment of before. “I’m not certain if there is another way into the lair, but I’m sure if there is, then we’ll find it. Let us make haste.”
***
The ruins were impressive. A labyrinth of hallways and tunnels that lead to both large and small rooms, as well as dead-ends and blockages. Cave-ins and tree roots kept certain hallways from being tested, making it very difficult for them to find a way to the other side of the ruins. Arawin was beginning to wonder if there was another side. It seemed the ruins would never end. They only kept going, and it felt like they were going down into the earth.
Despite their many set backs, and having to turn around several times, Arawin noticed Lisha in good spirits. These ruins did seem elven after all, and as a Dalish, Lisha was fascinated by the thought of further exploration into them. They passed several crumbling statues that Lisha would occasionally stop to look at. She would mutter things under her breath in Elvish as she tried to read the inscriptions at the base of the statues.
“It seems everything in here is both a mixture of elven and Tevinter. I cannot read most of the writing, and what I can read, I do not understand. I wonder when these ruins were built? Who built them and why?”
“Those are all good questions,” said Arawin. “And when Dayno is healed, you and he can come back here and find the answers.”
Lisha looked over at her as if coming out of a daze. “You are correct, Da’len. I need to focus more on the task at hand. Dayno would love to see this place.”
They came to a four-way cross section and decided to split up to explore down a few ways to see what was there. Two of the ways lead into rooms, which Zevran and Sten picked through to see if they could find any useful supplies. Lisha again got caught up in a stature set outside the room Zevran had entered, while Arawin, Morrigan, and Kunjo went down the third passage. More stairs lead down, and there was a turn at the end. A low growl echoed through the hallway, making the three of them stop.
“There is something odd down this way,” said Morrigan. Kunjo began growling once he caught a whiff of something in the air. “‘Twould be a good idea to not proceed without the others.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing the three of us couldn’t handle,” Arawin said without looking at the witch. She was very intrigued and curious to know what had made the sound. She began walking forward again, Fang and Dar’Misaan in hand. Kunjo followed her willingly, but still growling with hair raised and muscles tight. Morrigan stood where she was, staring at Arawin as if she were mad. Once she realized the elf wasn’t going to turn around and ask why she wasn’t following, Morrigan snorted before taking a step herself.
They entered a large chamber. From what Arawin could tell with all the rubble, it had a domed ceiling and was long. At the far end was a wide hole in the ceiling that allowed sunlight to filter through to the floor. A beam of light cast itself down on a raised area that the three companions walked on. Arawin placed her hands in the beam and felt the warmth it radiated on her skin. She didn’t realize how much she had missed it. The thickness of the forest did allow some light in, but nothing like this.
“I thought we were deep underground,” she said standing in the beam, allowing herself to soak up the sun. “Why is the sun able to shine down like this?”
“Perhaps we aren’t as far underground as we thought,” answered Morrigan as she walked around the beam. “Maybe our decent was only an illusion of sorts.”
Arawin stepped from the beam, only to hear a crunching nose under foot as she did so. Looking down, she saw she had stepped on bones, bones still in the formation of an arm. She looked at Morrigan, then began scanning the room. She noticed things she hadn’t before. The floor was covered in bones. Corpses in different stages of decay with some even looking as if they had been chewed on by something large.
“What the--” A flapping sound interrupted her and the beam of sunlight disappeared. Arawin stared up at the hole in the ceiling and began smiling broadly.
The hole was filled with the shape of a dragon. It’s long neck protruded into the room, front claws gripping the rock as it leaned in to get a good look at it’s new prey. It’s wings, which had been folded, slowly stretched out, going twice it’s body length. The dragon hissed as it leaped from the hole and glided down to the floor. It landed in front of them and roared, making Arawin and Morrigan cover their ears. The dragon wasn’t very big, only about twenty feet long, from head to hip, five hands high, and a wing span of at least forty feet. It was also very skinny with ribs showing, and skin clinging to it’s bones. It looked hungry.
Arawin gripped Fang and Dar’Misaan tighter as she showed her teeth. She took a step forward, ready to run and attack when she suddenly found she couldn’t move. “Hey, what’s going on here?” she yelled trying to get free of the invisible force holding her in place.
Morrigan came beside her, staff pointing. “You’re being stupid,” she said. “Do you really think you can take on a dragon by yourself?”
“Yes.”
Morrigan rolled her eyes. The dragon came forward, roaring and striking out with it’s claws. Lifting her staff, Morrigan chanted a spell and a cold wind flew from the point. It blew at the dragon, freezing it in place. It’s head and torso were frozen, but it’s wings still flapped wildly. The air from them pushed Morrigan back and on the ground. The spell on Arawin broke, and she was propelled backwards to the floor with her.
Kunjo growled then barked as he ran for the dragon. His jaws clamped down on the tip of it’s right wing, bringing it down. The hound used his weight and strong grip to keep the wing from moving, but with a hard thrust, the dragon’s wing propelled the surprised canine up. Kunjo went hurdling toward the back of the room, landing in a pile of rock and bone.
The dragon began shaking off the ice encasing it’s body. Soon it was free and hissed as it scurried to the elf and witch. Arawin was on her feet, running toward the dragon to meet it head on. It snapped it’s head at her, but she ducked, rolling behind it and jamming Dar’Misaan up into the thin membrane of it’s wing. The dragon lifted it’s wing, but it only caused more damage as Dar’Misaan ripped through the tissue and completely tore the wing in two. The dragon’s head turned, snapping at Arawin again, but she was able to block it’s teeth with Fang. She kicked it in the head as she ducked it’s broken wing’s wild thrashing. The dragon roared then swiped it’s claws at her feet. They caught on her leg and Arawin went down, hitting her head on the rocky floor. The dragon placed one of it’s front legs on her chest, and smashed her down with all of it’s weight. She felt ribs crack and saw it raise it’s other leg to slash down on her. Arawin tried to get free, but the dragon’s weight and strength were too much for her.
Cold air blew past her and she heard what sounded like an arrow being released. The dragon stopped it's attempt when an arrow found its way into it’s eye. It roared with pain, releasing Arawin. She went to roll away, but was unable with her broken ribs. She felt someone grab her and drag her away just as the dragon smashed down where she was. She saw the dragon thrashing, trying to get away, but couldn’t. She then saw the reason why. It’s unbroken wing had been frozen to the floor, and two arrows had embedded themselves in both it’s eyes.
Arawin watched as Sten ran up to the dragon. His sword raised as he brought it down on the wing, shattering it into thousands of small pieces of frozen flesh. She then saw Zevran, who had been the one dragging her away, leap over her and jump on the dragon’s back. He took his Crow dagger and pierced it into the base of the dragon’s neck. It cried out, trying to flap it’s stub of a wing and the broken one, but managed to get nowhere. Zevran then took his other dagger and gripping the dragon’s neck as tight as he could while it twisted and jerked, snapped it’s spine. The dragon stopped and fell dead.
“Not fair, that was my kill!” Arawin shouted at Zevran.
“You were too slow,” he said. “And I saw the opportunity, so I took it.”
Arawin growled as she tried to get up but stopped short when the pain in her chest flared.
“I told you not to be stupid, didn’t I?” said Morrigan as she knelt beside her.
“I think you said something like that,” Arawin grunted.
Morrigan reached into her satchel to pull out her healing potions but stopped when Lisha came.
“No, don’t heal her,” she said. “I want her to suffer for a little first.” Both Arawin and Morrigan looked at her confused, Morrigan with an eyebrow raised and Arawin with shock. Lisha crossed her arms and turned her gaze down on Arawin. “Maybe then you’ll learn.”
“Learn what?” Arawin asked.
“I can’t believe you would do something so stupid as to attack a dragon without us first.” Lisha’s eyes grew hard. “What were you thinking? Did you think a hungry dragon would be nothing? That all you would have to do was stab it a few times then it would be dead?”
Arawin’s own eyes grew hard as she stared up at Lisha. “What do you think you’re trying to do, lecture me?” Despite the pain in her chest, Arawin forced herself up and on her feet. It was then that she realized there was also a huge gash in her left calf. Apparently the dragon was strong enough to rip through the enchantment. She had to stand on her right foot as she glared at the older elf. “You’re not my mother,” she spat.
Lisha didn’t back down. “No, but I might as well be, especially if you’re going to do nothing but follow your impulses. You can’t just rush into a situation like this without thinking first.”
“Don’t try and tell me what to do,” Arawin nearly yelled. “I have been fighting like this ever since I learned to fight and it’s worked for me so far.”
Lisha went straight into Arawin’s face, making her back up a little in surprise. “The only reason why you’re alive right now is because we heard your dog barking and growling along with the roars of the dragon.” Her eyes then softened. “Please, don’t ever scare me like that again.”
Arawin couldn’t necessarily find herself to be mad at Lisha. She was only trying to look out for her, and she now understood what she might have replaced for Lisha. She swallowed hard. “I... I’m sorry.”
“Thank you,” Lisha said calmly. “Morrigan, you can heal her now.” But Lisha was far from being done.
“And you!” Lisha’s face went hard again as she spun to face Zevran as he came to them. Zevran had been taken by surprise when she did this. His eyes big with shock as they met her dark ones.
“What?” he said.
“You’re just as bad as she is! Did you think jumping on the back of a dragon was a good idea? You could've gotten yourself killed, you know. It may not of had wings or eyes, but it still had teeth and claws.”
“Hey, don’t you start pulling that motherly shit on me, either,” Zevran said matching her hardness. “I’ve been getting along just fine without it.”
Lisha snorted then slapped him. Zevran was so shocked by the gesture that he didn’t know what to do or think. Lisha continued her glare, but softened. “You need to learn, Ion, that there are people out in this world that do care about you, so don’t go throwing away your life just because you ‘saw an opportunity’.” Lisha shook her head then walked away toward Sten who was rummaging through the piles of junk the dragon had been collecting over the years. Arawin and Zevran looked at each other, realizing that they both meant something to the Dalish hunter.
They heard Morrigan chuckle.
“What are you laughing at?” Arawin asked.
“Oh, just the sight of the both of you getting told like you were little children. How’s your face feel, Zevran?”
“Just get her healed so we can move on,” Zevran said without looking at Morrigan. The witch smiled and continued her work.
When Morrigan was done with Arawin they then found Kunjo hurt but still alive on the pile of bones he had been thrown on. Morrigan quickly fixed him as well, and once she was done, Sten gestured for them to follow, as he had found something. At the back of the room, behind the huge pile of the dragon’s horde was a tunnel dug into the wall. It lead into a cavern, and on the other side was another hole that opened into a different part of the ruins. They went through and found that the ruins they had entered was a part they had not been through before. It made them excited and hopeful. Hoping that it would lead them on the right track to the lair of the werewolves.
***
“It’s a corpse.”
“No, it’s a skeleton. Do you not notice the lack of soft tissue?”
They all stood over a skeleton they had come across while trekking through the back of the ruins. It was the first skeleton they had come across in the ruins besides the ones in the dragon’s lair. They could tell it was old from all the dust settled on it. There was no decaying flesh clinging to the bones. It’s armor was still in place, rusting heavy plate, while a spear stood straight up from the left side of it’s chest.
“Is it human or elven?” Lisha asked as she stared at the skeleton from over Arawin’s shoulder.
“I believe elven, though it’s hard to tell,” answered Morrigan. “It is way too decayed, yet the skeletal structure does seem a little small for human. It is male, and more than likely died instantly from trauma to the heart.”
“Is there a reason we are staring at a corpse?” Sten asked from a distance away. He had been analyzing it as the others were, but soon stopped and walked away.
“Only curiosity,” answered Lisha. “We know how the other corpses got there back in the room the dragon was occupying, but this is... It is a mystery as to why he is here, and how he died.”
“He is not the only one.” Sten stretched out his hand and the others followed it as he pushed open a door. Inside the room was a scene full of skeletons in a similar situation to the one they were studying. When they walked into the large room they found a whole battlefield of death and decay. Skeletons with armor and discarded weapons scattered the floor.
“Is this what happened to the occupants of these ruins?” Lisha looked around, walking backwards and slowly as did the others. “It is a wonder what happened.”
“A big battle, obviously,” said Arawin. “Hmm, I just wonder what they were doing fighting all the way back here, and why there are corpses here, but not in the front of the ruins.”
“There could have been,” said Morrigan. “We could’ve just overlooked them.”
As they walked down the room, Arawin noticed a certain skeleton in the corner. Remnants of it’s leather armor laid around it while a small, rusted dagger was clutched in it’s hand. Arawin made her way toward it, as she could have sworn only a moment ago, when glancing at it, that the dagger was not in it’s hand. She bent over to examine it, looking at the dagger and the fingers clenched around the hilt. She kicked the hip, seeing the dust fall off the bones, yet the fingers around the dagger didn’t seem to loosen.
“Da’len, come on,” she heard Lisha say. Arawin took her eyes from the skeleton to see the others all the way on the other side of the room.
“Coming,” she answered. She went to move, only to stop when she felt something grab her ankle. Arawin looked down to see the hand of the skeleton gripping her boot. The other hand, holding the dagger, then swept across the floor. It hit her leg, but was deflected by the enchanted leather. Arawin had wide eyes as she looked down at the skeleton’s face. The skull was looking directly at her, mouth hanging open, empty sockets blazing.
She couldn’t help it. She screamed, sending an echo about the room making it sound louder than it was. The others, hearing her cry, began running over to her. Arawin pulled her leg away, taking the hand and arm with her as the shoulder fell out of the socket. The skeleton hissed and Arawin kicked the skull sending it toward the wall where it shattered on impact. The body didn’t seem to be hindered by the loss of it’s head, as the arm with the dagger swiped at Arawin again, while the legs pushed it forward. Quickly, Arawin pulled the arm off her leg, throwing it at it’s body and stepped back, only to bump into something hard and smelling of must and decay. She turned to come face to face with a skeleton wearing chainmail and welding a mace.
She ducked just as the skeleton went to hit her with the heavy club. Had to dodge again when it brought the mace around. Arawin shifted to the side, bringing out Fang and slicing through the skeletons ribs, which didn’t phase it. She then quickly kicked it’s legs, cracking the femur and making the skeleton fall. Arawin grabbed the mace and threw it to the side. She then stepped on the skull, crushing it to pieces, but this still didn’t stop the skeleton. Arawin backed away from it and looked around the room to see the other skeletons standing and grabbing weapons. Her companions were fighting their own walking corpses now, and by the way they were acting, taking them down wasn’t going to be easy.
“We need to get out of here!” Morrigan shouted. “These things are being controlled by something very powerful. We cannot take them all on.”
“I agree,” cried Arawin as she ran past skeletons trying to grab for her. She had to duck many hands before she got to the back of the room and the door. She could hear fighting behind her and the steady follow of her companions as they also made their way to the door. Arawin opened the door and ran right into another skeleton with a raised sword. She was ready to dodge when the skeleton’s head exploded from an arrow. Soon Lisha was next to her.
“We need to hurry, everyone!” she cried, grabbing Arawin by the hand and forcing her through the door. Everyone else followed, but so did the skeletons. There were also more out in the hallway, but they all ran past them, running as fast as they could through the halls before they came to a large chamber. Lisha was in the lead, but then stopped and cried out in pain as something grabbed her and forced her down the stairs.
“Lisha!” Arawin yelled as she watched the Dalish elf tumble down the stairs and to the feet of a robe clad corpse. Arawin glared at it, gripping Fang and Dar’Misaan as she hurled herself down the stairs.
“No, you fool!” Morrigan yelled after her. “That’s an Arcane Horror! You can’t fight that by yourself!”
“It has Lisha!” Arawin cried back. She didn’t listen to Morrigan, only kept running, eager and ready to strike the Horror down.
The Horror lifted up his claw-like hands and a bolt of red energy flowed between them. It shot out at Arawin. She moved, but not in time for it to hit her hand. Dar’Misaan fell to the ground with a clatter, burning red like it had been just taken out of the forge. Arawin’s left hand sizzled, but it didn’t stop her as she gashed Fang into the Horror’s robes.
The corpse grabbed her hand, ripping her out of him before flinging her to the side. Below his feet, Lisha screamed, pain racking her body. Arawin stood back up, holding her left hand to her chest. The Horror went to create another red bolt, but then dropped it when the bolt turned to ice. Winds began to blow as ice covered the floor and the Horror. Arawin saw Zevran grab Lisha and drag her away from the corpse. It was Arawin’s chance. She saw the Horror frozen in place. In only a few strides, she was on it and struck it hard, causing it to shatter to pieces on the floor, just as what happened with the dragon’s wing. Once the Horror was down, the skeletons that had followed them into the chamber also fell.
“Morrigan!” Zevran shouted as he carried Lisha over to her. The witch, as she was used to by now, bent down and examined the older elf. “Is she going to be all right?” he asked.
“She will be,” said Morrigan. “The pain was only in her mind.”
“That is good.” He then looked at Arawin as she came to them. He saw her left hand and quickly stood to see it.
“Ouch, careful,” Arawin moaned as he took her hand.
“Sorry,” he said taking off the glove and looking at the red, blistered flesh below. “Enchantment didn’t work again, I see.” Arawin noticed that he looked concerned.
“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “How’s Lisha?”
“She’ll be fine. What about you?”
Arawin felt his hand, gentle on hers. “I’ll... I just need Morrigan to look at it is all.”
“I swear,” Morrigan said as she took Arawin’s hand from Zevran’s rather roughly. “Must I always heal wounds after a fight?”
“You’re the mage, that’s your job,” said Arawin with a smirk.
“I should have fought with my mother harder.”
With a quick spell, Arawin’s hand was healed. Zevran then went over to Lisha and helped her on her feet.
“Thank you, Ion,” she said to him after getting her balance back. “I am glad to see that you care at least.”
“Yeah... well...” Zevran hesitated. He didn’t have to say much, however, as Sten interrupted them.
“I think we found something that you should see,” he said to Arawin.
“We?”
“Technically Kunjo found it. A pool of water, but the water is now gone. A tunnel lies at the bottom and it smells like werewolf.”
“Seriously?” Arawin and the others followed Sten to the pool. Kunjo was already there, sniffing at the tunnel entrance and growling. Arawin joined him and he stopped to look at her and wag his tail. “Good boy,” she said scratching behind his ears. “This looks like the back way we were looking for. I think we should go through and get this over with.”
Everyone agreed.

Paraphrasing from Dragon Age: Origins
- 36
- 37
- 38
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Blood Bond