Louise stumbles towards the human, as night falls.
It had been three hours since the elves had spoken to her. After they had discovered her name, the human said... something... to the elves, and they had left her alone for a bit. He had said that they were going to give her time to 'calm down' or something like that.
Since it was getting dark, it was time to put her plan into action.
The human looked over at her, and raised an eyebrow?
"Where's the bathroom?" Asked Louise. The human frowned, as if thinking, before turning and saying something to the elf that had spoken to her. Thinking about it, Louise realises that none of the other elves had spoken to her in a language she could understand...
"Way there." The elf interrupts her, pointing to the forest.
...Primitives. They don't even have plumbing...
Still, now was a good time to put her plan into action.
Walking into the forest, Louise waits until she is out of earshot of the camp.
Then she runs.
Running, running, running...
Eventually, Louise has to stop. Panting, she looks around, and notices a clearing.
Walking, Louise looks up, sees the moon and-
Wait.
Moon. Singular.
But... that's impossible. There are two moons. Louise knows that. everybody knows that.
Maybe it's an illusion? An elven trick? But what would be the point?
Maybe... Maybe...
...This isn't right. Unless the summoning had sent her to an entirely different world...
Louise's train of thought is interrupted by a harsh laugh coming from behind her.
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"All right men." Says the Mercenary Leader. "I don't need to tell you while we're here. We just find that Elf and get him back to Denerim. And be careful; rumour has it that Dalish are in the area."
The group nods, checking their weapons.
"Okay, you five go right, you five go left, you six go along and make sure the others don't get flanked, the rest of you with me."
Moving out, the leader thinks about the job.
A knife-ears, arrested for thievery, had escaped- and, if the reports are accurate, was heading for a Dalish clan.
The job was obviously more important then it seemed, since someone had actually hired them for the job. Possible a Noble with a grudge.
Still, no questions asked was his policy. It had netted him some important jobs in the past, and he wasn't going to go back on that just to satisfy his curiosity.
"Sir, we have a clearing up ahead." Says one of the mercenary scouts.
The leader nods. "Alright, spread out around the clearing. If he's in there, we'll hit him from all sides."
Slowing down, making sure not to make any noise, the mercenaries look into the clearing, and...
"...It's a girl." Notes the leader of the group, before thinking. "We should have enough food to get her to a Slaver, if we ration it."
"Nice clothing." Speaks up one of the men. "Should be worth a lot."
"And the Tevinter are paying extra for exotic goods, too. You don't get much more exotic then that. I mean, her hair is pink, for Andraste's sake."
The leader chuckles. "Then let's get to work."
The girl hears the laugh, and turns to the general direction of the mercenary leader. The man walks out, smiling cruelly.
"Well, well, well." He says. "Lost, girl?"
The girl frowns, and says something in a language he doesn't recognise.
"...Don't speak Fereldan, huh? Ah, screw it."
He walks up to her, and grabs her arm. The girl shouts something, and pulls her arm back.
The mercenary leader grins, not letting go of her arm. The pinkette glares at him, then slaps him.
The man snarls. "You little bitch."
Quickly, the man draws his blade, lunges forward, and holds it at the girls throat.
The girl freezes, looking at the blade.
"If you don't understand me, then understand my sword; You'll be coming with me now. Be nice, and I might tell the men not to force themselves on you when they get bored." He smiles cruelly at her glare. "Whenever they listen is another matter, of cou-"
The man is interrupted arrow by an arrow through the eye.
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Tamlen lets a second arrow fly, hitting the man attempting to aid his leader.
The pink haired girl reaches for something at her waist, before stopping. Tamlen rolls his eyes. By the Creators, she can't even remember that they took her wand!
The mercenaries, realising that they were under attack, respond in different ways. Some panic. Some attack, and get arrows in the eyes for their trouble.
Tamlen has to admit, though, he pities those who run.
In the general direction of the running, a body falls.
And then another.
And another.
The girl, meanwhile, just stares at the corpses.
Tamlen fires another arrow, which is blocked by a mercenary's shield, before getting hit in the arm by an arrow.
Gritting his teeth, Tamlen ducks behind a tree and chugs a Poultice, before twisting and firing a few arrows at the archer who had hit him. The two exchange shots for a few seconds, before Tamlen changes target to the shield-using mercenary.
The shield-user advances, blocking all of Tamlen's arrows. The Dalish elf grunts in frustration, before reaching for his belt and throwing.
The man screams as the acid flask shatters on his helmet, burning his face. Tamlen takes the chance and fires through his helmet. Then he fires at the stunned archer, hitting his heart.
All the Shem'len, including the pink haired mage, stop and look at him.
"Okay!" Calls Tamlen, moving into the clearing. "Those still alive, come into the clearing and get on your knee's, and we might let you live!"
Six Mercenaries walk into the clearing. Slowly five of them get to their knees.
The sixth panics, and charges at Tamlen. Tamlen just drops his bow.
A second later, a knife hits the man in the knee.
Smirking, Mirath comes out of the shadows, before drawing her knife against the Shem's throat.
The pinkette stares at the corpses in horror.
Slowly, Mirath walks over to the mercenaries, looking over their stuff.
"Nice blade." She says to the middle one. "Do you mind if I have it?"
The man stutters for a bit, before answering. "A-all y-yours."
"Good." She says. "And thanks for all the coin you're all about to offer me."
Hurriedly, the men get out their coin pouches, and throw them at Mirath's feet.
"Good boys." She nods. The men shuffle uncomfortably, before one of them stands up.
"A-are you going to kill us?" He asks.
"...Nah." Mirath decides. "Enough loot here for now, and I know that you guys aren't coming back. Am I right?"
"Y-yes, miss."
"Good, good. Now run, before I change my mind."
Four of the men run immediately. The fifth remains for a moment, watching Mirath and Tamlen, before joining them.
"So..." Starts Tamlen. "Should we get the girl- Louise, was it- back to camp?"
The mage turns at the mention of her name, and Tamlen notices that she looks like she's never seen so much death.
"You do that. I'm going to start looting corpses." Replies Mirath pinking up the coin pouches. "Ooh, this one's heavy!"
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Marethari, Keeper of the Dalish, frowns, as she sits near the ire.
"Okay Duncan, I thinks it's time we talked."
The Grey Warden turns to her.
"Why are you here? And why are there Darkspawn this far north?"
Duncan tilts his head.
"...You've heard the rumours, then?"
"Of the Darkspawn in the Korcari Wilds? I've heard them. Your king is holding them there, last I heard."
Duncan sighs. "It is worse then he thinks, I'm afraid."
Marethari looks at him. "You can't mean-"
"An Archdemon has risen. A blight is upon us."
The Dalish Keeper stares at the Grey Warden for a moment, before turning and looking at the fire. "That's why you're here, isn't it? You're trying to recruit more Wardens?"
The Warden nods. "Yes, Marethari. Although some help with fighting the horde at Ostagar, without bolstering the Wardens numbers,, would also be appreciated."
A muffled sound comes from the woods around them, and Duncan turns. "And here come one of the potential candidates now."
The Keeper follows his gaze. "Tamlen? He is a fine warrior, true, but he tends to be over-curious."
Duncan shrugs. "That is not always a bad thing."
"It's not often a good thing." Counters the elf, before sighing. "Can we talk about this later, Duncan? I think it's time we talked with out guest some more."
Duncan nods. "Very well."
Tamlen walks other to the two, and Marethari frowns.
"Why is she covered in blood?" She asks. "And where is Mirath?"
"Bandits." Replies Tamlen.
The Keeper nods in understanding. "Do you mind leaving the girl with me?"
"Sure." Replies Tamlen. "She probably won't say much, though. I don't think she's seen much combat before today."
Duncan frowns. "Didn't you say she blew up a Genlock in the ruins you found?" He asks.
Tamlen thinks for a moment. "Well, maybe it's because the Genlock isn't human?"
Duncan pauses. "Yes, that might be it."
Ignoring them, the Keeper kneels in front of the girl. "Where do you come from." She asks.
The girl- Louise, Marethari reminds herself- babbles for a bit. Something to do with the moons.
"Where do you come from." Repeats Marethari, in a harsher tone.
The girl stops babbling, and looks at the elf Keeper, with tears in her eyes.
"H-Halkeginia." She whispers.
The Keeper frowns, but before she can ask for clarification, the girl starts babbling again.
"W-why... M-moons... M-missing... diffe-different... Not home..."
The Keeper frowns, and Duncan pauses, thinking.
"...Marethari?" He asks.
"Yes, Duncan?"
"Do you have any old texts about Eluvium?"
The Keeper thinks for a moment. "...I think there might be some around here somewhere. I'll have Merrill look for them. Why?"
The Warden sighs. "I just remembered an old rumour. I just hope I'm wrong."
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Merrill carefully scans the scroll.
And when- unreadable- the eternal - unreadable... No, this was no good.
The pink haired mage, sitting near the Keeper, babbles something, and Merrill looks over.
The mage was a... Curiosity. She was obviously a powerful mage, but had little- if any- combat experience. And then there was her presence in the Beyond- the Fade, as Shem'len called it.
And then there was the hair. Hair isn't supposed to be pink. Even if it was a good shade, it was... odd.
Grabbing another scroll, Merrill quickly scans and translates as much as she can.
...What.
"I'm back." Calls a voice. Merrill looks over, and see's Mirath carrying a few swords, a shield, and a helmet.
"The rest of it's just other there." She gestures behind her. "I could use some help getting it."
"I'll help in a minute!" Calls Merrill. "I just need to show the Keeper something!"
For a moment, he eyes fall back on the scroll, back on the one sentence...
An Eluvian, he called it... Beyond the Beyond... Twin moons left behind, in the old world...
