A Paladin's War Ch. 01

He nodded. "It had crossed my mind, yes."

"Fear not, Noah Stoneman," she said warmly. "I will never keep you from those you love, nor will I ever force you to do anything you do not want."

"Thank you, Elaina," he replied. "That means much." They rode on for a time in silence. Elaina was called up to speak to Burin about this and that for a time before she returned to her usual place in the column. In the afternoon, Noah rode off by himself for an hour or two, and when he came back, he had three fat rabbits hanging from his saddle.

"Dinner," he said when he saw her eyeing them. "I've seen how much you eat; I wanted to be prepared." At camp after the first day's marching, Noah's eyes had nearly fallen out of his head when he'd seen how much food Elaina had devoured.

"You didn't get any for yourself?" She asked him blandly, then laughed when she saw his surprised look. He grinned when he got the joke.

"Maybe next time I'll bring back a deer or two," he suggested. "That should at least keep you going until midday."

"Watch it," she warned him playfully. "Remarking on a woman's appetite is a good way to lose a limb."

"I hunt darkspawn for a living," he returned blithely. "I am accustomed to dangerous situations."

"I'll show you a dangerous situation," she shot back. "If those rabbits aren't enough, I may have to eat you, too."

Without a pause, Noah replied smoothly, "If I'm going to be eaten by anyone, Elaina arohim, I would want it to be you." The words escaping his mouth were a surprise; this was a new side of him she had not seen before.

"Noah Stoneman," she exclaimed. "Is that charm I hear rolling off your tongue?" In answer, he cleared his throat and went back to his study of the surrounding hills. He was coming out of his shell slowly, but she wouldn't push him any further today. Tomorrow, however, was another matter. As for tonight, well, that would be most enjoyable indeed.

***

Noah squatted before the small cook-fire he'd made near his and Elaina's tents on the outskirts of the sprawling Dwarven camp. If he looked up, he would be able to see the glow of a hundred more just like it dotting the surrounding hills. The early evening was cool, and he warmed his hands over the flames, frowning into them as if the fire could burn away his troubled thoughts.

Elaina had just left for her tent after eating with him. She'd thanked him for the rabbit, then kissed him on the cheek. Tingles had run through his entire body, making him want to feel her lips on his mouth, his neck, everywhere. Noah didn't know much about women, and he knew even less about this link between him and her, but the look she had given him before leaving the fire had left little question in his mind as to what she wanted, even if they hadn't talked about it earlier in the day.

Idly, he poked the fire with a stick, wondering why he wasn't doing what any red-blooded man would do and go to her right now. He was inexperienced, sure, but he'd still lain with women before, and knew well enough how it all worked. None of those women had been like Elaina, though. She was like perfection put into a breathing body, the finest sculpture of a master artisan at the peak of their skill. Every curve, every movement, her eyes and hair and face. And she wanted him; Noah, a man who preferred to spend most of his time alone in the mountains with no company but the birds and animals. Birds and animals were simple; they either liked you or didn't. They didn't pretend or lie or betray. Not that he thought Elaina would betray him; she was the best thing to come along in his life in a long time. What would his family think when they met her? His mother and father? Edda and Orra, his little sisters? He chuckled at imagining their faces when he introduced them to Elaina Fairborn, Paladin of Aros. Surely, their simple Noah could not have captured the heart of such a fine woman! He knew they didn't really think of him as simple, but it was hard not to believe it, at times.

As happened often these past few days, his thoughts drifted to what Elaina looked like without clothes on and he felt his reluctance crumbling by the second. Sighing, he threw the stick on the fire and stood, realising he'd made up his mind. He moved towards her small tent, a peaked white shape in the darkness a little taller than himself and wide enough to sleep two comfortably. His pulse quickened with each step. Clearing his throat, he made to announce himself, but stopped when the flap was pulled aside in invitation. Of course, she would have felt him coming.

Ducking inside, his mouth went dry when he saw her waiting for him. It was dark in the tent, but there was enough firelight penetrating the canvas for him to see she was naked, and more beautiful than he could have imagined. His eyes drank her in like a man dying of thirst at a pool of cool water. She was fit, yet deliciously curved. Her hips were round, her thighs shapely, her breasts two magnificent, proud mountains on her chest that would overflow his hands if he held them. Her belly was flat, her waist narrow, and there was no hair between her legs. Noah had never seen a woman bare, down there, but it quickened his heart further to behold.

She was pressing herself against him, then, her lips seeking his as she began to unbutton his vest. Her pace was slow, unhurried, as if they had all the time in the world. His hands found the silky warm skin of her waist, and she sighed when he touched her, as if she'd been waiting for it. This felt... right. Being with her, now, he felt as if he belonged somewhere for the first time in a long time. His last coherent thought before he lost himself in Elaina was that that had been his problem all along; he'd never belonged anywhere. Until now.

*

Sometime later - he had no idea how long it had been - Noah lay on his back with his head resting on laced fingers, staring up at the peaked roof of the tent. He knew there was a big, stupid grin on his face, but he didn't care, and he didn't try and suppress it. He doubted he could, even if he tried. Beside him, Elaina stretched languidly, arching her back and pushing those tremendous breasts upward. Even in the near-darkness her form was exquisite, and despite just having made love to her three times without stopping - a feat he had not known he was capable of - he felt life stirring in his loins when he looked.

"That was wonderful!" She sighed happily, turning on her side to face him, her head propped on one hand. His gaze dropped lower, to the valley of her waist and up over the swell of her hip. "I feel like it's been forever, plus nothing beats the first time with a new meldin." She shuffled closer and stroked his chest, sending fresh thrills through him. If this was what being a meldin was like, Noah didn't think he would ever want to get out of bed.

"It truly was," he agreed as she slid a smooth thigh over to rest atop his. Her skin made silk feel like grit. A concerning thought penetrated his euphoria, however. "You say your other man, this Aran, will not be concerned with our relationship? I would dislike very much for him to try and remove my head from my body in a jealous rage."

Elaina chuckled throatily. "I have told you, my mountain man, that that is not how we arohim work. While our hearts are connected, he and I do not belong to each other. Not in the sense you mean. It may take some time for you to understand, but you will see the right of it. I very much look forward to introducing you to him, one day. He will likely embrace you as a brother would; he knows you saved my life."

Noah grunted, but there was no real effort in it; he was feeling too good inside. A sudden thought did make him ask, "How would he know this? He has been gone since before that day on the stairs."

Elaina lightly pinched his nipple, making him grunt again, though with amusement rather than pain. "We have our ways of communicating beyond the conventional, my love. I will reveal all to you, in time, I promise."

Hurried boot steps approaching the tent made his ears prick up, then, right at the same time Elaina sat up straight. "Something is happening," she said softly, just as a man's voice came from outside the tent.

"Elaina arohim," a Dwarf said politely but quickly. "Your presence is requested urgently in the King's tent." Noah sat up and began looking for his clothes. It would seem his time together with Elaina was at an end, for now. At least for tonight.

Elaina hadn't moved further, yet. "What is it, Lombi?" She asked. If the Dwarf outside was surprised that Elaina knew who he was just by his voice, he said nothing about it. The Dwarves had readily accepted that she had strange powers they didn't understand.

"Scouts have returned from Vesovar with pressing news," Lombi replied hurriedly. "That is all I know. If you please, Elaina arohim, I must be on to other tasks now." He rushed off, his footsteps fading away.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't sound good," Elaina muttered as she left her blankets and began to dress. Noah felt a pang of disappointment. "You may remain here, of course," she told him as she wiggled into her breeches. "I will return when I can."

He shook his head, surprising himself. He had not disobeyed her directly since their melding. "I will accompany you and remain as close as I can, I think. I fear ill news has been delivered, and on such a night I would watch your back, if it is all the same to you." He wasn't asking; merely making a statement.

He could feel her eyeing him in the darkness as she dressed, and he was unsure as to how she felt about his directness. He sensed a change in the tangle of sensations that was her, resting in the back of his mind, though he still wasn't very good at deciphering them. A long moment stretched out, until finally, he saw her nod. "Good idea. Burin trusts you, so he should have no issues with your presence. I like having you close, Noah meldin." After a moment, she added, "You will make an excellent arondur, I think." She didn't give him a chance to ask what that was as she finished pulling on her shirt and a stout coat before belting her heavy mace to her waist. She then slipped out to where her boots lay just outside. Noah dashed to his own tent quickly to gather his bow and quiver and rejoined her for the short journey to the centre of camp.

Atop the tallest hill in the camp, the king's tent was a low-roofed, sprawling circle big enough to park a dozen wagons inside with room to spare. It sat like a large mound of snow in the night, shining dully in the light from the half-moon in the sky. A double ring of guards stood around it, lances all held at the same precise angle, slanted across chests. The armoured Dwarves in front of the tent entrance stepped aside when they saw Elaina and Noah approaching, giving them space to pass through. Another guard held the heavy tent flap aside for them, offering Elaina a respectful nod as she entered. She had quickly developed an almost legendary reputation among the Dwarves for saving Burin's life. Elaina had heard stories ranging from her stopping an assassin trying to kill the king in his bath, to defeating a powerful sorcerer who had Burin under his control, but none she'd heard whispered around the camp had the real truth of it.

Noah entered on Elaina's heels into a warm, well-lit space with a thick wooden post in the centre and more at equidistant points around the walls. Near the middle post was a large round table spread with maps and dotted by small stones. Burin stood looking over those maps, his palms flat on the table and his silver-banded beard brushing the paper. He wore only black breeches, as if he hadn't had time to dress properly, and his thick brows were drawn down in concentration as he studied the maps. A fresh pink scar maybe three inches long decorated his left side parallel to his navel, the only sign that he had once been inhabited by Maharad, however briefly. He barely looked up as Elaina and Noah appeared. There appeared to be no one else in the tent.

Opposite where they had entered stood decorative screens that probably concealed the king's sleeping area from the rest of the tent. Indeed, as Noah watched, two pretty Dwarf women in flimsy white gowns appeared from behind the screen and quietly left the tent. Noah moved out of the way so they could get past him, and one of them - a fiery redhead - gave him a sly wink as she passed. He didn't realise he was grinning until he saw Elaina watching him with a cocked eyebrow. He thought it was amusement he could feel through the melda.

"Not satisfied yet?" She said under her breath. "I must be losing my touch." The wry twist of her lips said she didn't believe that, and Noah certainly didn't. He found himself at a loss for what to say, though. "Relax," she told him, touching him briefly on the shoulder. "I'm just having fun with you. You don't have to make it so easy." He grunted in response but found himself smiling back. This woman was a mystery as much as any other he'd known, but she was far more fun.

Burin's voice seized their attention. "Vesovar has fallen," he said quietly, without looking up. "Darkspawn in the night, maybe two nights ago. The scouts are saying they numbered in the thousands." Noah's stomach turned to ice. If any of his family had been in the town... Elaina was at the table in a heartbeat. Noah followed on suddenly leaden feet.

"Any survivors?" Elaina asked. Noah felt a sharp burst of emotion from her; it was a complex bundle, but he thought he felt sadness, anger, and regret. Burin shrugged. "We won't know until we can get the main force in there to secure the area. From appearances, the bulk of the darkspawn have already moved off north, but some still remain in the town."

"They went north?" Noah's voice sounded dull in his own ears. "I have family in the Hills of Gaela." Burin's eyes lifted from the maps for the first time, and Noah saw compassion in his dark gaze, though it was fleeting.

"I have no reports from the Hills as yet, Stoneman," the king said. "But I will have a messenger find you when I know more." It wasn't enough. Noah wanted to know now. With all these Dwarves at his disposal, Burin could surely send a company or two into the Hills to protect people, or at least find out what was happening. He opened his mouth to suggest so, but a brief squeeze on his hand from Elaina made him stop.

"What would you do?" Burin asked Elaina suddenly, looking up at her. He was tall, for a Dwarf, only a head shorter than the Paladin.

Elaina took a breath and eyed the maps. Vesovar was marked as a wide circle surrounded by small squares denoting the farms and fields of the region. The borders of the Emerin were far distant, off to the southwest and almost at the edge of the table. The Amarions were not quite as far to the southeast, preceded by rolling curvy lines that marked the foothills the army was currently camping in. "Well, I am not trained highly in the art of warfare," she began thoughtfully. "Though I have studied some of the works of the old generals of the Hammer of the Light." Her fingers trailed from the stone marking the camp toward Vesovar. "If your scouts are accurate, we have enough drengr to clear the town easily, though fighting in the streets is a messy business. We may take heavy losses. The darkspawn can hide in the houses, lay ambushes. They could lure us in and set the whole town on fire, if they wanted. It would be like Dar'vellifen all over again." Burin nodded as Elaina spoke, as if he had considered these things already. Noah barely heard her; he was thinking about his mother and father, and little Edda and Orra. They weren't little anymore, but he still thought of them that way. Were they safe?

"Alternatively, we could avoid the entire area and work our way west," she continued. Burin raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "But leaving a nest of darkspawn in a fortified location, no matter how small their force is compared to our own, is like leaving a bee under your shirt; sooner or later it's going to sting you. I would attack the town. Cleanse it of darkspawn. With the numbers we have, the drengr will roll over Vesovar before the darkspawn know we are coming, and with any luck, our losses will be minimal." After a moment, she added, "Besides, I think it is time the Dwarves send a message to the rest of Ekistair, do you not?"

Burin's face split in a grin. "You talk almost as if you were one of my generals, Elaina arohim. They said much the same. But what of ambushes?"

To that, Elaina replied, "I will go out with the next scouting party. I will be able to sense almost the entire town if I can get close enough. It will create a problem, however; the darkspawn will be able to feel my presence, which may cause them to attack - which will suit us fine if we can fight them on open ground - or they may do the opposite and fortify further. Either way, once I'm in range, the decision must be made quickly."

Burin clapped his hands together and rubbed his palms. "This sounds to me like a plan, Elaina. I will summon my generals and set things in motion. They will see it your way, I am sure; they had not considered your abilities in their strategies."

"One more thing," Elaina said. "I have a task that must be done urgently. Noah and I will be riding out tonight. We will be back by the time the drengr reach Vesovar so the plan can be carried out."

Burin's looked surprised. "Can this task not wait until after the battle? I was hoping you would speak with the generals."

Elaina's fair hair swung slightly as she shook her head. "Unfortunately, it cannot wait, Burin. I understand the timing is inconvenient, but we will return in a few days, I promise."

Burin stroked his long beard as he studied Elaina's face. "It doesn't matter what I tell them; when the men know you have left, they will think you have abandoned us. They do not all trust you as I do. They have heard too many of the wrong stories." He sighed and leaned heavily on the table. "My debt to you dictates I cannot stop you, but I must know why."

"Family," Elaina said simply, smiling at Noah briefly before turning back to Burin. "These are dark days, and family is more important now than ever. Noah and I will return within three days, this I promise on my honour." Almost as an afterthought, she added, "You, of all people, Sire, know the pain of losing a loved one. I would not let my meldin feel the same can it be helped." In that moment, Noah threw aside any reservations he had about trusting Elaina. He was hers, now, in heart, mind and soul. Gratitude filled him.

Burin eyed them both before nodding slowly. "It is a pain I would not wish on my worst enemy. Go, then, and we'll meet again in three days. Take a company of drengr with you; it will make no difference."

Elaina shook her head. "Thank you, Sire, but we'll travel alone; we'll be faster that way." Burin agreed, though he made noises about the journey being too dangerous for two people alone. Elaina put him at ease and bade him farewell before leaving the tent. Noah offered the king a respectful bow before following.

"I hope you find them, Stoneman," Burin said suddenly. "Hearty and hale." Noah stopped, one foot on the threshold. He turned back long enough to reply before exiting the tent.

"Me too."

***

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1.3: Ash'goth

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In a small valley a few days east of the Amarion Peaks, Aran squatted before the sizable fire he'd built. Large chunks of meat - rigged on stout lengths cut from branches that had been fashioned into a spit - turned slowly over the flames, the juices hissing as they hit the burning logs beneath. Aran had taken down a boar earlier today, and the meat would be enough to keep him and Evoni going for at least two more days. What wasn't on the fire had been dried and was currently salting.