There and Back Again Ch. 021-022

Someday we'll all be gone,

But lullabies go on and on.

They never die;

That's how you and I will be.

I sang it a couple of times for her, and knew she'd remember it. So there, Billy Joel, now two different worlds know your music. I could tell Leliana wanted to pester me for more songs, but I convinced her I would sing for her later - people in camp were starting to wake up. She didn't understand, I knew, but there was no way I was going to sing in front of Alistair. Especially given that most of the songs I knew well enough to sing were love songs. Even if Leliana did call my voice 'pretty'. Pretty awful is more like it.

We ate and got underway, and for the most part the day was peaceful. Once Aedan and Alistair sensed a group of darkspawn in the distance, but they must not have sensed us and went in a different direction. During the evening I worked on my meditation, and was able to keep my head mostly clear for close to an hour, which Alistair declared to be good progress. I slept better as well, and felt much improved the next morning. We walked for a couple more days like that, managing to avoid the occasional darkspawn group the Grey Wardens could feel in the distance, when we came upon the merchant that I recalled from the game, who gave us Shale's control rod after a short conversation. It wasn't where my memory of Sulcher's Pass should be on the map, but I guessed the game just picked a location at random. Unless I wanted to believe the 'butterfly effect', which meant that somehow my arrival in Ferelden caused his mule ran away somewhere different than BioWare expected...my brain is going to explode. Stop thinking, Sierra.

We learned that Honnleath was only a couple of days away, a day and a half further along the imperial highway, then a left turn and a quick jaunt off the main road. Even Sten didn't complain too much about us going out of our way. We kept walking, while I told everyone about the darkspawn and the demon we would encounter in Honnleath. And warned them about Shale - much like her name, I recalled her being somewhat abrasive, though I'd only played that DLC once.

Bodahn elected to stay near the highway, uncertain what the roads would be like leading to Honnleath. We all shouldered our packs, or at least tried to - Alistair took mine without a word, slung it alongside his own, and headed off. I couldn't decide whether to be grateful or angry. But in truth I knew I couldn't keep up well while carrying it so I let it slide.

As we approached Honnleath, Aedan and Alistair starting sensing the darkspawn, and we all dropped our packs and readied ourselves to fight. They wanted me to stay back, but I figured with my luck they'd just jump me from behind. I ended up being tucked in the middle, behind Alistair and Sten, but in front of the mages and Aedan. Leliana was beside me, bow drawn. We came upon the first group, and the distraction we provided allowed a couple of villagers who'd been fighting for their lives to escape. The darkspawn turned on us instead, and we engaged them as we could.

As before, the darkspawn seemed to ignore me entirely. They swarmed us, managing to separate us from each other, each person being attacked by at least one or two - except me. Which meant that I was able to dance around, stabbing and slashing at their unprotected backs with impunity. I reached around to slit the throat of one who was about to hack at Wynne with a large rusty sword, then dashed over to an archer who was taking aim at Leliana and stabbed it in the belly. Not one of them looked at me until after I struck, and I felt weirdly, wildly invincible.

I was on my way back to the main group to stab at yet another hurlock when Aedan slashed across its abdomen. It flailed wildly, with a weapon that essentially looked like a crowbar someone had filed to a point, and managed to slice into my forearm, ripping apart the flimsy leather bracer I wore and across my flesh. So much for invincible. It felt like a hot poker as it entered, and I shrieked, dropping my dagger and backing away as Aedan finished the creature off. It was the last, and everyone did one last turn to ensure they were all dead when Wynne spotted me cradling my arm.

She shouted, and everyone ran over, the sudden flurry of activity dizzying. Sten and Morrigan just stood, looking impassive, but Aedan grabbed me around the waist and lowered me to sit. Leliana fumbled out a flask that smelled vaguely like tequila, and as Wynne held out my arm, she poured some of the sticky substance onto it. Alistair used my dropped dagger to cut away my bracer while I hissed in pain as the alcohol burned through the laceration.

"Son of a bitch, Leli, that hurts. Wynne? Can't you just heal it?"

"Not until we make sure no darkspawn blood got into it, dear. This should do it. One moment."

I felt the magical aura rise as Wynne chanted something and passed her hand over the injury which had started pouring out blood again in objection to the alcohol. It was strange, really, as I'd never seen much magical healing up close - I felt my arm heat, and start to itch, and then the skin slowly came together, looking like a slow motion rewind of the injury itself. When she was done, Leliana poured water over my arm, and I saw a very slight, pale scar running across my forearm, the only memento I would have of the injury. I smiled around at everyone in gratitude, and promptly passed out.

I woke only a few moments later, head cradled in Aedan's lap, while everyone else looted corpses or dragged them into a pile to be torched later.

"There you are, Sierra. I thought you might disappear on us for a minute."

"I sort of thought I had, actually." I coughed, and Aedan helped me sit then handed me a water skin. The water was blissfully cool and refreshing. "I fainted?"

"It's quite common when healed with magic. Especially the first few times."

"That's embarrassing. They don't mention that in the g...uh, performance."

"Yeah it strikes me as the sort of detail that doesn't sit well with audiences. How are you feeling now?"

"Fine, actually." My stomach growled loudly, and I blushed. "Hungry, apparently."

Aedan laughed. "Also normal. The energy has to come from somewhere."

"I wish it could have waited until we were somewhere that smelled better!"

Aedan fished through a nearby pack and produced a hunk of dry bread and some cheese. I stuffed it into my mouth, completely ignoring my own objection to eating in the middle of the carnage. Alistair passed by lugging a hurlock corpse and gave me the most ridiculously pathetic look. I couldn't stand the puppy eyes, and finally offered him the last bite of my cheese. He smiled beatifically, then continued lugging the corpse.

I looked away, muttering, and heard Aedan laugh at my pink cheeks.

"It's not fair!"

"What's not, dear sister?"

"No one should look that gorgeous while covered in darkspawn blood."

"I'll give you he's got a nice smile." He grinned at me and I giggled. If I'd needed any confirmation what gender Aedan preferred in a sexual partner, the once-over he gave Alistair from behind clinched it for me.

I leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. "More than his smile is nice, believe me."

"They covered that in the performance?"

"Uh, well...sort of, actually, but that's not what I meant. I saw him. Bathing."

"Ah, that explains your severe embarrassment that day at the stream."

"Yeah, well, if you had accidentally wandered in on that, you'd have been a little embarrassed too."

"Rippling muscles with water streaming off them?"

"Mouth-wateringly so, yes." We both giggled some more, until we heard Morrigan shout.

"If the two of you can giggle together, then obviously Sierra has recovered. Should we not continue?"

I heaved myself up, now short one bracer, and recovered my daggers. We regrouped and headed to where I though Shale would be standing. She was much, much larger than I would have predicted based on the game. She was a head taller than Sten, and wider across the shoulders than Alistair in full plate. I couldn't tell if she had any enhancement crystals on her, which I supposed meant she didn't. Aedan stepped up to her, and holding the control rod, muttered the real activation phrase - "Dulen Harn". For a second, nothing happened, and then there was a groaning, trembling sound as rock ground against more rock and Shale slowly animated.

I left Aedan to have the conversation with Shale - she needed to decide to accompany him on her own, and I wasn't likely to improve that. Once she decided to join us, we were all introduced. I suppressed my giggles at everyone's reactions to her calling them 'it'. I briefly wondered what my nickname would end up as - the ones I could think of for the other party members were not exactly complementary. Elder Mage, Swamp Witch, Drunken Dwarf, Painted Elf...this ought to be good.

Finally convinced, we were able to have her accompany us into Wilhelm's basement to rescue the rest of the townsfolk and the poor little girl with the demon. I managed not to get myself stabbed accidentally, we freed everyone, and the demon bitch was dead. By the time we returned Amalia to her family, I was completely exhausted. We had decided not to camp within Honnleath in case more darkspawn showed up, but I wasn't certain I'd be able to make it very far. In the end, as we walked and I began to flag, Sten offered to throw me over his shoulder, which Aedan loudly refused, while Wynne suggested that I ride Shale, to which the golem vehemently objected. I sank to the ground while they argued, too exhausted to care, and Alistair walked over, politely asked Sten to hold our packs, and picked me up. I would have refused, if I'd had enough energy; as it was, I fell asleep cradled in his arms.

He woke me, briefly, once we finally made camp, to encourage me to eat again, and I could barely even remember stuffing my mouth before falling asleep again where I sat. When I woke, it was morning, and I wasn't the only curled up body - I guessed no one wanted to bother putting up tents, and since it was a cloudless night, we all just slept huddled in blankets. I sat up, quietly so as not to disturb anyone else, and nearly jumped out of my skin as I turned the other way and found Alistair, on watch, sitting two feet away and staring at me.

"Gah! Don't scare me like that."

His face remained serious. "No, Sierra, you scared us yesterday. Don't. Do that. Again." Without another word, or giving me a chance to respond, he rose, silently, and walked away, leaving me with my mouth agape. What the hell?

He started shouting, waking the rest of the group, and soon everyone was blearily downing a breakfast of dry bread and some sort of jerky. I'd discovered that if I didn't know what the jerky was made from, I didn't feel like throwing up. My group had responded positively to my 'don't ask, don't tell' policy, though I don't think any of them had the slightest clue why. I'm a wussy modern city girl. So sue me. I felt back to normal after having a good rest, although I was mortified at having been carried by Alistair. He claimed I was light, so it wasn't a problem, and I knew he was incredibly strong, but...I had no other word for it than 'mortified'.

We made good time and reached Bodahn mid-morning, then turned north along the Imperial highway. Assuming the map to be close to accurate, we had another week of travel to reach the turn-off to Haven. Alistair stored my pack for me on Bodahn's wagon, reminding me yet again how embarrassed I was to be so...feeble.

Which is exactly the nickname that Shale had taken to using for me - the 'feeble human'. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, but it didn't endear her to me any. Although the endless tirades about pigeons were somewhat amusing, at least at first, and I knew most of what she said was bluster, she was annoying. I liked Morrigan more, which was both frightening and funny. Shale and Sten seemed to get along famously, though, which didn't surprise me in the least. So far, no one had told Shale about my foreknowledge thing, and I knew it would have to come eventually, but I didn't look forward to prolonged private conversations with her.

As it was, the subject was introduced the hard way - I was walking along, tired but managing, and became suddenly dizzy. She was staring right at me as I disappeared.