Chapter 6: Vesovar

Elaina sat on the small cot she’d lain down on what felt like both an age ago and at once only minutes past, her knees pulled to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Her heart still hammered at her ribs as if it wanted to smash them to pieces, though it was a little better now than it had been upon waking. She barely registered Noah’s concerned face before her, the sharp angles of his cheeks and nose looking all the sharper the way they caught the light from the lantern sitting in the corner of the room.

The memories of those mad dreams and visions kept spinning through her mind. They were fading, but all too slowly for her liking. Gods, it feels like my brain’s been pulled apart like a ball of yarn. Her muscles twitched involuntarily, too, from time to time, quivering like jelly.

“You should have a drink,” Noah was saying. His voice was distant, muffled, even though he was right there. He was holding out a clay cup from where he knelt beside the cot, its contents unknown.

Another voice sounded, and Elaina managed to look up enough to see Edda standing in the doorway. She was asking her brother if Elaina was alright.

“Her nerves are shattered,” he replied without taking his eyes off Elaina. “But she is steadying slowly.”

That was an understatement, Elaina knew, even in her current state of disarray. Edda said something back, asking what had happened.

“I’m not sure,” Noah answered slowly. He held the cup steady as she reached for it with a shaky hand. “But I think it was significant.”

Elaina barked a laugh, making Noah and Edda start. Well, she had meant it to be a laugh, but it had sounded more like a pained groan. Significant? I feel I’ve been trampled by a herd of Sorral bison! She only slopped a little of the liquid onto her hand as she brought the cup to her lips. “Gah!” she sputtered as the burning sensation hit her mouth. “W-What is th-this?”

“Whisky,” Noah told her calmly. “To settle you. You’re shaking like a leaf in a summer storm.” As he spoke, the little she’d managed to swallow hit her belly, spreading a pleasant warmth. “See? You’re feeling better already.”

She took another swig, bigger this time, and felt the effects grow. Taking a deep breath, she handed him back the cup, forcing her lips into a smile of gratitude for his care. He grinned and held the cup out for Edda to refill. She took it and hurried off.

“It is good to see you awake,” he said when they were alone. “I was worried you would not come out of your sleep.” He put a hand on her arm and squeezed gently. It was then that Elaina looked past him to see the room in a state of upheaval. A broken chair lay in one corner, and against one wall a washstand lay in splintered pieces, as if it had been dashed against the stone. What had happened? Had there been an attack? When she asked as much, Noah shook his shaggy head.

“You are a restless dreamer,” he said in that slow way he had of speaking. “You were thrashing about so, I thought you were going to hurt yourself, so I held you down as much as I could.” He shifted his weight a little, and Elaina caught the slight wince on his face as she felt pain flare in his ribs through the melda. As she became aware of the ribs, a dozen other hurts in his body bloomed in her mind. “You are very strong,” he finished with a grin.

“Oh, Noah! I did this to you?” She felt awful. Forcing herself forward, she shuffled closer and put her arms around him. He hugged her back tightly, careful not to antagonise any of her own lingering hurts, which he could no doubt feel, too.

“You are worth this pain, and much, much more,” he said into her neck. “Though I hope every night with you is not going to be this way. I might not survive the month.” His beard felt fuzzy against her soft skin. She suddenly wanted very much to make love to him, pain or no. Chuckling, she kissed him softly.

Edda returned, then, and they ended their embrace so Elaina could drink another tot. Whether it was the whisky or her natural abilities, she was starting to feel better by the second.

“How long was I ... dreaming?” That was the gentlest way of putting it. She shuddered again as more visions flashed, though they were dimmer, now.

“A night and a day,” Edda answered. The young, auburn-haired arohim watched her curiously. “Will I be as strong as you one day?” She asked suddenly, a light of mischief in her grey eyes. “I’d very much like to throw Noah around like that when he annoys me!”

“Edda!” Noah growled, looking over his shoulder. “Now is not the time!”

Elaina made soothing noises to her meldin before answering. “It is most likely,” she told Edda seriously. “If you train hard and apply yourself. You may even surpass me.” Edda seemed pleased with that, but her face sobered when Noah addressed Elaina.

“My love, are you well enough to travel? If we want to get to Vesovar in time, we must leave tonight. We made a promise to Burin.”

“Yes,” she replied firmly, suiting her words by pushing herself up from the bed and standing. Her legs felt as if they might fold any moment, but she made herself remain upright. Noah slipped an arm around her waist for support. For the first time, she realised she was wearing only a white shirt and nothing else, all the way unlaced and hanging open.

“You’re so pretty,” Edda murmured appreciatively. The girl was quite openly looking her up and down. Elaina smiled and thanked her for the compliment before Noah chased his younger sister out with instructions on what to gather for their journey.

A short time later, the three were mounted out the front of the house and trotting south at a pace Elaina could manage without falling off. Noah was keeping a close eye on her, and she could feel his concern coming strongly through the melda, but she was recovering quickly. Noah had found her a snack of dried meat and bread and some cheese which had helped her along somewhat, though she wished there were time to eat more.

The night felt close as they rode, the darkness clinging to them like a second skin despite the pole lantern tucked behind Noah’s stirrup and the shorter one lashed behind Edda’s saddle. The fat moon was shrouded by thick clouds, offering little extra light to see by, though Elaina hardly needed it. Her night vision was not fully restored, yet, but she could see well enough. To her, the passing trees and shrubs and the contours of the grassy ground beneath Willow’s hooves appeared in her mind as impressions, colourless and still somewhat fuzzy, but no less real than actually seeing them in the bright of day.

It had not taken much convincing to make Noah concede to her riding at the front; even not at her best, her abilities would still give them an edge they wouldn’t otherwise have if something went awry. Besides, travelling at night was dangerous at the best of times. A bear or a pack of wolves presented almost as much risk as encountering darkspawn.

Just behind her, his grey’s nose almost bumping into Willow’s rump, Noah was muttering about not being able to see in the dark, his shaggy head swivelling this way and that as he eyed the trees to either side of the track. His bow was held before him crossways, resting on his saddle, though Elaina knew he could have it raised with arrow nocked faster than she could blink.

Edda rode beside her brother, her big eyes even wider as she rode plump Dancer, more a barrel on legs than a horse. Elaina wished the girl could have ridden behind her or Noah, but if they were attacked, she needed to be able to fight unhindered. She realised she was fingering Shatter’s hilt and made herself stop lest Edda see the motion and grow more worried. As it was, the girl felt scared enough. It was a wonder she wasn’t a blubbering mess from the fear Elaina sensed in her. Poor child. First she loses her parents and sister, then she must leave her home in the dark under threat of a darkspawn attack. She’s doing better than I would in her shoes.

The first half hour passed uneventfully, apart from a drizzle that set in and gradually soaked through their cloaks, leaving them in a chill damp that only got worse when the wind arrived. It wasn’t a gale by any stretch, but any wind at all when you were wet and cold was unpleasant. Noah softly grumbled about bowstrings and moisture, most of it lost in the sporadic breezes.

When they reached the Vesovar Road, Elaina led the party south toward the city, though she kept them off the road as they threaded their way out of the Hills of Gaela and into more level terrain.

Edda asked a couple of times if they might stop and light a fire, but got a firm ‘no’ from Noah, despite the fact he was as chilled as she was. Elaina felt the cold distantly; the warm light of her vala kept the worst of it at bay.

Going by the dim moonlight shadowed by the clouds above - now sitting low off to the west, they’d been riding for about four hours when Elaina pulled Willow to a halt in a small stand of ash and quietly suggested a short stop to stretch legs and rest the horses. She didn’t need it, of course, but Noah’s ribs had been shooting jolts of pain through him at every step. You wouldn’t know it to look at him, except for maybe a slight tightness at the corners of his eyes and mouth, but she felt it well enough.

The rangy hunter dismounted with an ease that belied how much the action hurt him, and Elaina felt another pang of guilt at knowing she was the one who’d done it to him. She would have to make it up to him soon.

Feeling much better than she had upon waking, Elaina walked a circle around the small clearing while Noah fussed over Edda, all the while ignoring her protests that she was fine and didn’t need his help. It made her sad, that Edda was now his only family. It was no mystery as to why he was being so protective of his younger sister. Not his only family, she reminded herself. He has me, now. And in turn, the rest of the arohim.

At some point, Edda’s annoyed remarks towards her brother dissolved into tears, and she fell against him, sobbing. Elaina watched sadly, a tear escaping her own eye as she felt the girl’s pain as well as Noah’s, the latter much stronger for Elaina. She gave them as much time as she dared before gently interrupting and getting them moving again.

Not long later, under a pre-dawn sky dimmed by the clouds, Noah rode up beside her. He said nothing for long moments, then spoke quietly, for her ears alone. “A day and a night to reach Vesovar, then fight a battle at the end.” He didn’t look at her directly as he continuously scanned their surroundings, an endless series of hills broken by the occasional ridge.

Elaina didn’t respond right away. He didn’t want her to, really. He just wanted to say it out loud to get the concern out of his mind. She almost suggested that he not fight and let the Dwarves handle the battle, but after losing his family, he would want to be in the thickest of it, to make the darkspawn pay with blood for his grief. That was not the way to end grief - she knew that better than anyone - but Noah would not appreciate a lecture on the matter at this moment.

“Yes,” she said finally. “That is our course.” She kept her own eyes ahead. Her senses told her far more about her meldin than her eyes ever could. He nodded - and oddly - relaxed.

“Perhaps it is for the best,” he said with a sudden smile. There was actually something of a sparkle in his eyes! The pain inside him had lessened somewhat, but he should be months, if not years, away from healing that grief.

A little alarmed at his sudden transition, Elaina searched the emotions coming from him quickly, trying to understand. When she realised, she pulled Willow up short, making the mare snort in annoyance. “You are expecting to die tomorrow, aren’t you?” It was not really a question. Edda’s gasp from behind her made her wish she’d been more careful, but she was too incensed to care. Her gaze bored into his as she awaited his reply.

Noah reined in his grey and turned to face her. “It is possible,” he said as if saying Dwarves were short. “Likely, even.”

“Likely?!” Elaina scoffed. Gods, but she was angry at him! Years she had kept herself from melding again, but Aran had made her want to open up, and so Noah had happened, too, and now he wanted to go and die on her? She would kill him herself, first! “There are ninety thousand Dwarves set to fall upon Vesovar like a godly hammer! Our victory is all but assured! All we must do is...” She trailed off as she remembered the plan she’d hatched with Burin. “Oh, Noah, you cannot think we will fail at this.”

Her heart sank. All this time she had been envisioning herself riding into danger to draw the enemy out of the city, but of course, Noah would insist on riding with her. His heart was telling her he loved her, but that heart was broken in two after losing his family, and he wasn’t sure he could find his way back.

Angrily, she dashed tears from her eyes. “You will not throw your life away so needlessly, you understand? You have people who need you.” She jerked her head toward Edda to punctuate her words. The girl was staring at Noah ashen-faced, as if already seeing his death in her mind.

Noah smiled sadly at his sister. “I am sorry, Edda. I have been a fool. Please, forgive me.” After a long moment, Edda nodded quickly, though she still looked shaken.

“I could not bear losing you, too, brother,” she said tremulously. “Please, stay alive for me?”

Noah nodded and said he would of course do so, but Elaina felt the lie on his lips, and saw it in his eyes. “Would you throw away my heart so easily?” She asked him in almost a whisper. “After so short a time together?”

His mouth tightened at that, and she felt the conflict in him. Love fighting against pain and sorrow and rage, each struggling for dominance. Aros, please let him be alright, she pleaded silently.

Her question, he did not answer as he turned his grey and cantered on south, leaving the two women watching his retreating back.

The sun rose behind a thick shroud of grey clouds above, though little rain fell as they journeyed further south and east. No further bands of darkspawn hampered their route, which meant they had either moved north already, or were camped in Vesovar. Breaks from the saddle were kept brief; it would be close to nightfall by the time they reached the city.

Would she even recognise Vesovar, more than thirty years since leaving it? What about her family? After all that had happened, she hoped they were alive, even if they did not wish the same for her. It isn’t their fault, she told herself for the millionth time since leaving so long ago. The Heralds poisoned their minds. Still, she could not completely repress the sadness that had plagued her so long ago, the same sadness that sometimes reared up in her when she pictured the faces of her mother, father and brother, looking at her as if seeing a monster.

Stop it! She chided herself. Up ahead, Noah shot her a questioning look over his shoulder. He would have felt her emotions just now and would be wondering what they were about. She hadn’t told him about them, yet. She hadn’t even told Aran, though she got the sense he knew she was keeping something from him. She would tell him when ready.

Love before hate, she reminded herself as she followed Noah up a steep, grassy incline dotted with thick clumps of knifegrass. Suddenly she realised the air had a stillness to it that hadn’t been there before, and she hadn’t heard a bird chirping for some time.

Alarmed, she opened her mouth to call to Noah - he was nearly at the crest of the rise - but he was already dismounting to walk the last few feet in a crouch, keeping his head low. Motioning for Edda to stay back, Elaina did the same, keeping her vala suppressed, until she was peeking over the rise with him. Down below, in the valley between this hill and the next, a long column of darkspawn wound its way past. Small, dark Goblins running with hulking Trolls of grey or dark green in the winding snake of monsters, alongside dog-faced Gnolls and their razorbacks - the giant boars they often hunted with.

The front and rear of the column were out of sight from here, the way they were threading between the hills so, making it impossible to guess the darkspawn numbers without her vala. Beside her, Noah’s fists were tight balls on the grass, his face a grim mask. She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, and when he looked at her, she shook her head slowly. After a moment, he nodded, and she exhaled in relief. He was raw, inside, and liable to try and throw himself down the hill in a rage if she didn’t keep an eye on him.

“So many,” she whispered as she watched the column. “We’re lucky we did not run into them.” Noah said nothing, his stony grey eyes fixed on the valley.

“We need to move,” he said finally, jerking his head west. “Get out of these hills. It’s too dangerous to continue this way.”

Elaina had to agree. Silently, they retreated down the slope and remounted. When Edda opened her mouth to say something, she was silenced by Elaina putting a quick finger to her own lips. With Elaina not daring to open her vala even slightly, Noah took the lead and led them to the base of the hill, then west, toward the Vesovar Road.

The grassy folds of land grew shorter and fewer between as they rode at a quick canter, hurrying but at a pace the horses could maintain for a time. Still, that did not stop them running almost headlong into a scouting party of darkspawn not a mile from where they’d seen the main force. A dozen Goblins and two Trolls skidded to a halt at the top of the next hill, perhaps two hundred paces away, while Elaina and Noah and Edda were at the bottom, looking up.

A moment of shocked surprise froze everyone, and then the darkspawn uttered gleeful cries and charged, the Goblins leaping down nimbly while the Trolls thundered heavily. Elaina steadied Willow as she whickered in fear, and Edda was having trouble with Dancer, the plump mare rearing and rolling her eyes. An arrow took a Goblin in the face as Noah loosed, and his second took another in the chest, crumpling them both at full tilt, their bodies sliding down the slope limply.

Elaina drew Shatter and looked at Edda. The girl had tried to pull her bow from her back but had dropped it while trying to control her horse. She couldn’t fight, and with her horse going wild, she couldn’t flee. Making her decision, Elaina roared and leaped from the saddle toward the darkspawn, flashing up the hill and meeting them in four long, vala-enhanced strides that covered twenty-five paces each until she crashed into them, even as Noah’s arrows flashed past her to find corrupted flesh. He would not hit her; he was a good shot, one of the best she had ever seen.

Careful not to let the Goblins touch her, she moved among them, smashing heads and bodies while avoiding the massive clubs carried by the Trolls that threatened to crush every bone in her body. A few Goblins fell afoul of those clubs, which helped Elaina some as she fought to stop them getting to Edda.

Once the Goblins were disposed of, Elaina squared off with the Trolls. Both of a size - easily nine or ten feet and half as wide - the blunt-faced brutes grinned hungrily as they eyed her, no doubt hoping to cart her off for their fun. The grins slipped when an arrow found the eye of one. It roared in pain and clutched at its face while the other stepped forward and swung at Elaina, its club crashing into the ground where she’d been standing. She took its knee first, Shatter crushing the bone and bringing a scream that dwarfed that of its companion, before disabling the arm that held the club.

With the Troll out of action for the moment, she dashed toward the other and buried Shatter into its chest, folding it in half around the force of her swing. Hurriedly, she left Shatter embedded in the Troll as it fell and drew her dagger to remove its head before it could begin healing. Noah dismounted and raced up the hill to do the other one. Edda watched in horror at the butchery, but when Noah explained, she nodded, though her expression did not lessen much.

“Scouting party,” Noah said between breaths. He was wincing as he panted; removing a Troll’s head was not easy work, and he was injured, to boot. “There will be more.”

“We will try to avoid them,” Elaina replied as she kicked her Troll’s head free to roll down the hill. It was always best to separate the severed heads from the bodies, just in case. Willow snorted as it came to rest by her hooves. The horse shot Elaina an almost annoyed look, tossing her white head irritably. “If we can.”

“I would not mind killing a few more,” he grunted in response as he kicked the other head free, along the hill rather than down it, probably to spare his sister any more discomfort.

“I am sure you will get your chance,” Elaina told him. “We should be moving on. Night will fall, soon, and we still have a way to go.” Suiting her own words, she pulled Shatter free and shook the bloody flesh from the spikes. She would give the weapon a more thorough cleaning later. “Are you well, Edda?” she asked the girl as she swung into the saddle. Dancer appeared to be under control again, though her eyes were still rolling, her nostrils flaring wildly, probably at the scent of Troll and Goblin.

“I am alright,” Edda replied in a shaky voice. She got off Dancer briefly to retrieve her bow, shuddering when she looked at the Troll’s head. The way it had landed, it appeared to be looking at her, its mouth frozen in a pained howl. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help. I just ... froze.”

“It happens, the first few times,” Elaina said gently. “Never mind it. We’ll watch over you.” The girl hardly seemed mollified by those words, but she nodded nonetheless, as if she understood. “Noah? Are you ready?” With a tight nod, Noah took the lead once again, taking them west and south.

Burin paced back and forth in his large tent, half of which was his private quarters, the other half the command room, where the big round table stood covered in maps and markers and figurines. He knew anger showed openly on his face, but he did not care. His general and three captains - all armoured but for the helmets tucked beneath their arms - stood on the opposite side of the table from him, watching him warily. His temper was famous, or perhaps infamous, among his people, and he was using that fact to full effect, today.

Except for the full-faced helmet that hung on the armour rack nearby, Burin was also fully armoured, prepared to ride out at any moment. That moment was coming soon, he was sure. “Where in the Hells is she?” He bellowed for the tenth time since the others had arrived. He knew the question would get him nothing more than blank faces and stammered claims that they were working on finding the Paladin and the hunter, but he asked again, regardless. Maddeningly, Elaina had still not yet returned from the Hills of Gaela, leaving an army of ninety-thousand Dwarves sitting on their hands just south of Vesovar.

“She said she would be here, Highness,” Finya said firmly, but respectfully. “And she will. I would not believe she would abandon us.” The only one to offer any sort of response this time, Finya was displaying more stones than her fellow male captains and her general. Through his frustration, Burin made a note of that, but rising opinion of the woman or no, he still wanted to snap her nose off.

“We do not need her, Highness,” Fathvir said again, sticking to his position like a stout line of drengr pikes before a downhill charge. “My scouts say we have them outnumbered ten to one. We may take some losses, but we will have the day.” He was a good captain, Fathvir, loyal and brave and well-versed in tactics, but he could not be called creative. He also possessed an exuberance for battle that bordered on zeal. Even now, an eager light shone in his blue eyes, and his sandstone-coloured beard - a rare shade, for a Dwarf - almost bristled with his excitement. A good captain, though, when he was kept in line.

Baelin shifted his feet, and the twist to his mouth told Burin the general wanted to say something. Of them all, Burin trusted Baelin the most. His beard was mostly white and his face lined with age, but his grey eyes were sharp, his back straight. Baelin had served Burin’s father, and his grandfather before. He had seen more war than perhaps any Dwarf should in one lifetime, even for a soldier.

When Burin prompted Baelin to speak, he did so carefully. Not a man to err in haste, Baelin. “Highness,” he began in a voice somewhat less robust than it once was - his long years had thinned the timbre somewhat, but Burin had still heard him tear strips off his captains with it - “I believe the Paladin intended the best, but we must consider the possibility that she has fallen, or other matters have taken her attention away from us.”

Burin grimaced. It was the simple truth, but he hadn’t wanted to hear it. Elaina was magnificent; strong, brave and beautiful. Everything the stories said - the real stories, not the ones the Heralds put about - but it was now nightfall of the day she said she would come, and she was not to be seen anywhere, not even by the farthest scouts. He hoped she had not fallen; that would truly be a tragedy.

Eyeing Baelin, Burin found himself nodding reluctantly. “You are right, my old friend,” he said softly. “As usual. I have a duty to my people, do I not?” It was not a question.

“I would not ask you to break your word, Highness,” Baelin added. “So I will not suggest we circle Vesovar and chase the main force north.” Clever, that. Giving Burin the window to do exactly that without asking him directly. He would not take it, but he found himself wanting to smile. Baelin was no less crafty here than he was on the battlefield. “Which leaves us with clearing the city as you promised as quickly as we can before giving chase. I will give the orders at once, with your leave, Highness.”

Burin took a deep breath and opened his mouth to give his assent.

Elaina sat Willow’s saddle at the edge of the last real stand of trees between herself and Vesovar, blinking the rain out of her eyes. The intermittent showers had become steady, driving rain some time ago, and showed no sign of abating. Beside her, Noah sat atop his grey like a stone, unmoving, giving the impression he was his namesake; Stoneman. Together, they peered south toward the city, the high walls lost in the night and the rain. There were no fires lit in the towers, but that was no surprise.

The day had not gone as hoped; three more bands of darkspawn had hampered their journey, costing precious time and energy to dispatch. Elaina would not have believed there were so many left roaming the countryside had she not seen them herself. She fingered a tear in her rain-soaked shirt beneath her cloak, along her ribs. A Goblin arrow had grazed her, there. A few inches up and to the right, and it would have been a killing shot, even for an arohim.

They had left Edda in a small hollow a few hundred paces back with instructions to make for the road and head south as soon as she felt the signal. It was dangerous but bringing her with them on this last part would be much more so.

This was the part where she was supposed to fulfil her role in the plan made with Burin; draw the darkspawn out of the city and into the open where the Dwarves would charge them and destroy them all, but by now, Burin would be certain she was not coming, or at least close to making that conclusion. She was certain Burin would attack whether Elaina played her part or not. At least this way, she could try to mitigate some casualties if it wasn’t too late. Please, Aros, let it be not too late.

Noah’s voice averted her attention for a moment. “What are we waiting for?” He sounded croaky, and through the melda he felt exhausted. His body was a mass of hurts; he had not come through the fighting today unscathed. She was amazed he was still in his saddle.

Elaina was not sure how to answer his question. When she’d suggested she draw out the enemy, she had not envisioned doing it in the dark, in pouring rain, while watching over an injured meldin who still seemed bent on throwing himself in front of the first spear cast at him. Four times today, she had tried making him see sense, and each time he had told her what she wanted to hear, but she had felt no change in his feelings. As far as Noah bloody Stoneman was concerned, if he died tonight, so be it.

I will find a way to make you see sense, you idiot of a man. There was no heat in the thought - not really - just a determination to see him survive.

For the first time tonight, lightning flashed in the sky, the bolt lost in the thick clouds. The sudden, momentary brightness set her into motion. “Are you ready to ride, meldin?”

In answer, Noah dug his heels into the grey’s ribs, the horse leaping forward. Bloody man! Elaina cursed silently as she raced after him. They covered distance quickly, charging at the walls, the horses’ hooves throwing up chunks of sod. Not yet, she told herself, laying low on Willow’s neck. Soon... All too quickly, the walls of Vesovar loomed high above her, made all the more sudden by the way they appeared so quickly in the darkness.