Grey gaurdian. Part 1

"No one is chasing us. It's worth taking a break while you can, and then walking to the nearest village." Duncan stopped, but Elissa didn't. "Do you hear me?"

Elissa hadn't heard. She took one step after another and saw nothing else in front of her except the need to move her foot again. Her vision blurred, and it seemed to her that it was still night. There was no pain, but my body felt heavier with every step, and her couldn't get enough air. She wanted to take off her heavy chain mail, take a sip of water, fall down and fall asleep, but Elissa was walking. After Duncan called out to her, it continued for several more long moments, until consciousness finally left her, and Elissa, unable to take the last step, collapsed forward.

Chase darted restlessly around his mistress, barking piteously. Duncan rushed to her.

"What's wrong with you? Hey!"

Elissa was breathing heavily, and her forehead was covered with perspiration. Duncan tried to turn her over on her back, but when he touched her shoulder, he felt sticky moisture on his palm and felt the fragment of an arrow.

"Save the Creator..."

Duncan lifted the girl onto his shoulder and began to look for at least some flat, dry place, but everywhere there were hills, bumps and holes.

"You're going to have to help me," he said to Mabari. "I need to put your mistress somewhere."

The dog didn't have to be told twice. The Mabari understood human speech perfectly and were renowned for their intelligence. Chase ran forward and soon started barking somewhere to the side. He found a small cave that looked more like a huge burrow, but fortunately, no wild animal had yet chosen it. The ground and fallen leaves in it were dry, and there was even a circle strewn with ashes. Most likely, this place was used for hunters to rest, and it was perfect for camping.

Duncan laid the girl on a bed of leaves and opened her travel bag. Bandages, a bunch of medicinal herbs, an empty water skin, a knife, a bag of dried fruits, some silver, a shirt and a thin woolen cloak — one. Teyrna took care of everything, as if she knew. There was also a medallion with a family portrait and a signet ring, which Elissa had hurriedly thrown here.

The guard spread his cloak on the ground and laid Elissa down, somehow pulled off her chain mail and began to unbutton her shirt, which was completely torn and stained with blood. The dog growled a warning.

"Calm down, faithful friend. I won't hurt her," Duncan smiled.

Chase, as if taking his word for it, stopped grinning and sat down next to him, watching the Guardian's concentrated actions. Duncan soaked a handkerchief with water from his wineskin, washed the wound with it, picked up a short fragment of an arrow-Elissa's body twitched-and carefully pulled it out. He rubbed the medicinal herbs in his palms and applied them. He bandaged it tightly. Then he took out a bottle of some ruby liquid from his bag and gave it to the girl. Then he laid her on her stomach again and covered her with the raincoat in his bag.

"This will help," he muttered, either to himself or to the dog.

Chapter 3.2 Alice comes to her senses

Elissa could smell the campfire even before she opened her eyes. For a moment, she thought about HighEver, but the fire from the fireplace smells different. Highever... She abruptly opened her eyes and tried to stand up, but her shoulder hurt sharply, and she fell onto her elbow.

She remembered everything, and heavy thoughts washed over her, making her body leaden. After waiting out the pain in her shoulder, she still tried to sit up. Mabari put his head under her arm. Elissa lightly stroked him between his pricked little ears and examined herself.

The shoulder is tightly bandaged. A broken knee, too. The scratches on his face were cleaned, and the blood was wiped off his hands. The bloodstained shirt is torn, and clean pieces of cloth are packed in a bag as bandages. The new shirt was lying next to the family sword. The strip of cloth wrapped around her chest is untouched.

Apart from Elissa and Chase, there was no one in the cave. Only a small campfire was smoking nearby, and above it, strips of meat were smoking on sticks stuck in the ground, and a couple of potatoes lay in the coals.

Elissa peered out from behind the cave ceiling into the sky. It seemed to be past noon. Midday... At this time yesterday, she was peacefully reading in the library under the nagging of old teacher Aldous. It's only a day...

"It's good that you're awake."

Elissa shuddered at the hoarse voice and instinctively covered her chest with her cloak. Duncan smiled slightly and entered the cave, holding a couple of soaked wineskins. He handed one to Elissa, who took it hesitantly and took a couple of sips. Strangely enough, I didn't feel like drinking.

"Magicians' potions work wonders. Your wound should heal in a few days", The Guard said calmly, and then added, as if anticipating the question. "It wouldn't have saved your father. I'm sorry."

Elissa turned away and tried not to look at Duncan.

"Your wolfhound is an excellent hunter. Thanks to him, we have enough food for a couple of days, but we should hurry up and get out of the woods. I've found a well-trodden path, so I think we're on the right track", Elissa didn't answer. "We're not being chased, but let's hurry up. I'm sorry that I can't let you rest longer...."

"No need. Come on," Elissa said softly and pulled on a new shirt.

"Eat first," Duncan replied, sitting down and fishing one potato out of the fire.

Elissa didn't feel like eating, even though her stomach was ready to groan from emptiness, and she just shook her head. Duncan did not insist and ate both potatoes, then packed the meat in the bags and got ready to leave.

They came out of the woods after a day and a half. Elissa hadn't slept a wink and hadn't eaten much. As soon as she tried to swallow even a little more food, she began to feel sick and turn inside out. Today they spent the night in a tavern in one of the villages south of the Highever Mountains, replenished supplies there, bought necessary things and left the former possessions of the Couslands. Ahead, beyond the Northern Road, was Bannorn, the land of numerous Bann aristocrats. The Guardian and Elissa had to cross them and reach Ostagar in the south.

Duncan was in a hurry. Elissa followed him, hardly saying a word the entire way. Sometimes they stayed in villages or farms, sometimes they spent the night in an open field. In the settlements, they often heard rumors that the battles in the south were going well, and the creatures of darkness were fleeing back underground.

The townsfolk even laughed at the Grey Guards, who "alarmed the whole of Ferelden" with news of the Plague. Duncan didn't try to change their minds, just remarked quietly: "May the Creator grant that they will never see the creatures of darkness in their lives." He was sure that Pestilence was imminent, but he did not say why.

It took nine days to pass through the interior of the country and reach the Western Road.

"There is another village half a day away, but we will cut through the forest and go straight to Ostagar. I sent a message, so they're already waiting for us. If we hurry, we'll be there by tomorrow evening."

Duncan turned to Elissa. As before, she did not answer him, but only followed, staring at the ground. Duncan sighed.

"At least try to get some sleep. To become a Grey Warden, you will very soon need all the strength and all the will to live that you have. Otherwise, you will die," there was no answer, "...I don't think your parents would want that."

Elissa's eyes widened for a moment, but then they went blank again. Nearby, mabari whined. Duncan sighed again.

They stopped for the last night in the woods when it was too dark to continue their journey. They ate in silence and left the dog to guard them that night. As Duncan said, they are already close to the Wild Lands of Korkari, and there is a chance to stumble not only on wild animals, but also on the creatures of darkness, and Chase proved to be an excellent guard. Elissa just shrugged her shoulders briefly and scratched the dog behind the ear.

That night, Duncan woke up from a bad dream, sweat covered his forehead, and his throat was dry.

Again...

The guard threw branches on the dying fire. The further south they descended, the colder the air seemed. In three or four weeks, the terrible cold weather will begin here.

Duncan glanced at Elissa's bed, which was empty, and not for the first time. He noticed a long time ago that the girl practically does not sleep, but goes away at night and cuts the air. Duncan tried to warn her, but she muttered something about getting used to the sword. She took the shield with her, then left it with a bag by the bed.

Mabari sat at his post with his ears pricked up, but he looked away and sometimes whined. Duncan had no doubt where the girl had gone. He could even see the reflection of the moon on the silverite blade of the Kusland sword between the trees.

Elissa was fighting the shadow. The sweat on her body quickly evaporated in the cold air of the southern forests, but she did not freeze and moved even faster at the slightest chill. Her arms and shoulders ached, but she was already used to the weight of the sword. She's Cousland, and he's on her arm. It cannot be otherwise. When the time comes, he must cut off the traitor's head.

Elissa had been practicing for hours and nights. Fatigue had accumulated over the past few days, but I couldn't fall asleep. She could see that Duncan was worried about her, but there was nothing she could do. She continued to fight with the sword against the images in her head, foolishly hoping that it would drive them out of her dreams. Elissa whirled around to make a roundhouse kick, but her sword collided with someone else's dagger. There was a clang of metal in the night. The girl shuddered and opened her eyes wide. She didn't even hear anyone approaching her.

Duncan looked calm. Elissa lowered her sword and averted her eyes. The guard retracted his dagger, impressed by the force of the blow. If his weapon wasn't made of the same silverite, she would have broken it, but instead of praising him, he firmly said:

"You need to get some sleep. We will arrive in Ostagar tomorrow. There will be a lot to do, but you will need strength."

Elissa sighed and sheathed her sword.

"I understand," she suddenly said into Duncan's eyes. "The threat of imminent Pestilence does not allow you to consider what happened to us a tragedy."

The guardian was surprised for a moment, for the first time in several days, Elissa answered him.

"Yes, but that doesn't stop me from sympathizing with you," Duncan noted.

"I know," she sighed heavily again. "I'm trying. Truth. But I just close my eyes and see them as if they were real. I see them alive and well, and then there's blood all over them... and Hou is standing over their bodies!"

Elissa was shaking again. Anger and grief alternated in the form of images in her mind. She wanted to distract herself. She needed a distraction! She wanted to go to Ostagar to tell her brother everything and finally unleash an inner storm on her enemies. It doesn't matter if it's Hou's soldiers or the darkspawn.

"Go back to the campfire," Elissa said. "I'll... be there soon. As soon as I'm really tired, I can fall asleep."

"I've been waiting for this, but it seems to be useless", Duncan replied dryly and took her neck in a lightning grip. Then he pressed on the carotid artery.

Elissa didn't even have time to realize and just went limp in his arms. Chase barked aggressively and was ready to bite the traitor as soon as he released his mistress, but Duncan picked her up and calmly explained to the dog:

"I'm sorry, but I had to do it. Your mistress will wake up in the morning."

The dog did not immediately believe it and was still growling, but after Duncan put Elissa down on the bed and moved away, mabari took a place next to his mistress and did not leave her for the rest of the night.

When Elissa opened her eyes, the sun had already fully risen above the horizon. She sat up, blinking, and rubbed her neck. For a moment, a wave of childish indignation rose inside. No one had ever dared to do that to her before, it was rude! However, Elissa was well aware that Duncan had done this with the best of intentions, and all these days she had been doing nothing but making him worry. What a shame.

"Did you sleep well?" Duncan asked without a trace of irony, and Elissa nodded affirmatively. "Great. I was hoping to get out earlier, but I didn't wake you up. We need to hurry up."

"I'm ready. I'll eat on the way," she replied.

Duncan finally smiled.

Chapter 4. Arrival in Ostagar

By evening, the Guards had reached the Imperial Highway. The majestic towers of Ostagar could be seen from afar.

"This fortress was built during the time of the Tevinter Empire many centuries ago. The royal forces have already fought several battles with the darkspawn, but this is where the main forces of the horde will move towards us. There aren't many Grey Guards in Ferelden right now, but everyone who is is in this fortress. If we don't stop the Plague here, it will spread north, and then Ferelden will fall," Duncan explained and glanced at Elissa.

She hardly listened and stared in fascination at the ancient fortress ahead. Ostagar, once impressive, has now half turned into ruins, but still has not lost its grandeur. He was supposed to show the wild tribes of the south the full power of the Tevinter empire, and now, many years after the fall of the former Tevinter, a war will take place here that will determine the future of Thedas. It was here that Elissa wanted to come, though not in this way, but the solemnity of the moment made her forget about everything for a moment. However, not for long.

"Duncan!" A young man in golden armor and with a wide, good-natured smile came out to meet them. His golden hair was combed back, and his gray-blue eyes were shining with joy.

"King Kaylan?" Duncan smiled in response and shook the outstretched hand. "I didn't expect that."

"That the king will come out to greet you? I thought you'd miss the fun."

"Only as a last resort, Your Majesty."

Duncan seemed genuinely pleased with the king. Elissa had heard that Kaylan was a very kind and simple-minded man who was more involved in military affairs than politics and government. Which, however, is more than compensated for by his talented and prudent wife. Elissa had only seen them briefly before, when her father had taken her to a land meeting in the capital several times.

"The guards said you've found a skilled recruit. Is that her?" Elissa bowed her head in reverence.