Forged of Blood[Honovi]

[Alex]

Suddenly he turned his gaze to meet Honovi's eyes. He wanted her to look back. He looked at her for a long while, as if studying her, but without finding much more than frustration. And even that he could've puzzled out on his own.

"I don't like this, either... you just make me like this. Moody. Now that I think of it, I almost like it like this. I don't remember when I last were moody. Twenty years ago, maybe." He gave a short laugh, one of those authentic, warm laughters you didn't hear from him often.

"As you said... let's go and find that scholar." He almost seemed to enjoy his own queasiness as he stepped out of the wagon, instantly replaced by irritation at the heat. And the damn flies.

Keldian worried in his house, worried for what would become of that... leash. At most, it seemed to have made him alert of his attempts to form such a bond. If he ran away with that, or found out what the runes meant...

It would not do. He had promised to use any means necessary, and that were his plans all along - persuade or force. He would have somehow have to keep track of the two and inform Karill to seize him. She was only a minor annoyance, though. Let her be their prize, then.

Keldian rose from his bed, suddenly enveloped by the sickly orange glow of blood magic. He simply... enjoyed it. Karill would take care of them later. His own task would be to follow them, covered by the blood magic. With that, it would be a very easy task.

[Honovi]

The journey out of town was uneventful, but Honovi couldn't help tossing the occasional uncertain glance Alex's way. After their argument in Keldian's wagon they had made up but there was nothing companionable about the silence they shared now. It felt very strange to be with him without knowing what to say. Stranger still that she felt she needed to say anything at all.

Honovi was holding Makya in her arms simply to have something to occupy her hands by the time it was midday, and she called for a stop.

"We should eat something, brother."

She sent Makya into the air to set up camp, but as soon as he was up he let out a familiar screech - danger. In the next instant her bow was out and she could hear movement in the forest, bandits rustling leaves and snapping leaves like the amateurs she knew they were. Idiots. The first was dead before he even broke through the trees, one of Honovi's arrows lodged neatly in his eye. At least her distress hadn't affected her aim.

Another bandit came, and then another, and for once Honovi was grateful for the sudden attack. Perhaps this would finally break the tension humming between Alex and herself. Combat was good for precious little, but it was a familiar dance and there was no better partner to have than her brother. Nor one with whom she was so familiar.

[Alex]

A lazy day, really, when he compared it to some others they had had. Not to say that it had not been a hard day; they had traveled nearly twenty-five miles during that day's march, a goal even the greatest armies would find themselves hard-pressed to accomplish. For that, he felt proud - surely it was all deserved.

He could feel himself aching for that food, wanting to feel the hot stew pouring into his belly...

And it probably won't be that good if he'd let Honovi make it.

Abruptly he jumped onto his feet, rushing over to the cookfire to check whether she had cooked it the Chasind way or the correct way. With all due respect to the Chasind, he could not say that he liked their way of making food. Unless she was simply a horrible cook, that is.

His mending to the cookpot was rudely cut short as he heard one of the warning signs Honovi's pet hawk, Makya, used. If he could only remember what it was.

Abruptly Honovi jerked up from the ground, her hand nocking, drawing and releasing an arrow quicker than he could see from the corner of his eye. And then he noticed the rustling, the noise their assailers made in the forest, blundering about like amateurs. His hand went for his sword in an instant, but it remained in its scabbard. For the moment.

He grabbed the stout longbow from Pearlmouth from the ground, slinging an extra quiver of arrows from Honovi to his side as his gaze scanned for targets. He nocked an arrow ready, drew the bow to its extent and released the arrow at a stout-looking fellow with a graying beard as he was about to launch himself at Honovi. It impaled the man straight through, his leather armour proving to be no match against his longbow.

He nocked another arrow ready just as a group of at least twenty bandits veered from the forest, all equipped like veteran soldiers. The chainmail was no match to his longbow, though. Not from this distance, not from less than a hundred feet. Maker, they truly were close.

He drew and released, drew and released, moving closer to Honovi after taking each shot. Finally he ran to her with his bow in hand, eyeing the slightly reduced band of sixteen running towards them. One or two had some crude yet nimble-looking arrows stuck in their shield, but it did not seem to slow them down. He opened his mouth as he drew closer to Honovi, feeling worry for her as if this was their first battle together. Worry that could be deadly.

"Honovi... Sister, do as I say. Fall back and shoot at them while I fend them off. Or run. I'll run, too, but I won't see you in their hands."

What a perfect moment to be brave. He knew it, but this was what he was there for. It was up to Honovi to decide, now; from what he knew of the Chasind, this could very well mean something very deep. Just that he wasn't interested enough right now to pay any closer attention to it. Another of the better-equipped warriors fell to his arrows, but the initial wave of the bandit rabble were apparently dead. Or hiding.

Abruptly three more fellows entered from the forest, all clad in the same chainmail as the group before them. And behind them, a small army of bandits, equipment varying from their own clothes to heavy chainmail, yet several had bows nocked and ready. The foremost of the three was raising his hand as the archers quickly drew a line to his both sides.

"We'll run now. Run! Run, damn it!"

He stepped back uncertainly, dropping his bow and drawing his sword instead. What good it would do against the archers, he did not know, yet something would have to happen. Suddenly he barked out a laughter. Ambushed and killed by a random bandit army in Ferelden! It was not hilarious, exactly, but nothing at all what he had expected. And that's what made it funny. Just thinking about Honovi made him stop abruptly, however.

Suddenly he saw that the path to the archers was clear; the group of well-equipped soldiers had dispersed to both sides, forming a hallway of sorts, and in the other side of it was the long line of archers, their bows fully drawn, quivering of expectation.

But the hand did not come down yet.

Alex muttered a final plead to her under his breath.

"Run!"

[Honovi]

Fall back while he fended the bandits off? Really? Alex should know better. Honovi had never run from a fight in her life, and certainly not when her friends were still fighting. She held her ground firmly as Makya harried the enemy troops, raking his talons across archers' eyes and hands, jerking bows free and carrying them high into the air before letting them go to shatter on the ground. Honovi peppered the men with arrows, sleek steel heads and wooden shafts finding their way through open air and narrow eyeslits alike to blind and kill.

They were both dying young anyway. At least it was a nice day for it to happen.

When Alex shouted to run again Honovi only spared him a brief glance, snorting when she saw him draw his sword. If he wasn't running, neither was she. His half mad laughter was concerning, however, and Honovi pinned him with a hard look before she fired again. There was nothing funny about their situation. Except, perhaps, that the two of them were facing down a small army together. Too bad there was no one around to see this, theirs would be a death worthy of bards.

Honovi couldn't help it, her face split into a wicked grin of her own at a thought like that.

But the swordsmen were breaking off, forming a tunnel to the archers, and Honovi smelled a trap. Her grin twisted into a snarl and she threw her arm around Alex's waist, shaking her head, trying to drag him back. If he charged the soldiers would only close on him, crush him from all sides at once and however heroic he thought it might be it wouldn't do anyone any sort of good at all to leave Honovi as the only possible target while he lay dead in the road.

"Run with me brother. In the forest, quickly, I know the way."

Tugging at him desperately as Mayka did his best to distract the bandits, Honovi took a step to the far side of the road.

[Alex]

He saw her pet falcon, Makya, leap at the archers, even managing to snatch bows from some, yet it was desperate. She would have to understand that running was th-- ah. If he was not running, then she wouldn't either. He suspected it was the Chasind honour in her veins that was now surfacing. That always surfaced, actually. They were both fools.

Abruptly he felt something tugging at his coat, and he whirled around. Honovi, of course. Run? Now? They had better run fast, then. It was nearly too late to do any running now.

"I suppose that Makya will have to follow, then..."

He started towards the forest as he heard the archers release their darts. Alex ran harder than he thought he could, saw the forest's edge become closer to him at every step. It meant safety, now, not destruction.

Something crashed into his arm with the force of an avalanche as he was running, sending shockwaves of pain running rampart across his skin. He felt... liquid. It felt liquid. The force pulled his arm down until he found himself stumbling, nearly falling down, but his resolve of preserving his own life was stronger than he had expected. Without really thinking he continued until he was deep in the forest... and lost. Horribly lost.

He heard Honovi behind him, now, but he could not turn around to face her. Something in his arm caught his eye as surely as a darkspawn caught the eye of anybody. A three-feet long arrow shaft stuck out from his arm.

He inhaled deeply, filled with horror and disgust. His sword lied on the ground beside him. The pain was slowly coming back with each pulse, and as each pulse pumped more blood into the wound, trickles of blood began pouring down from it. He watched in horror as soon blood covered most of his arm, the once-clean and dry sleeves of his coat now dark-red with blood.

[Honovi]

Finally, Alex was agreeing to run. Honovi followed more slowly, her back to Alex as she covered their retreat. She emptied half her quiver into the bandits' ranks, but there were so many and one of their arrows found it's way past her before she turned and fled.

Alex.

She could see him stumbling through the trees until he finally collapsed. No. No no no no no. Crashing through the forest like a bear wasn't exactly her style, but she could see blood on the ground. His blood, from the arrow protruding from his arm. Honovi ran through the trees heedless of the noise and dropped to her knees by his side. It didn't take long to wrap a bandage around his arm on either side of the arrow to staunch the blood, and once that was done she snapped off the ends as close to his skin as she could manage.

"I will tend it when we stop, but we have to keep running."

Next moment her arms were around his waist, helping him to his feet and praying that he'd leave the sword on the ground. There was something very strange going on, but they had to get away to find out what it was.

[Alex]

His response for being pulled up and helped on his feet was to let her; he kept reminding himself that he could run a few more miles yet, or at least far enough to evade the bandits. 'Bloody sword, he thought, leaning to grab it from where it lay, where are your supposed magical powers? They had better show themselves quickly, or i'll just dump this thing on the ground.' He placed it firmly back into his scabbard at his waist, but it took him some seconds to actually move. His arm was getting worse, no matter what he told himself.

A few seconds passed before he could get a move on, but when he did, he tried to keep his regular pace - the bandits couldn't be too far behind. Just then he remembered where his bow was. Dumped on the ground. Blood and bloody ashes. The bow could've been very useful in the forest. Then again, he couldn't have used it because of the state his arm was in. He hoped it would heal in time before it had to be removed. All that concern had to be released somehow. So he spoke, to the only person available at the moment.

He told her, quietly, about his bow, and about his concerns for the arm, while walking slowly to prevent any further pain to his arm - he had walked fast for a time, but soon the pain had grew unbearable - yet there still was no sign of pursue. Perhaps they thought they had already killed them? Or they were just keeping well out of range, but tracking them down nevertheless. That thought made him shudder a little. What good would a sword do against bows and arrows?

Over time, he began to lose the sense of time, and his limbs began to feel numb. Soon it was all he could do to just keep moving, and even then in a slow, slumbering manner - he knew that they just had to tend to his wounds now, or he would go unconscious. But Honovi was supposedly their medical expert. Let her tell him.

[Honovi]

Finally, finally they seemed to have lost their pursuers and Honovi helped Alex to sit. Running through the forest was hardly the first action she'd recommend for someone with an arrow sticking out of his arm, but they'd needed to get away. Well they seemed to be doing alright now, at least, and Honovi started digging through her pack for medical supplies. It wasn't as bad as it looked, at least, and Honovi shook her head at him as she gripped his arm.

"You are lucky it hit you where it did, this is not so bad. Now be still."

With that she took hold of one of the protruding ends of the arrow and pulled it out, rapidly clamping down on the wound once it was free. A flesh would, but it had bled a lot. Very well, bandages and an elfroot poultice would do well enough for that. Shortly after that Alex's arm was as patched up as Honovi could make it and she sat back on her haunches to regard him quietly for a moment.

"Those were not common bandits."

No need to say anything else - the question was implied. What reason could there be for a pair of common mercenaries to be ambushed in the road? And it was far too much of a coincidence after Alex's sudden illness, and Keldian's help, and that sword. Something was going on and they - no, Alex was in the middle of it.

Honovi wanted nothing more to do with secrets, not between the two of them. She needed to know everything Alex did. Immediately.

[Alex]

Alex sat still, the occasional wince in between stifled groans marring his face, but sat nevertheless through the whole process. Not so bad, was it? He'd show her bad. He couldn't get any worse, though, unless someone came up to him and cut him up so badly he couldn't move. Suppressing another groan, he watched as Honovi finished the treatment with an elfroot poultice, and stood up as soon as she let go of his now considerably heavier hand.

"Those were not common bandits." she said, the unheard question hanging all too obvious in the air.

Alex put a weary hand on his scalp, wiping sweat off his forehead.

"Strongarms and cutpurses, mostly, although I just can not imagine where they managed to fetch so many bows from. I don't know why they are after me, so don't look at me like that, Honovi," he said.

His hand fell on his sword hilt again, and he glanced about warily as though expecting an attack at any moment.

[Honovi]

"I expect they got their weapons from whoever hired them," Honovi said evenly as she strode on through the forest.

Whatever reason for Alex being a target and whoever was targeting him, it had to have something to do with the sword. It had to have been costly - Keldian would not have simply given in to a common sell-sword, friend or no. And truly, she wasn't sure he was really an old friend of Alex at all. There was something very off about the old man.

Still, she made no comment as they strode through the forest. If Alex said he didn't know why he was wanted Honovi would believe him. They'd always trusted each other before, always had each other's backs, and always to their benefit. He was looking bad though, and she made sure to keep only to a pace he could match. Even then she stayed close in case he stumbled.

The rest of the day passed quietly enough, at least, and even at their reduced pace taking a straighter path through the woods than the road would have allowed had them at the Denerim gates just before nightfall. They'd made it just in time, then. Any further delay and they would likely have been locked out for the night.

"We should find an inn for the night. Perhaps someone there can tell us where to find a scholar."

[Alex]

The remainder of the journey was completed in a silence of some manner with either side casting worried glances at each other, although the latter was mostly practised by the Chasind. It did not serve well to soothe Alex, for he was already in the full knowledge that his life depended on Honovi's assistance, which, oddly enough, bothered him to some extent. He didn't want her to get hurt in order to save him. Alex knew that Denerim was still ways off to the East, but as for how far, he couldn't tell. Perhaps a dozen miles, still...

"We should find an inn for the night. Perhaps someone there can tell us where to find a scholar." Honovi said. Alex gave a start; if she was already beginning to think about arrangements in Denerim, how long was it till they reached the city gates? How long till someone with the proper supplies could patch him up good? Did he even need that with Honovi's treatment? His pace quickened, and suddenly it took only one stride to cover the same distance two had just moments before.

"We're not far from the city, are we?" he said. The ambush at the clearing began to haunt him again, memories of the near past filling his mind, and suddenly the pain was pulsing in his veins again. He did his best to shove it away and maintain his pace, but slowly the pain dulled his mind, slowing his movements to the same old slouch. He imagined chains, chains and an iron ball dragging behind his feet, and unsurprisingly the feeling matched the one he received from the real world. But there wasn't much more to go anymore.