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The group of nine walked slowly through the forest with their leader, Virlen Mahariel, at the head. Virlen, an elf, strode calmly through the endless arrays of flora, actually familiar with the lands for once. It had been too much of the north, as of late, to Virlen’s distaste. While he may have spent his whole life in the country of Ferelden, he had never gotten the chance to travel the lands much, with the exception of the Brecilian Forest. Yes, there were the times his clan scraped the edges of the woods, but it was always in close proximity to the thickness of nature. It may have been something of a cloister, but here and now it served the Dalish Grey Warden well as he had known the lands like the back of his own olive-toned hand.
They had been walking for hours now, and had started their journey in the woods but two days ago. It wouldn’t be too long, Virlen assumed, before they’d find a clan. He made this assumption with the assistance of plenty of hope, as well.
It was when the Dalish elf heard the gentle rustling in the high trees that he became alert. It was most definitely a familiar sound, and not too unusual in these parts.
“Hold,” Virlen commanded, and the group around him halted. Sten, who held the reins of the one horse they had, stopped and shushed the beast. He then unsheathed his great sword of the Beresaad from his back, sensing the same danger Virlen did.
“Get ready,” the leader added as he pulled out his bow and a few arrows from his quiver. Alistair pulled his sword from its scabbard with shield in hand, and Leliana readied her long bow. The two magic-users, Morrigan and Wynne, readied their staves, and the one rogue, Zevran, pulled out his two wicked daggers anticipatingly. It was Oghren and Shale who made more of a show of their combative stance before a flock of giant spiders dropped from the high verdure.
“Spiders!” Alistair yelled, pointing out the obvious.
With two methodical pulls, Virlen sent a pair of arrows straight into the chinks of one spider’s external skeleton, letting it drop from its web onto the ground. Sten and Shale, the elf noticed, had quickly taken on one of the many and felled it with ease. Oghren and Alistair had taken on two, more ambitiously, and the two creatures skittered with ease around the slower warriors.
Virlen’s eyes followed the movement of one of the creatures when he noticed, from his peripheral vision, another. Virlen quickly turned and made to shoot the spider when from his side a dark elf flashed past him and jumped atop the beast.
Zevran, on top of it, made to stab the beast but couldn’t break past its chitin. The arachnid, though, was distracted, and seeing an opening, Mahariel released a single arrow into the vulnerable venom sac of the spider. It fell backwards dramatically and Zevran jumped off of the beast to help the two warriors who had managed to dispatch of one.
Virlen saw more hail from the sides in the greenery and the elf shouted for all to hear, “Leave one alive!”
It hardly distracted any of the group, mainly because the din of battle was so preoccupying. The Dalish turned to see Morrigan, morphed into a spider herself, fighting with a confused other, and Wynne sending a fist of earthen magic crashing into a spider. Leliana finished off the same spider with her bow, and Virlen saw one falling towards the red-headed Orlesian from a web above.
With quick precision, Mahariel dispatched of the predator, and it nearly fell on Leliana. She looked back at him, noticing the new dead creature at her feet, and smiled at the elf. It was an attractive one, he admitted.
The numbers of the spiders had nearly diminished, and Virlen saw Alistair alone bump one with his unyielding shield. Alistair did so again, and as quick as the elf’s long legs could carry him, Virlen ran to the side of the creature.
“Stop,” Virlen order curtly and Alistair did, giving him a weird look.
Virlen examined the stunned creature as the battle died down with Sten and Shale utterly obliterating the final one. Morrigan relinquished her form and the rest of the group came to see Virlen in front of the face of the buggish beast.
The elf gently hummed as he held the face of the spider closely, looking at its many dazed eyes. The others in his group around him all looked at him queerly, and Alistair simply had to say something.
“Uhm… Mahariel?” Alistair asked, with both his weapons still in hand. Virlen’s attention was not drawn.
The others came closer, but not too close as to be attacked by the once aggressive beast. Virlen continued humming a sort of mantra, or lullaby, and held the arachnid’s face close to his own.
Morrigan sneered, “You are endangering yourself, Warden.” The warmness in her tone that Virlen had oddly grown used to was not present, replaced by the general coldness she oft shown others. They weren’t doing too well as of recently.
“Trust me,” Virlen muttered and stepped back. He was still squatted before the spider, but it looked quite different now. The daze knocked into it was perfect assistance to befriend the creature, and Virlen smiled at it.
The others in the crew looked at the two new ‘friends’, bewildered.
“Did you just…” Sten began.
“Become friends?” Virlen smiled at the giant. “I think so.”
Wynne shook her head silently, and Morrigan sighed. “Befriending spiders? Wonderful.”
“Yes. And I thought sleeping with one was bad enough,” Alistair quipped.
Morrigan, who was next to the taller man, non-gently punched the warrior. Alistair recoiled back and gave a cry.
Virlen laughed with his attention still on the spider who was well acquainted with the elf’s face by now. It was an ugly creature, that Virlen would confess, but surely not to its face.
The Dalish elf stood up and dusted off his hands. He patted a hand on the spider’s low neckless head, and said, “Come on now, Flemeth. And the rest of you too.” His handsome face beamed as he walked forward from the group with the skittering spider following closely.
“We aren’t truly letting him keep that?” Zevran asked.
Alistair, who had recovered from Morrigan’s fist, asked with a smile, “Did he just name it Flemeth?”