The Youth of the Dalish: A Dragon Age Fan-Fiction Story

Ice

Juli strode quietly behind the three hunters. It'd been difficult for Juli to bee more stealthy than Tobias, the man made no sound at all. On one occasion, they'd heard Juli from behind. Thankfully, they were in a area where it was full of trees, so Juli was able to hide behind the trunk of one before they wheeled to see what was behind them. Juli was determined to not get caught, as they would probably take him back to the camp. He was committed to see where they were going, maybe Tobias was looking for Doreen and Uncle. Nevertheless, Juli was willing to investigate their whereabouts, even if it meant upsetting Mother. He'd snuck out of the camp with very little trouble, for the most part anyway. When Juli woke, it was drizzling outside. However, that did not stop him from sneaking out of the camp. Patrick had caught him, and strangely enough, the adult human didn't scold him.

Patrick said, "I'll never understand how you Dalish do it. But if you're gonna hunt, take some proper armor."

The "armor" covered almost his entire body. It was almost like a metal suit that had great flexibility. Juli realized just how much this armor protected him when he tripped over the root of a tree that was above the ground and plummeted, the insides of the suit felt soft. Juli assumed it was some kind of padding. Juli decided to not dwell onto the wonders of the armor, as he was making sure his gait was not loud enough to get the attention of Tobias again. Out of the three, Theresa was the loudest. Juli assumed that was because she was the loudest and huskiest of the three. Despite the fact that Erick was the most limber of the three, he was still a bit louder than Tobias. The man had a knack for stealthiness. Tobias wasn't taller than Theresa but he was taller than Erick. The blonde guy was just a couple of inches taller than Juli. Had it not been for the stubble on his face, one could mistake him for a teenager.

The farther they went in, the more trees appear. There were so many trees, that Juli was losing the sense of direction of where they were going. Do they even know where they are going? The white clouds didn't help, as they blocked the sun. The lack of light allowed the trees to become a canopy that made the place looked dim. He heard the snap of a twig, out of instinct, he wheeled to see what it was. There was nothing.

crunch.

He wheeled back to front, and there was nothing but trees.

crunch.

He peered anxiously to his left and right...nothing, and the three hunters escaped from his sight. HIs nostrils flaring, with bow at the ready, he looked into every direction of the never ending forest of trees. He knew something followed him. He could feel it. His bow, oddly enough, didn't tell him there was a threat about, like it did before with the darkspawn back at the camp. For a moment, he squinted into what he thought was the path that the three hunters had taken, he saw nothing but trees in the dim landscape.

crunch.

Despite his dread, Juli mustered his courage, "Whatever or whoever you are, come out and face me!"

His voice was loud enough that he heard how it echoed through the forest, he indeed was alone. He felt something gripped his shoulder from behind, he tried to get it off, but before he could, the hand dragged him down to the ground. He tasted the wet dirt of the ground and felt his shoulder hit hard against it. For a moment, he just laid on the ground. Then, lifted himself up.

With bow at the ready, he shouted at what dragged him down , "GET AWAY FROM ME DARKSPAWN OR YOU DIE!"

Juli noticed how this creature was rather lithe and small, compared to the one that attacked him back at the camp. Juli noticed that the creature had hair, it didn't have talons... it had fingers. He noticed the bizarre specimen winced and writhed in pain.