One Skill Short

Murphy's Law

Chapter 4:

Haven was on fire, my lungs burned, and Maven was still nowhere in sight.

Had she jumped into the shit storm when it happened? That wasn’t like her at all.

‘Unless the adrenaline hit had tempted her.’

I almost bowled Cullen over on my way into the Chantry.

Staying by the entrance, I watched as Flissa and the other main survivors filtered in. I waited for the booming indication of Corypheus engaging Odessa in what was mostly sassy dialogue. The others had been separated from her and were heading here as people took the path Chancellor Roderick had told them about.

Iron Bull and Dorian had been in her party with Varric. I ushered them in and rushed to Iron Bull. More precisely to the person in his arms.

“Maven, you stupid-...fuck!” There was an arrow in her chest that seemed to have narrowly missed her heart. My guess was that Dorian didn’t do healing.

“Keep her sitting up. Bull, I need you to push that arrow up a little more so I can see the entire metal bit. Good. Now break the end with the tail.” I took the cloth from my light bracers and tore the metal from them. I balled them up and pressed one of the wads to the wound on her back.

“Pull the metal out and pull it straight. Now!” I held them at either side and stared at everyone.

“What the fuck happened? Those are mages. How’d she get an arrow in her back?”

“One of the town’s people who took up arms. Maven got caught in the crossfire while she was helping us work the trebuchets.” Varric explained.

‘Are you fucking shitting me?’

“Is this really the best place to be doing this?” Dorian asked and I glared, unable to defend myself.

“Get me some blankets from the beds in that room!” I demanded instead. He was right, though. Maven could bleed out here. I grabbed some gauze from the pack I kept on me in case Leliana ever let me fucking tend to people and wrapped it. I should have removed her medium armor but we were going out into biting cold and were already short on time.

“Let’s go.” There was something that flickered in Bull’s eye, but there was no time for anything other than getting out of here. We got her cocooned in a couple of blankets before Bull picked her up and carried her out the same way he had brought her in.

‘She needs to make it. I’m not losing her in Act 1. She needs to see Skyhold. If she dies it’s all my fault.’ I couldn’t think about anything else as we hurried to the join the evacuating group.

Torch flames lined up in the distance like a mob out of Salem were the last things I saw before my vision spotted out to nothing.

I awoke to everyone singing and moved my head in search of Maven. She was next to me, breathing easy, and still out cold. Her lack of bandaging confused me. Had someone healed her? Solas maybe?

Urging myself up, I saw she wasn’t bleeding and still had her leather on. Checking the large hole in the torso, I saw a small cross-shaped scar.

“Would me telling you how risky that was make you angry with me?” I shook my head, not turning towards Varric.

“No. That’s probably the most impulsive thing I have ever done. It was stupid and could have cost her her life. Who healed her?”

“You don’t remember? You did.” My head snapped up to him, my brows knit together.