It had been hours ago that the group had first passed under the leafy boughs that signified entrance into the Brecilian Forest and they had been traveling down the sun dappled path in the wake of the Dalish Warden ever since. Trees were not foreign to the Qunari but this forest was vastly different from the jungles of his homeland. The comforting heat was missing and his surrounding seemed lifeless and dull in comparison. The life dwelling here was different, even the birdcalls echoing through the trees were entirely unrecognizable to him. It was… unsettling not to know what to attribute each sound to, what to call each creature.
The group itself had quieted a great deal under the forests solemn watch, though whether it was from paranoia or a sense of tranquility was unknown. Smatterings of conversation would break out before all would fall into peaceful silence until it would slowly start up again. The Karashok’s own words were limited to answering the few questions directed to him as shortly as he could manage.
Beneath that stony silence was a hidden conversation between the two Qunari told through movement, a look or a brief fluttering of hands was all that was necessary. Words were almost entirely unneeded but still the comforting lilt of his own tongue would occasionally drift into the air. The voice that replied was never the one he expected and phrases that had once brought on merciless ribbing now received careful consideration and calm replies in turn.
It was the sudden stillness that first alerted him to the danger, his companions were still talking but the forest around them had grown unnaturally quiet. One hand froze in place before fingers shifted into a flurry of activity, signaling his mage to hold position, just as the smallest Warden dashed into the undergrowth to empty her stomach. Momentarily distracted, head tilting in something resembling concern, the sound of the Human Warden’s voice rang out and focused him back on the issue at hand.
Darkspawn. Finally.
In one smooth motion Kadan was free from her harness and held before him, a barrier and warning to whatever would come. Striding confidently forward, not an ounce of hesitation to be found, he called back to his mage an order not to die and murmured to himself the closest thing to a prayer he knew. Ataash qunari! … Glory to the qunari! And so it would be, this Karashok would make certain of it.