Viara was babbling, as she seemed to do often and Valan waited patiently until she was done talking, asking questions of her own, answering his, introducing herself and her very tall companion. Valan raised a brow then sheathed his sword and stepped back, motioning them to draw off the path and into the camp.
"It is not surprising you found bodies. This clan was beset by darkspawn. A group of hunters, including the young injured Galen here," he motioned to the other elf. "Remained behind to allow most of them to escape. I have not found enough bodies to suggest they didn't make it to safety and so I am assuming the clan is now at another location. However, most of the hunters who remained gave their lives to ensure this."
He hoped this would reassure the small Captain in some way, to at least know most of the elves she seemed to care a great deal about were not dead. But some were. "Unfortunately I'm not sure what help we can be to your sick child, Viara. I am no healer. Galen is much too injured for us to attempt to track the rest of the clan. Their Keeper might be able to help." His eyes flickered back once again to the tall man she had introduced as Thren. He must be another member of her crew, even though most of them had seemed to be elves, and one ridiculous one-legged dwarf, if Valan's memory did not fail him.
He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, feeling suddenly too old and weary for this. "I would help you to find them, but I am not leaving Galen here. Without a healer we have no choice but to wait till the morning. It will be slow going. However, I believe the darkspawn have moved on. There were only scavengers when I arrived."
He glanced again towards Galen and gave him an assuring nod. "This woman is a friend of the Dalish. She has freed many slaves and brought them here in the past."
He wasn't sure about Galen's own opinion on Shemlen, but for the most part all elves distrusted them, even those who had grown up in the cities. It was little doubt, from what Valan had heard about the disgraceful Alienages, and the way which his kind were trod upon by the humans.