Archive of Our Own ^beta

It’s official: the Fallow Mire is the worst place Kali has ever been to, perhaps even including Future Redcliffe. At least Future Redcliffe was dry in some places, once they’d found their way out of the dungeons. Out here, everything is wet, and getting wetter by the second. Water covers much of the land, and the rare places the ground breaks the surface are mostly made up of mud that sucks on her bare feet with every step. Even the few houses they’ve come across have sheets of water pouring down the walls inside.

Their only way of crossing the marsh is a series of battered wooden walkways. The planks and posts are rotting through in places, and slippery everywhere, which makes for treacherous passage. So far, both Gideon and Sera have planted feet into the bog, and disturbed the possessed corpses slumbering beneath its surface. Somehow, the Iron Bull has managed to avoid going into the drink, and perhaps that’s why Kali thought she could avoid the same fate.

No such luck.

She takes the next step on the walkway, and it gives way underfoot. She cries out in surprise. An awful decision, really – she’ll get a mouthful of corpse water and die of some horrible disease. Only she should have done so by now. Opening her eyes, she takes in the large, grey hand closed tight around her upper arm. Bull pulls her back onto the platform, but doesn’t let her go.

Of course, the broken wood still hit the water, and the second of confusion gives more corpses time to rise from the marsh.

“Crap,” Bull grumbles.

“Quick, let me down!” Kali blurts.

Bull, however, seems to have other ideas. “Hey, remember that idea I had about throwing someone over the enemy line?”

“The enemy are in the middle of the bog!” she protests.

“Same principle, different tactic.”

He hoists her up by the waist, plants a hand on her backside, and and then she’s in the air. Not heading for the enemy, heading for the shore. She manages to twist in the air enough to go hands-first, rolling over and up into a crouching position. Turning around, she sees Bull running after her, kicking up huge sprays of water. The walkway had collapsed completely. More bodies unfold themselves from beneath the surface, wielding jagged swords and driftwood bows.

Arrows fly in both directions. Sera picks some off with her bow. Gideon calls forth fire and, once Bull is clear of the water, lightning. Kali attacks with throwing knives before the undead swordsmen come ashore. She draws her dual-blades, but Bull gets there first. He swings his greataxe, and they topple to the floor, legs separated from their bodies. Though they try to crawl onward, they don’t prove much of a challenge. Kali and Bull make short work of them.

With the corpses dispatched, for at least the second time, the group are relatively safe for now. Kali sheathes her dual-blades, and hurries over to Bull.

“Are you alright?” she asks.

“Fine,” he replies, grinning. “You went further than I thought.”

“Oh, but all that wood. You didn’t get cut, did you? And what about your leg? I’m so sorry. I never should have…”

“Kali, the leg’s fine,” Bull insists. “I’m fine. Not even a scratch.”

She trusts him, and she would hate for him to think otherwise, but she also knows just how well an injury can hide. He notices her hesitation quickly, because he speaks again. “You can look me over when we get to camp,” he offers. And then smirks. “As much of me as you want.”

Sera cackles, Gideon snorts, and Kali heats up like a dragon’s belch, despite the cold rain. “Bull!”

“What? You’re worried.” He pats her on the shoulder – hard enough to knock her off balance, but not quite hard enough to really hurt – and walks off up the path. He pauses just long enough to look over his shoulder and add, “and I know how much you enjoy checking me out!”

Kali finds herself wishing that the bog would swallow her up and she’d never have to be looked at again. Instead, she has to deal with Gideon smirking at her. “Do you want us to hang back here, or…?”

She fights the urge to hide her face in her hands. She turns her chin up, and looks him straight in the eye. “What are you laughing at? You said you wished you could sleep with him too.”

Sera and Gideon laugh with her this time, as she turns on her heel and follows Bull up the road.