Chapter 63

Chapter 63: Discovery

(Third Person POV)

Haven

It was early morning. An elven slave girl was walking through Haven. In her hands was a tray of food. She was tasked with taking care of the unconscious Herald of Andraste. For the past few days she would bring food to him during meal times, as well as herbs to treat him everyday.

She didn't mind this as the man was an elf like herself. She had gotten used to watching him sleep over the past few days. As he was unconscious she didn't really have to do much, she would take the time to relax, as an elven slave life in haven was anything but easy. As an added bonus an unconscious Herald meant extra food for her.

She finally arrived before the cabin. Using the key she had, she smoothly opened the door and entered, however she froze the next second dropping the tray she had. Her body trembled and a panicked expression could be seen. As fast as she could manage she ran out the cabin, making her way to the chantry.

"What!!", exclaimed Cassandra and Leliana as they got up from their seats. They just had their breakfast when the elf girl rushed in to report.

Cassandra had instructed the girl to inform her immediately when the Herald wakes. However, the report she received was one she had not foreseen. The man had dissapeard.

A blond man abruptly rose from his chair.

"I'll question the guards on watch and begin the search." he said, before swiftly marching out of the room.

"Leliana, mobilize all the available scouts, search every corner, before he gets to far." said Cassandra.

With a nod, Leliana quickly dissapeard from the room.

Soon Haven was in an uproar.

(Leliana POV)

Swiftly making her way to the cabin the other party had stayed in, she scanned the room. With a single glance she knew the other party had left using the window, as it was the only other way out.

As she began tracking the other party she quickly came to the realization that the other party should be weak as he had not eaten anything for many days. If he wanted to get away, the first thing he'll need is food. Coming to this realization she headed towards the Singing Maiden.

After confirming her suspicion from Flissa, she found out the approximate time that he had left. With this he couldn't have gotten far. She continued her tracking. With her years of experience as well as the many scouts under her command, it didn't take long to discover the most likely path the other party would take considering, the time as well as the routes taken by the guards at the time, as well as all the food he should be carrying. Jumping over the wall she confirmed this would be the best choice the other party had.

She sent out the scouts in the possible directions he could have gone. Taking a look at her surroundings, she thought of something, the ways out of Haven are limited, and most required one to use difficult mountain paths most of which were known only by the scouts and herself, considering the elf's condition, the only way left to him is in the opposite direction.

However, if the other party went that way the guards and soldiers watching the gate would instantly spot him. He would also need to go past the soldiers camping in that area, making it nearly impossible to go there without getting spotted.

With a smile she muttered,

"The lake..."

(MC POV)

Having decided on what to do. The first thing I needed was to regain strength. Concentrating, I created a nen clone. My goal was to create a nen based clone technique that at the bare minimum could do the same as a shadow clone.

This world was large, and having played the game and understanding how many side quests and detours there are, this would allow me to cover more ground, Increase speed of comprehension, and most importantly give me the freedom to move about without the inquisition or a certain elven God of deception breathing down my neck.

I made a mental note to use my phone and research all the important items to obtain. I had a month or two before I would be called to Val Royeaux. In this brief amount of time at the very least I should complete half the quests within the Hinterlands. Doing it alone would be a massive pain in the ass.

Just as I reabsorbed the clone attempting to try again I sensed a presence approach. Secretly pulling out a dagger, I prepared to kill my opponent.

Calming myself, my aura formed a sphere around me, with my body as the center it grew outwards. It quickly grew to a radius of 50 meters, before stopping. Everything happening within this radius was instantly perceived by me. Every snowflake, every slight movement or gust of wind couldn't escape my senses. 10 meters behind me I saw a rough silhouette stepping closer.

Alarm bells quickly went of in my head. This person was exceptionally skilled. A person who has nen usually possess heightened senses and are capable of seeing through most things, not to mention a person who is invisible. Yet the other party managed to get within 10 meters of me before I noticed.

Although I was extremely alarmed at this, it did not reflect on my face or body language. With a slight movement all the muscles in my body tensed, ready to burst out in an attack. The dagger in my hand was hardend with nen. The other party seems to have noticed my slight movement, as they immediately stopped in their tracks.

With the passing of time seconds became minutes with neither side making a move. As it had become a waiting game I opened my skill tree. I knew as I was now fighting this person would only lead to a miserable and useless death. Looking at my experience bar I was only a step away from reaching lv. 4. I also had 10 ability points to spend.

Keeping an eye on the other party, I looked through the skill trees. My path had long been decided, I would take advantage of having all classes and become a true battlemage. Without hesitation, I went to the Winter Skill tree, got 'Fade Step' and immediately got its upgrade 'Energizing Step'.

Switching over to the Vanguard tree, I used the remaining 8 ability points. I learned the two abilities 'War Cry' and 'Challenge' as well as well as their corresponding upgrades. The final four points was spent on the passives, 'Trust the Steel', 'Untouchable Defence', 'It'll cost you' and 'Cutting Words'.

My entire body immediately heated up, and I felt a bit of pain as my bones crackled, my constitution and strength increased drastically. It was at these moments I missed my real body, this wouldn't even count as a tickle if that was the case.

Simultaneously a flood of information streamed into my head. My familiarity with the equipment I possessed grew. At this I was willing to bet the only one who understood my equipment better than me was the one who forged them.

Knowing that the current standstill wouldn't last any longer I used all my thought partitions simultaneously to absorb the information faster.

My opponent had already come within 5 meters of me. With my nen I'd already precieved her mustles tighten. Her hand slowly reached to a pair of knives. She shot at me like a bullet. At the same time my dagger flew out aiming at her heart.

[A/N: For those who don't know what the abilities do. I got you. For those who do you can ignore the following.

(War Cry: You taunt all nearby enemies with a shouted challenge, gaining extra guard for each enemy affected.

Duration: 4 Seconds

Guard per Enemy: 20%

Cooldown: 24 Seconds

Cost: 35 Stamina

Upgrades:

-Call To Arms

You draw strength from your War Cry, improving your armor for the coming fight.

Armor Bonus: 200%

Duration: 10 seconds

-Battle Roar

War Cry echoes across the battlefield, catching more enemies and taunting them for longer.

Area of Effect: 10 metres

Bonus Duration: 4 seconds

Requires: Trespasser DLC)

(Challenge:Your powerful shout carries across the battlefield, taunting a targeted enemy and improving your guard.

Duration: 8 Seconds

Guard Amount: 10%

Cooldown: 16 Seconds

Cost: 20 Stamina

Upgrades

-Throw the Gauntlet

Successfully hitting a target with Challenge gets your blood pumping, temporarily increasing your stamina regeneration.

Bonus Regeneration: 15 Stamina per second

-Call Them Out

You can challenge as many enemies as you want, with no cooldown.

Requires: Trespasser DLC)

(Passive Abilities:

-Untouchable Defense:

They can't kill what they can't hit. You get a bonus to your maximum guard.

Maximum Guard Bonus: 25%

Constitution on Unlock: +3.

-Trust the Steel:

You know how to make the most of your equipment, gaining a bonus to armor when you have active guard.

Armor Bonus: 20%

Constitution on Unlock: +3.

-It'll Cost You:

Any foe that attacks you in melee is going to bleed for it, taking a portion of the damage they inflict.

Damage Returned: 15%

Strength on Unlock: +3.

-Cutting Words:

Your party does more damage to taunted targets as you rattle your enemies' nerves and goad them into mistakes that leave them open.

Damage Bonus: 20%

Strength on Unlock: +3.)]