ZN: Warden: Derek Amell, Farmer Girl: (you guessed it) Raven Hawke
Wild's Invader
Morrigan felt them before seeing them. More preciously, she felt another mage presence. At first she thought it was just the farm girl, but following the disturbance led her to Ostagar. More scouts? No…this group was different. Far ahead she saw a group of four men dispatching the last of their wolf attack. Morrigan transformed into a small bird form and flew over to the group. She sees two ordinary men who she quickly falls out of interest for. From the man with the sword and shield she could feel the darkspawn taint inside of him; a Grey Warden. It was not he who was leading the group, it was the male mage. The one whose presence she felt. Now this interested her.
The mage wore the robes of the Circle, she expected no less. But this power emanating from the man…she has only felt this one other time with the farm girl. It was quick, but yes this was the same power. A power that the worthless Circle could never teach, or contain. Morrigan was looking down on them from her spot on the tree. She could not make out the face of the mage, but he had long black hair pulled back into a tight thin braid.
The mage motioned for the group to move forward and they continued on the small dirt path. She follows as they come across the ambush scene. There is a lone survivor, if you can even say that. The man was crawling on the ground towards the group. He is covered in blood and he holds his side with an open wound.
"Try to bandage him up," the mage says to the Warden. The mage's voice is deep. Deep and booming. A powerful voice that has experienced and endure a great deal. A voice that one would not like to hear from the handler of your death blow. It intrigued her, but the sympathy coming from it? There was no point in trying to help the already dead man. She could feel the darkspawn blood within the man. Surely the Warden of the group could feel it too. Still, the Warden bends down and wraps bandages around the dead man's waist. The soon be corpse limps away from the group, and one of the ordinary men start to cower. He was complaining about the darkspawn, and about whatever task that sent them into the Wilds. Morrigan was quickly growing sick of this man. If she were there she would slap the man with a burning hand, just as her mother would.
"You sound like a coward to me," the mage said and this pleased her. So the deep voice is in the body of a man, and not some soft worm. The coward questioned back and the mage retorted back. She was liking this man more and more. Eventually the group continues and, of course, Morrigan follows. She watches as the men kill each group of darkspawn and collect their blood in tiny vials. What would they need the blood for? She continues to fly behind them. They kill more darkspawn and the mage plucks a flower from a log. They come across another ambush scene and after the battle the mage takes a small pouch with a note attached from a dead body. She watches the mage read the note then head to a direct location. The group came to the stones that her mother sealed away Gazarath in. The mage sprinkles the contents of the pouch onto the stone and Gazarath emerges. The group seems to quickly kill the demon off and the mages collects his winnings.
When the group comes to the forest taken tower it all becomes clear to Morrigan. These three traveling with the Warden are recruits of the order. The darkspawn blood was for their ritual, and now they come here in hopes of finding those papers her mother took so long ago. She's a bit mad at herself for not realizing sooner. Though she blames it on the other two men in the group. They did not seem Grey Warden worthy, but the mage? Defiantly. For a quick second, Morrigan hopes that the man does not perish during the joining. Just for a second. Morrigan flies behind the broken stone wall as the mage approaches the broken chest. She transforms back to herself and starts to walk down the stone ramp.
"Well, well, what have we here?" she says looking at the mage bent over the chest. The mage turned his head first in her direction. Then he slowly stood and turned his body to face her, his eyes never leaving hers. His eyes. They were the same pale blue, white, color that she has seen on no one besides the farm girl. His eyes seemed to be even brighter against his tan skin. He looked at her not with surprise, like she suspects, but with curiosity. So he sensed her the whole time. Her half grin grows slightly higher as she walks to the group, "Are you a vulture, I wonder? A scavenger poking amidst a corpse whose bones were long since cleaned? Or merely and intruder, come into these darkspawn-filled Wilds of mine in search of easy prey?" She stops far in front of the mage and crosses her arms, "What say you, hmm? Scavenger or intruder?"
"I am neither," the mage says to her, "The Grey Wardens once owned this tower."
" 'Tis a tower no longer. The Wilds have obviously claimed this desecrated corpse." Morrigan uncrosses her arms and starts to walk through the group and ends atop a small hill, "I have watched your progress for some time. 'Where do they go?', I wondered, 'Why are they here?' And now you disturb ashes none have touched for so long. Why is that?"
"Don't answer her. She looks Chasind, and that means others may be nearby," says the Warden.
"Oh, you fear barbarians will swoop down upon you?" Morrigan asks exaggerating with her hands.
"Yes…swooping is bad," murmurs the Warden.
"She's a Witch of the Wilds, she is! She'll turn us into toads!" says one of the other men in the group.
"Witch of the Wilds? Such idle fancies, those legends. Have you no minds of your own?" Morrigan says to the man. Then she turns her attention to the mage, "You there, handsome lad. Tell me your name and I shall tell you mine. Let us be civilized."
"I am Derek Amell," the mage says. He smiles slightly and bows his head, "A pleasure to meet you."
Morrigan is a bit surprised, and pleased, "Now that is a proper civil greeting, even here in the Wilds. You may call me Morrigan. Shall I guess your purpose? You sought something in that chest, something that is here no longer?"
" 'Here no longer?' You stole them didn't you! You're some kind of…sneaky…witch-thief!" says the Warden.
"How very eloquent. How does one steal from dead men?" Morrigan asks the Warden.
"Quite easily, it seems. Those documents are Grey Warden property, and I suggest you return them," he says.
"I will not, for 'twas not I who removed them. Invoke a name that means nothing here any longer if you wish; I am not threatened." Morrigan says a bit annoyed at the Warden.
"Who did take them, then?" Derek asks her.
" 'Twas my mother, in fact."
"Can you take us to her?" he asks and that makes her smile.
"Hmm, there is a sensible request," Morrigan laughs, "I like you."
"I would be careful. First it's, 'I like you!', then zap! Frog time," the Warden says to Derek.
"She'll put us in the pot, she will! Just you watch," says the witch accuser.
"If the pot's warmer than this forest, it'd be a nice change," says the coward.
"Follow me then, if it pleases you." The group follow Morrigan deeper into the Wilds. She leads the group past several darkspawn groups as they come to her and her Mother's small shack, "Greetings, Mother. I bring before you four Grey Wardens who—"
"I see them, girl," her Mother interrupts her. Morrigan goes to stand next to her Mother, "Hmm…much as I expected."
"Are we supposed to believe you were expecting us?" the Warden of the group asks.
"You are required to do nothing, least of all believe. Shut one's eyes tight or open one's arms wide, either way one's a fool!" Her Mother says talking in her strange tongue.
"She's a witch, I tell you! We shouldn't be talking to her," says the same man who called Morrigan a witch before.
"Quiet, Daveth! If she is a witch do you want to make her mad?" says the coward from before.
"There's a smart lad," Morrigan's Mother says, "Sadly irrelevant to the larger scheme of things, but it is not I who decides. Believe what you will. And what of you?" Morrigan's Mother takes one step towards the mage. Morrigan is sure her Mother can sense his power, too, "Do you possess a different viewpoint? Or do you believe as the others do?"
"I am no fool, if that's what you're asking," Derek says crossing his arms.
Her Mother laughs, "If you need protest so quickly, perhaps I need not ask. So much about you is uncertain, but yet I believe. Do I? Well, it seems I do!"
"So, this is the dreaded Witch of the Wilds?" the Warden says to Derek.
"Witch of the Wilds, eh? Morrigan must have told you that. She fancies such tales, though she would never admit it! Oh how she dances under the moon!" her Mother laughs and Morrigan rubs her forehead; keeping her embarrassment at bay, "They did not come to listen to your wild tales, Mother," Morrigan says.
"True, they came for their treaties, yes?" Her mother goes towards the door and removes the tied scrolls from a wooden box, "And before you begin barking, your precious seals wore off long ago," she hands Derek the scrolls, "I have protected theses."
"You—oh, you protected them?" asks the Warden.
"And why not? Take them to your Grey Wardens, and tell them this Blight's threat is greater than they realize."
"Thank You for returning them," Derek says to her Mother.
"Such manners!" her Mother says with the same amount of surprise Morrigan felt when he greeted her, "Always in the last place you look. Like stockings!...Oh do not mind me!" she laughs, "You have what you came for."
"Time for you to go then," Morrigan says.
"Don't be ridiculous girl! These are you're guests," her Mother says to her.
"Oh…very well. I will show you out of the woods. Follow me." The group, along with Morrigan, walks away from the shack, and Morrigan can feel her Mother's eyes trained on the back of Derek's head. She leads the group back the way they came, but this time they were unable to avoid the darkspawn groups. They quickly kill each one with her assistance, and soon they find themselves on the same dirt path the group took. She lets them go here, wishing to go no closer to the gates. Derek says his thanks and bows once more, which makes her smile again. She watches the group with crossed arms until they disappear from her sight. Then, she transforms into a bird once more and quickly flies back to the shack. When she arrives, transformed back to herself, she sees her Mother already changed into her armor.
"That man was very interesting," her Mother says to her putting on the last of her gauntlets. Morrigan knew what her Mother meant by interesting. She did not want to think about her Mother doing to him what she did with the other men. Not when this one was someone who was actually interested in.
Morrigan ignores her Mother's statement and instead asks, "Where are you going, Mother?"
"This battle is a lost cause," she says, and Morrigan knew that already, "I'm going to make sure not all of the Grey Wardens die off." Her Mother walks up the little hill next to their shack and lifts her arms. She transforms into a larger bird and files off in the direction of Ostagar. Morrigan watches her go, and for the first time wishes for her Mother to succeed.