Part 1

The Girl

It was one of the worst days of her life. Verena stared at the ground, her nausea threatening to overcome her entire body. She stood outside, alone for now, outside of Redcliffe Castle. Her head rested against a stone wall, warmed by the day's sun. She reached into her pack, digging out a small diary that she had been keeping, and leafed through some of the opening pages...

'I have left my Clan. I am incredibly saddened to say that a terrible sickness has driven me from my home in seek of a cure, one that can be found by joining a shem named Duncan. From what I understand, I am to become a Grey Warden, a fighter of the dark creatures that attacked me. I do not know how I feel about this. My skills as a fighter and hunter have always been valued among the clan, but to go off to fight a war...I can only do my best. As sad as I feel, protecting the people of Fereldan...feels right. As if it was what I was meant to do. I will do what I must to save what people I can. I believe this is what I must do.'

'Grey Wardens. From what I understand, there are only two of us left. Myself, and Alistair, who has been in a state of silent depression since our rescue from the battlefield tower. At this time, I have accompanied myself with two other companions. A Kocari Wilds witch, named Morrigan. She's harsh and rather blunt, but I feel her magic will be quite helpful on our journey. Nothing at all like the terrifying 'Witch of the Wilds' legends, either.

The second is a Mabari dog that I met before the Darkspawn battle. How he survived and managed to escape is beyond me, but I've taken a special shine to the creature, despite my distaste for dogs. His name is Barkley, and I am grateful for his animalistic power on our side.

I would like to note that even through this, I have found a small bit of time to grieve for my dear friend Tamlem, who I must assume I lost to the Darkspawn taint two days before I left my Dalish home camp.'

'The Nightmares. They grow frightening, waking me in the night in a cold sweat and keeping me from getting the rest I need. Tomorrow we reach Redcliffe, and Alistair says that Arl Eamon is a good man, one worthy enough to take the throne of Fereldan. I sincerely hope he is willing to do so.

In more pleasant news, we have gained two more companions before Lothering was taken by the Darkspawn. A Chantry maiden by the name of Leliana, whose fghting prowess suggest a more colorful lifestyle before she turned to the church. I have no doubt her skills will aid us. The second companion is a Quanri who simply likes to be called 'Sten', though I doubt that is his true name. He was to be sentanced to death for the crime of killing a family of innocents, but I do not believe he wishes true harm, and I wish for him to seek pennance in the form of fighting for me. Quanri warriors are absolutely not to be taken lightly, and as of right now I'm willing to look for arms wherever I can find them.'

'Redcliffe is in dire condition. They are being attacked by the living dead each night and require great aid. I need the arl's help, and I cannot rightfully sit by while this many lives hang in the balance. I have spent all day running around this town, helping them build the morale of their peoples and aiding in whatever way I can. It is tiring work, and I plan a short reprieve before dusk to earn some must-needed sleep.'

She scanned the pages earnestly, and took a quill and inkwell from her pack, sitting down to add below the last entry.

'Alistair is furious. Our efforts to save Redcliffe were successful, but we have lost Lady Isolde, and our saving grace here was the dark arts of Blood Magic. Lady Isolde should not have kept young Connor's magical talents hidden, and that was a problem of her own doing. The Maleficar was apparently poisoning the poor Arl as well, complicating the situation further. He seems truly sorry, though I'm not sure how forgiving I can be of him right now, even though his efforts have freed the castle and town from the demonic plaguing and restoration can now occur...Alistair wanted us to travel to the Circle of Magi for aid first, but that trip could take far too long to go there and get back in time to even save Redcliffe...Lady Isolde offered herself for the ritual. I agreed to her wishes, though I fear I shall forever remain guilty for it.'

She closed the book, heaving a deep sigh and still attempting to fight the nauseau that plagued her. Looking ahead, she saw someone coming down the front steps of the castle, and held her breath, fearing for Alistair. She exhaled, relieved to see that it was Leliana.

"Are you all right?" Leliana asked, sounding rather concerned.

"I'm fine, just..." Verena shifted her gaze uncomfortably, fighting her fidgety fingers. "I really hope I made the right decision."

"Morrigan mentioned that there seemed to be little choice. Especially if the Lady was so resolute of sacrificing herself to save her son."

"They're at each others throats, aren't they?"

"Well...uhm...yes, yes they are..."

"Terrific. Thank you for the support, Leliana. Sincerely. I should go try to make sure no one else dies today." She wanted to walk forward, but her feet felt heavy and her head dizzy. Too much has happened in the past day.

"Please, be careful..." Leliana called quietly after her.

"Thanks..." Verena muttered, trudging ahead. She was more than halfway up the stairs when Alistair nearly slammed one of the doors down, storming out of the castle in a huff.

"What-"

"I don't want to hear another word out of you!" He screeched, waving himself in a threatening manner towards her.

Verena frowned, dissapointed in herself. She knew that her decision had hurt him, and he felt a terrible sting, but at the same time... "Alistair, if you didn't want me to make the damn decision, then why on all that is Holy am I making all the blasted decisions? Why aren't I, following you?"

Alistair had paused, turning to look at her with a death-glare, but his scolding had been muted.

She stepped closer to him, fighting the sting of tears in her eyes. "If we had left to go to the circle there may not have been a town or arl to come back to! Next time lives are weighed against each other, you can take the reigns and I will gladly accept whatever you decide." And with that, she spun back around and stormed in to the castle.

They were offered one more night at Redcliffe before they continued their trek in the morning. Verena made a few more notes in her diary before packing her things. She tried to simply focus on gathering supplies and eating her breakfast, but her queasiness from the prior day had still not entirely left her, and she offered her meal to her Mabari. A soft knock behind her grabbed her attention, and Alistair stood, looking rather solemn. "Uh...hey."

"Hi."

"Listen...I'm...I'm kind of sorry about being so harsh on you yesterday. You're right, it must not have been an easy decision to make, and I've put alot of pressure on you by suddenly following you and not leading. You're more new to the Grey Warden thing than I am even, and you've had a bit of a rough start of it as well." He looked down, kind of kicking at the floor with his boot.

Verena sighed. "It's fine. You're just upset that Lady...that she died...it's understandable, really."

"I took it too far though, by taking it out on you so much. It's not so entirely your fault as it's just...this entire situation is so messed up."

"I'll agree with you there completely. Is everyone ready to go?"

"Yeah, we're all packed up. So what's our next stop?"

"You've got me interested in the circle. I think we should head to the tower next, then go to Orzammar. Those two are closest. Then, we can stop by the Dalish camp on the way to Denerim."

"Sounds like a good plan. What of the Urn of Sacred Ashes? We need to look for that if Arl Eamon is to get any better."

"His condition has stabilized from what I understand. Our first clue is Lake Callenhad docks, which is where we'll need to go to talk to the Circle anyway. We'll go from there."

"That's actually a really, really good plan. Let's do it." He smiled.

XxXxX

"Oh good, the lovebirds have made up." Morrigan chimed as Alistair and Verena walked down the castle steps.

"Hahaha Morrigan, very funny." Alistair mocked.

"We are not lovebirds." Verena said, frowning hard. She noted Leliana's childish giggle. "Let's just get a move on...we want to get as much ground covered as possible today."

"We're are to be travelling all over the countryside, yes?" Morrigan asked. "Why not invest in some horses?"

"With what coin?" Verena retorted, frowning.

"Here. A few quests to do while we're out on the road." The mage replied, stuffing some papers into the elf's hands.

"I-these are Chantry requests? And who are the Blackstone Irregulars?"

"You wanted allies, did you not?"

"Yes, but-"

"Well we might as well make ourselves useful while we're galavanting all over the place, shouldn't we?"

"All right. Not a horrid idea...at least they pay well. Besides looking for trouble though, let's hope our journey is smooth. And quickly traveled."

XxXxX

I was pleased. We had made excellent progress in the past week, with little interference from Darkspawn or other unwelcome intruders. The battles were, at this point, almost daily, but small and short, taking very little time. As long as the weather held, we did not pitch our tents, simply slept on our open bedrolls. And today was another bright and sunny day, clear weather perfect for travelling.

"You know, we've had quite a good bit of luck as of late, with the traveling and the tiny little battles and whatnot." Alistair said pleasently. He was obviously bored.

Morrigan scoffed. "And do you know that by mentioning that we are now most likely-"

"Help, help!"

"-to run into trouble. Thanks."

Alistair laughed nervously, earning a heartwarming look from Leliana.

"Help!" A woman dressed in simple clothing ran up to them. I stepped forward. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"My wagon-it-oh pelase come quickly!" And she dashed off.

"Come, let's follow her." I said back to my companions, and found myself running to keep the woman in my sight. I rounded a corner, and saw her standing in the center of what seemed to be a large circle of armored men...

A sickening cracking sound got my attention as my head whipped around to look at the falling tree. Instinct alone sprung my legs forward to save me from being crushed, grabbing Morrigans wrist on the way. We tumbled into each other, she scowling at me for being so rash, and I checked to make sure the rest of our little group had made it. They all seemed fine.

"The Grey Warden dies here!" A thickly accented voice shouted, and I barely had time to draw my weapon before being swarmed by a small army of dagger-wielding ambushers.

The cling and clang of weapons and armor resonated through the air. Arrows flung by my head, several times nearly hitting their mark. Sten was already rushing the far-off enemies, cutting them down one at a time. I tried not to get distracted by them too much. A single sting of a dagger confirmed an inkling suspicion. Their blades were poisoned. I cut down another one of the would be killers, his blood pooling quickly on the ground. Finally, the herd seemed to thin, and I looked around, breathing a bit easier. An archer or two is all that remained, and curiously, neither one seemed ready to run quite yet. Morrigan was already wearing them down, and Sten was cutting at them with his large sword. I sighed, looked around the battlefield. "Assassins?"

"It would seem so." Alistair said, looking around as well. "I think this one's still alive..."

I frowned. "Where?"

The other Grey Warden was poking at a body with his boot. I looked closer. He was breathing, whoever he was. "He's an elf." I said, a little surprised.

"Oh, sure, humans are the only assassins out there."

"That's not what I meant. I think..." He groaned once, interrupting my thoughts. "Uh. Let's tie him up. I have some questions I think."

"'You think'? Oh, why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?" Alistair sat down and helped me restrain the unconcious elf. I sat him up and dragged him to a nearby stump, leaning him against it. His head lolled back, and he graoned in pain. "Aaaahhh...what...who?"

He blinked his eyes open slowly, and tried to stand up, lightly pressing against his restraints. "Wait...this doesn't seem right...oooh." He looked up. "Ah. That's right. My failed attempt at assassinating the Warden."

I looked down at the him. He seemed so unbelievably relaxed. The rest of my group had begun to circle around me. "I have questions for you." I said.

"Interrogation? Ah, let me make this easy for both of us. My name is Zevran, Zev to my friends. I am an Antivan Crow hired by your Teryn Loghain to kill the Grey Wardens."

"An Antivan Crow? That's...not good." Alistair frowned.

I wasn't really sure what to do with the information. The other elf seemed to just want to chat about the failed attempt on my life and make a couple of jokes about it. Finally, I interrupted him. "So what am I supposed to do with you? You did try to kill me, so I'd say I'd be justified in killing you, right?"

"Yes, you would. However, I would like to make an offer, if you would hear it?"

"I'm listening..."

"I do not wish to die, yes? And you...well, obviously, you do not need much protecting, but I would be willing to sell you my services in exchange for me keeping my life."

"You want to come with me?"

He smiled. I was honestly off-put by his attitude. There was something odd about it. Something I couldn't put my finger on. I thought about it. Maybe everyone deserves at least one second chance. I tried to search his face. It was just so...relaxed. Like it would be perfectly fine no matter what I chose to do with him. My interest was piqued.

"I...all right..."

"We're taking an assassin with us now?" Alistair cried.

Leliana's face stretched with a smile. "What a great thing you're doing! Second chances should always be welcomed."

"Hmph. As long as we watch our food and drink closely...I have no qualms." Morrigan chimed.

I waited for Sten's input on the situation, but he only growled.

"Welcome to our little traveling party, I guess." I helped him stand and turned him around to cut his bonds. My friends began dispersing themselves, picking up anything useful off the bodies of our new friends former comrades. The odd elf began to laugh at a private joke to himself as I cut away at the rope around his wrists. "What's so funny...?"

"I was just thinking that it would be more fun to stay in these bonds awhile longer, if the time permitted it." He laughed lowly.

I froze, taking a step back. "Excuse me?"

He peered over his shoulder. "Oh, sorry. My bad. I forget here in Fereldan you are...more subtle, is it?"

I had to think about it for a moment. "I...was that a sexual joke?" I had to make sure I was listening to him properly. No one could be so improper...could they? Or so blunt?

He stared at me for a split second before laughing hysterically. "Oh, this is going to be fun! I can tell."

"Oh joy." I replied sarcastically, finally freeing him of the ropes. He flexed his hands. "So my little Warden, what am I to do for now?"

"Oh. Right. For now just gather whatever supplies you think we could need, and I'm sure you have your own travelling equipment...?" I gave him an odd look. 'Little Warden'?

"Yes yes, not an issue. But I do like to be well-informed of my long term goals and the such. Would you mind, explaining to me?"

At least that made sense. "Of course not. Right now, we're headed towards the Circle of Magi, we have treaties with all the factions of Fereldan to call upon aid during a blight..."