An Origin of Her Own
Greagoir ran a hand over his face and sighed in exasperation. So much paperwork. Why was there always so much? Guarding mages shouldn't require this many forms to fill out or letters to sift through. He glanced down at the piece of parchment currently on top of the heaping stack. Lyrium shipment approval. Greagoir stamped his seal at the bottom of the page and put it aside, turning his attention to the next paper demanding his attention. Endless paperwork. There was truly no end in the foreseeable future. A knock at the door of the Knight-Commander's quarters caused the man to groan in frustration. His work would never be done with all these interruptions.
"What is it?" he asked, annoyance evident in his voice. The wooden door creaked open and a young templar's blonde head appeared, tentatively peeking into the room. It was Caien, the Commander noted, tensing slightly and shifting his gaze down to his desk again. Said templar often proved to be one of the greatest distractions amongst his men. He was… clumsy, to say the least. He was also somewhat cowardly. And, Greagoir guessed, the young templar was probably the cause for a good amount of the paperwork that now cluttered his desk. "Come in, Caien." The elder man motioned the younger to come all the way in the room, which the younger promptly did.
"Knight-Commander? I have a request," the young templar said nervously, clearing his throat. He wrung his hands together as he waited for the Commander's reply. The Knight-Commander looked up from his paperwork and stared at the young man in front of him.
"What is it, Caien?" He sighed impatiently. Maker only knows what he wants this time, he thought to himself. Caien cleared his throat again and tried to stand up straighter. "Well, Ser... um... It's my - I mean... I need to -" He stumbled over his words, earning an annoyed grunt from the Commander. He cleared his throat yet again and started to speak. "You remember a few months ago when I was sent to hunt that witch in the Korcari Wilds? And I returned and reported that I hadn't found her? Well... that's not entirely true. I mean... it is true. I couldn't find any trace of her, but I had to return because a Chasind wench stole my father's sword and I had no way to defend myself even if I did find the witch. So... I would like permission to leave the Tower to find my father's sword." Knight-Commander Greagoir pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in exasperation. Caien could feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead, both out of fear for being reprimanded for having not told the Commander the whole story before and out of anticipation for the senior Templar's response to his request. Finally, the Knight-Commander looked Caien in the eye and spoke.
"How do you intend to find one Chasind woman in the entire Wilds? Not to mention, survive the horde of darkspawn that are lurking in those parts. Have you even thought this through?"
Caien cleared his throat again. "Well, I was going to seek help from a guide. I've heard there is a woman that knows Ferelden better than anyone else. She even knows the Wilds. I bet she knows the country better than the king himself! She'd know exactly where to go to avoid the horde, too!" The eagerness in the young man's voice was obvious, though, he straightened himself and attempted to maintain a serious expression.
Greagoir raised a skeptical eyebrow. He'd heard such rumors, as well, though he didn't know if they were true or not. Fox, they called her. A bunch of hogwash in his personal opinion. He sighed and shook his head. "Caien, this woman could be a fairytale for all you know."
"Oh, no, Knight-Commander! I dug around to see if she was real or not. She is very much real." He nodded fervently as if to emphasize just how real this woman was.
The Commander sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He understood how much the sword meant to Caien, but he was putting all his hopes on simple rumors. But perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to have the young templar out of his hair for a while. After all, if he wasn't around, he couldn't cause any trouble at the Tower. Eventually, the Commander sighed. "Fine. Go find your sword." A thoughtful expression crossed his face before he added, "But be very careful. I would hate to lose one of our own."
Caien was speechless, his mouth opened to respond, but no sound came out. He hadn't actually expected to be allowed to go search for his father's sword. He bowed quickly. "Thank you, Knight-Commander. This means a lot to me." He quickly left the Commander's quarters, eager to prepare for his journey, and left Greagoir to question the wisdom of his decision.
Caien stepped into the Spoiled Princess, the inn on the shore of Lake Calenhad. A few patrons glanced in his direction, but most were too drunk to notice someone had walked in. The templar nervously licked his lips and walked up to the bartender who glanced up at him. "Can I get you somethin' to drink, young man?"
The young templar straightened his posture before speaking. "I'm looking for -"
"She's in the room in the very back," the bartender interrupted. Caien opened his mouth but no sound came out. The confusion must have been evident on his face, for the bartender let out a short laugh. "What? Wondering how I knew who you were looking for? No one ever comes here looking for someone unless they're looking for Fox." He waved his hand, signaling for Caien to leave. The templar did so, following the only hallway out of the main room. There were a few room doors on one side of the hall, but his eyes immediately fell to the one at the very end of the hall. That must be Fox's room, he thought.
With tentative steps, the young man made his way down the hallway to the door. He reached up and knocked, jumping back slightly when it swung open at his touch. He poked his blonde head inside the dimly lit room and looked around. There were no signs of anyone inside. Curiosity overpowered his judgment and Caien found himself taking slow steps into the room and inspecting everything closely. There was a pack lying open on the floor just beside the door. Inside, he could see some vials of poison and a few potions. Without really thinking about what he was doing, the templar bent and began to rummage through the bag.
"Well, well. I step out to the privy for a few moments and someone tries to rob me?" Caien stiffened at the sarcastic voice coming from behind him. He stood and turned abruptly, coming face to face with an elf. She wore a cynical grin on her face, and her dark blue eyes seemed to pierce the templar's soul. Her strange, white hair fell in silvery waves down to the middle of her back. Caien noticed she wore strange custom-made armour. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was, in fact, not armour at all. It was more of a dress, really, made of crimson fabric with gold embroidery. The skirt fell dangerously short, a bit above the middle of the elf's thigh. The dress had only one sleeve on the left side, made of a slightly darker fabric than the rest. There was a silver pauldron on the left shoulder as well as a matching clawed gauntlet on the same side. However, on the elf's bare right arm, there was simply a red piece of fabric wrapped tightly around her forearm. Caien noticed her boots matched the single pauldron and gauntlet she wore and only covered her legs from the knee down. The elf raised an eyebrow, noticing how the templar took in her appearance, his eyes lingering on her bare upper legs. "Like what you see?"
Caien blushed furiously and looked away, eliciting a small laugh from the woman. He cleared his throat. "Are you Fox?" he asked, still unable to meet her eyes.
"No. I'm Freya."
Caien's face fell. "But... the bartender said -"
The elf laughed, covering her mouth with her hand to try and smother the sound. Caien glared, recognizing her sarcasm all too late. "Of course I'm Fox. Who else would I be?" She brushed past the templar into her room and took a seat at the table, inspecting the man in front of her intently. "So... let me guess... You're here because you need a guide? Well, my little lost templar, you're in luck. The Circle Tower is just a short boat ride across the lake." She grinned at him, clearly finding herself quite funny.
Caien glared at her. "I'm not lost, and I certainly don't need help finding the Tower."
"Could have fooled me." Fox shrugged, ignoring the icy glare the templar was giving her. She looked at him with an innocent expression, as though she hadn't just been poking fun at his intelligence. A brief moment of silence passed before she cleared her throat. "Well?" she prompted. "I'm not telepathic, you know? You're going to have to tell me what you need."
At her words, Caien blinked rapidly, remembering that he was here for a reason, and that reason was not to give icy glares to mocking – albeit pretty – elven girls. He cleared his throat and straightened his posture. "I need to find something in the Korcari Wilds."
Fox raised her eyebrows in surprised. Clearly she was not expecting that. "The Wilds? You're mad."
"Or suicidal. Haven't you heard of the sodding horde of darkspawn in the Wilds?" Caien turned at the sound of a gruff voice coming from behind him. A dwarf stood in the open doorway, arms crossed, with an irritated look on his face. His long, copper-colored beard was greying, as was his hair. Caien noted the large battleaxe strapped to his back.
"I agree, Steel. This man must have a death wish," Fox nodded at the dwarf.
"I have gold," Caien stated flatly, turning back to the elf. Though he kept his tone calm, inside, he felt panic rise at the thought of them turning down his request.
The elf waved her hand in dismissal. "I value my life more than -" She stopped talking as the templar dropped a large sack of gold on the table in front of her. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, glancing quickly at Steel who seemed surprised to see that much gold. "That's a lot of gold for a templar. This must be important to you if you're willing to spend that much."
"My father's blade was stolen by a Chasind woman while I was hunting an apostate. That blade is more important to me than gold."
Fox laughed again. "You want me to help you find one Chasind woman in the entire Korcari Wilds? You must be mad, templar." She casually waved her gauntleted hand at the man in dismissal.
A frustrated look crossed the man's face. This woman was certainly a lot of trouble. He pulled a map from his bag and spread it across the table, unwilling to take no for an answer. The elf looked at the man in annoyance and then looked at the map with a studious gaze as Caien pointed to a section of the Wilds east of the ruins of Ostagar. "I was in this area when it was stolen from me."
The elf nodded. "Well, that actually makes things easy. There's only one tribe of Chasind in that area." She studied the map closely, contemplating everything in her head. Caien waited for her to speak, completely still, silently praying to the Maker that this woman would agree to help him. Finally, she looked up at him, a wry grin on her face. "Fine. I'll help you." Behind the templar, the dwarf sighed in annoyance. Caien could picture him shaking his head in irritation. "But know this: I'm no warrior. I won't be protecting you from harm. I'll simply guide you there and back," Fox added, her expression suddenly very serious.
The templar shook his head and grabbed the sack of gold from the table. "Either I make it there and back alive or you don't get paid." Fox scowled angrily up at the man. "You must be able to fight somewhat, otherwise you'd likely be dead by now. And you have your dwarven bodyguard." The dwarf snorted in annoyance at the way the man addressed him, but Fox simply nodded her head in agreement, her expression one of serious thought. "Good. We leave tomorrow." Caien turned and walked out the door, nodding at the dwarf named Steel as he passed.
Fox paced inside her room. After the templar had left, she'd argued briefly with Steel but had eventually sent him on his way so she could sleep. Now, as they prepared to leave, the dwarf started to question the point in helping the templar again.
"You can't just rely on your daggers. You'll end up using your magic eventually. And then he'll know you're an apostate and he'll likely kill you on the spot. And me for helping you!" The dwarf grumbled as he glared out the window. "Sodding mage."
Fox sighed and fidgeted with the two daggers she'd dug out and strapped to her back. If she couldn't use her magic, she'd have to fight with blades. She wasn't the most skilled of fighters, but she knew enough to survive. "Look, Steel. He's paying a lot of money -"
"Ha! You just can't say no to the money, can you?"
"I can..." Fox frowned. "If he'd offered to pay me for sleeping with him, I would have said no. Or if he'd asked me to kill someone. Or steal something." She shrugged. She might like money, but she had morals, at least. Steel let out a short bark of laughter.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. You and your strict moral code." His eyes flashed. "It didn't used to stop you, though. When you were younger, you would have done anything for money."
Fox turned abruptly, rage evident in her eyes. "Don't even go there, dwarf." Steel held up his hands in surrender. He knew the elf's past was strictly off limits. The past was the past and that was how the elf wanted it to stay.
There was a knock at her door before it suddenly swung open. Steel whirled, hand on his axe, prepared to cut down whoever had stupidly decided to barge in. Before he could register who was standing before him, he heard his elven companion scoff. "I could have been changing, templar!" The elf glared at him, arms crossed. More importantly, I could have been talking about something I don't necessarily want you to hear, she thought. Steel also glared at the man as he walked in, ignoring Fox's annoyed growling.
"My name is Caien," he said, stopping right before the elf and looking down into her blue eyes, each glaring at the other in annoyance.
"Your point, templar?" she said, raising an eyebrow and putting an emphasis on the last word. Caien's eyes narrowed. Fox simply smirked up at him, finding his annoyance quite amusing.
"Can we just go?" the man sighed, exasperation already crossing his expression.
The elf smirked and brushed the man's cheek. Instinctively, the templar pulled away, a slow blush creeping across his features. Fox winked playfully, reveling in his discomfort. "I'm ready when you are, Caien." She walked past him, body brushing against him as she did so. Steel followed after Fox, who had bent to pick up her pack and was now walking down the hall. The templar gulped and watched her retreating figure. He was going to go mad if she kept teasing him like this. The templar truly couldn't tell whether she despised him or fancied him, but he wished she would just stick with one method of tormenting than bouncing between the two. Sighing, the young man hurried down the hall after the elf and the dwarf, mentally readying himself for endless taunting from Fox.
Weeks of traveling with the templar revealed that he was, to say the least, a coward. Too many times had Fox or Steel had to save his sorry life while he cowered in fear at an oncoming bear or some other enemy. Once or twice, the elf had actually been forced to toss herself in front of Caien to block an oncoming blow. Luckily, though her dress was simply cloth, it was enchanted to block a good deal of damage - as well as fix any rips it may receive. Once, they'd run into a group of genlocks and one had managed to swing his blade hard enough to slice into Fox's side. She'd hissed in pain and kicked it away, swinging her daggers and severing its head from its body before it could retaliate. Afterwards, Caien had questioned her about where she'd got such an incredible dress.
Fox watched as the dress fixed the rip the genlock's blade had caused. "It was a gift from a very grateful customer," she'd said nonchalantly, not mentioning that the very grateful customer was an apostate and had actually stolen the garment from the Circle's repository. Satisfied that the dress had fully repaired itself, the elf continued to walk through the swampy forest, giving no more explanation to her dress than what she'd already said. Steel followed silently, battle axe already back in its holster.
After a few moments of silence, Caien suddenly spoke. "So what's your story?"
Fox stopped walking and turned to the templar with an exasperated look. "What story?"
"Well, for starters, how did you and... Steel, was it? How did you two meet? And why are you called Fox? And how do you know Ferelden better than even the king probably does?"
The elf hissed in annoyance. The past. Why must people always be curious about her sodding past? And why must the templar ask so many questions? She glanced at Steel who shrugged and kept walking. The elf began walking as well, sorting out what she could and could not reveal before she spoke again.
"My mother was a bard in Orlais. But she got into some kind of trouble and came to Ferelden to hide. She made her living as a thief-for-hire. Eventually, she got herself pregnant and I was born. I know Ferelden so well because my mother was often in hiding. We never stayed in one place too long. We even hid in the Wilds for a few months. When I was eight, she got herself killed. Then Steel found me and took care of me. He started calling me Fox because I'm sly, cunning, and can weasel just about anything out of anyone," she finished proudly.
"You left out a lot of details," the templar noted.
"The past is the past, templar," Steel grunted. Fox shot him a grateful look. In truth, she'd left out nearly all the details of her life, such as how Steel had had to seek out the Mages' Collective to train Fox to use her magic. Or how she'd gone through a rather… rebellious phase where she accepted money to do things for certain noblemen. Such things were much better left buried in the past where they could be forgotten. The three walked in silence until the elf stopped them.
"We're very near the Chasind tribe's village. When we get there, let me do the talking. And if they offer you any food, don't accept it," she said. Caien nodded.
Within an hour, they'd reached the small village. They were greeted by a group of Chasind warriors who raised their spears at the trio. Fox raised her hands in surrender and Caien did the same. Steel didn't move even when one Chasind pointed his spear at the dwarf's throat. Fox spoke quickly. "We mean you no harm. My friend believes one of your people has found something that belongs to him. May we speak with your leader?" The warriors looked at each other warily, obviously uncomfortable with allowing these armed strangers into their midst. A few moments of tense silence passed and Fox began to notice the sweat building on Caien's forehead. She gritted her teeth. He's going to blow it and panic, she thought, silently urging the dim-witted barbarians to hurry and make a decision.
"I am the leader of this tribe." A woman's voice rang out clearly. Fox and Caien turned to see who was speaking. She was tall and blonde, wearing fur-lined robes. Clearly, she had the build of a seasoned warrior. Her gaze studied the group carefully, attempting to discern whether she deemed them a threat or not. Fox's eyes finally noticed that, strapped to her side, was a sword of ancient make.
That seems rather out of place here, Fox thought before she realized that it must be the sword they were looking for. As soon as she realized that, she quickly looked at the templar, fearing he would do something idiotic and put them all at risk Caien must have noticed the sword at the same instant as she had, for he shouted angrily at the woman. "Wench! That is my father's sword!" Before Fox or Steel could even attempt to stop him, he'd drawn his sword and knocked down the guards nearest him, charging for the woman as adrenaline and rage took over.
Within seconds, most of the Chasind that had been watching from a distance had drawn their weapons and were charging at him, determined to protect the leader of their tribe. Fox hissed angrily, knowing she was going to have to use her magic to get them out of this situation. Caien was already engaged in combat with the tribe leader, seemingly oblivious to the other warriors charging at him. Without thinking, the elf shot a large fireball at a group of warriors about to reach the templar. The spell hit, knocking the barbarians down as their flesh seared from their bones and they screamed in agony. The remaining, un-seared Chasind, including those that had been initially guarding them, turned, noticing the small elf as a greater threat than the templar, and charged in her direction. Hastily, she summoned a blast of icy air, freezing the Chasind closest to her. The others hesitated, casting nervous glances at one another before rushing at her all at once. She smirked ruefully. "Your funeral," she said calmly. Beside her, Steel pulled his battleaxe off his back and readied himself to fight by Fox's side.
"Come on, Fox. Show them what you can really do!" Steel shouted, swinging his axe and severing one of the warriors right in half. Fox smirked and sent out a blast of telepathic power, knocking the Chasind back a few steps and giving her enough room to really release her power. She began the spell as Steel guarded her to prevent her from being interrupted. Within mere seconds, Fox's form began to waver and change. Steel waited until the elf's form had completely shifted before he charged at a group of barbarians, axe swinging as he let out a bloodthirsty roar.
Caien fought the Chasind woman viciously, fueled by the rage he'd felt at the sight of his father's sword strapped to her side. She was indeed a skilled fighter, as would be expected from a tribe leader, but the templar was running purely on adrenaline and anger. Within minutes, he overpowered her, knocking her to the ground. He pointed his blade at her chest and held out his free hand. "My father's sword," he growled. The woman dropped the blade in the dirt next to her, fear on her barbaric face, having never been bested so quickly. Without even hesitating, Caien drove his sword through her chest and picked up his father's blade, feeling his rage subside as he felt its familiar weight in his hand once again. He grinned, admiring it briefly, feeling pride wash over him at his achievement.
The templar turned, noticing a particularly large group of Chasind all rushing at his companions. With his rage gone, he found himself too scared to rush forward and help them. But as he watched, he realized they didn't need his help. Not only did they not need his help, but he soon realized that Fox was not just an elf. She was a mage. And a shapeshifter at that. He watched with a mixture of awe and disgust as her form became that of a large, white fox, larger than each of the warriors she now fought. He watched, speechless, as she moved from warrior to warrior, tearing into each and leaving them in her dust as nothing but a bloody corpse. Steel cleaved one Chasind's skull in two and Fox pinned one to the ground and tore his throat out, blood staining the dirt around him. "That's the last of 'em," Steel grunted, shaking his axe in an attempt to shake some of the blood off. Fox panted for a few seconds before her form began to change back to her human one. Caien stared as her figure became more and more human, her white hair disheveled, dirt and blood smeared on her ivory skin, her breath coming out ragged as exhaustion took over. The young man's awe quickly vanished as he remembered his duty as a templar. He walked calmly over to where she stood and raised his father's sword, pointing it at the elf. Despite the amazing display of power he had just witnessed, Caien knew how to spot a mage who'd run out of mana, and he knew without mana, they proved very little threat. He was not worried about the elf retaliating. "Apostate," he stated simply.
Fox turned and glared at him, breathing heavily. "Apostate that just saved your life," she said, annoyance evident in her voice. Steel reached back and gripped his axe, prepared to swing at the templar's head, just in case. Caien's eyes narrowed. He knew he owed her for saving him but... he couldn't just let an apostate go. "You want to take me back to your tower, templar? I won't go without a fight. I'll fight you to the death." Steel nodded in agreement.
Caien made no move to lower his sword.
The elf narrowed her eyes angrily, meeting his determined gaze with her own. An angry shout cut through the tense silence. Both the elf and the templar turned to see a Chasind hunting party that had just returned to find their brethren dead. The group raised their spears and charged at the three obviously responsible for this carnage.
Caien dropped his blade in fear. Fox rolled her eyes and started to send a large fireball at the group of Chasind. Panic welled up inside her when nothing happened. My magic's exhausted, she realized. She grabbed Caien's arm without thinking and jerked him around as she ran away from the hunting party. He stumbled after her, barely managing to grab his newly reacquired blade off the ground. The templar shuddered, realizing that he'd have to work with this apostate if he wanted to survive. Steel followed, his short arms pumping as he began to run like no dwarf had ever run before.
Fox didn't know how long they'd been running, but she was running out of energy, and she could tell Caien and Steel were too. Behind them, the hunting party still shouted angrily. The templar suddenly collapsed, panting heavily. Fox stopped and tried to pull him up, panic beginning to take over. The man shook his head, too tired to speak. The shouts of the barbarians were growing closer. The elf grabbed the templar's arm and wrapped it around her shoulder, dragging him along with her. Why am I bothering? she suddenly wondered. He was a templar, she an apostate. They were natural enemies. After this, though, he at least owed her the kindness of not bringing her in this time. And there was still her payment… Surely it would all work in her favor. Didn't it always? "Don't you dare die," she said between breaths. "I want my payment for this." Caien let out a breathless chuckle which sounded more like a cough than anything, but he knew there was no way they'd all make it out of this alive; he knew he was just slowing the elf down as she tried to drag him and his plate armour out of the wilds.
"Up ahead," the dwarf said breathlessly. "A road." The trio ran faster, pushing themselves past their limit, determined to reach the road.
The elf and the templar came crashing out of the trees, the dwarf stumbling behind them. Fox stared at the road in amazement, half tempted to kiss the dirt in joy. They must have covered a lot of ground if they had reached one of the main roads already. She collapsed to her knees, unable to catch her breath. The templar slumped to the ground beside her, breathing heavily, and the dwarf bent over with his hands on his knees, his breath coming in ragged spurts. The Chasind's shouts grew closer, but none of them could bring themselves to do anything.
"Well, we don't see this every day," came a man's voice. Fox looked up, realizing they'd stopped running right in front of a group of armed men. The leader, a tall fellow with dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, drew his sword as the hunting party came out of the trees, their spears raised. That was the last thing the elf remembered before her vision went black.
I'm dead. There's no way I survived that, Fox thought as she felt a sharp stabbing in her eyes flew open as she quickly realized that she wasn't dead. Dead people don't breathe, and she was breathing quite well. She sat up suddenly and the motion caused the stabbing pain in her side to intensify. Surprised by the pain, the small elf gripped her side and gritted her teeth together. A young mage girl walked over to her side, holding a mortar and pestle in her hand. She smiled warmly at Fox. "Sorry. I was just mixing up an ointment to ease the pain, but I'm glad to see you're awake."
Fox stared at the girl in bewilderment, scared to look down at where she felt the pain. "Am I injured?"
"No. You just over-exerted yourself." She held out the ointment she'd obviously just finished working on. "Just rub this wherever it hurts and it will feel better."
"Thanks…" Fox said, taking the mixture from her tentatively. The girl turned to examine Caien, who, Fox realized, had been sleeping soundly just a few feet to her right. So he had survived after all. Strangely enough, she felt relieved to see him alive. The elf looked around, searching for Steel who had to be nearby somewhere as well.
"Ah, good. You're awake." The elf stopped her search for the dwarf and turned in the direction of the voice, recognizing it from before as the leader of the group of men. "By the time we'd fought off your pursuers, all three of you had collapsed. We set up camp to tend to your wounds."
Fox stared up at him, bewilderment obvious in her expression. "Who exactly are you?"
"I am Duncan of the Grey Wardens." He bowed in greeting. "And you?"
"I'm –"
"Duncan!" A man came running over to Duncan's side, cutting Fox off before she could even introduce herself. The elf guessed he was a Grey Warden as well. "Duncan, the dwarf is... gone. His heart couldn't take the exertion, I think." Hearing this, Fox stood abruptly, ignoring the pain in her side and dropping the ointment she'd been holding. Before it could hit the ground, the mage who had made it quickly wrapped it in a bubble of arcane energy, deflecting the damage it would have received from hitting the ground. Fox didn't even notice.
"Steel is dead? That's not possible!" For as long as she'd known that dwarf, it seemed that nothing could possibly kill him. Tears welled in her eyes. "That's not possible." She shook her head, refusing to believe it. It had to be a dwarf that had been travelling with the Grey Wardens. It couldn't be Steel. Duncan placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry. I assume you were close, but…"
Fox jerked away from his touch, though the man did not seem insulted. "Where is he?" the elf demanded. Duncan calmly led her to where the dwarf was, his form covered in a blanket. Unable to stop herself, Fox fell to her knees and rested her face on the dwarf's form, sobbing hysterically. Through the blanket, she could feel his solid armour pressed against her cheek. She looked up at Duncan, tears running down her cheeks. The other Grey Wardens had stopped what they were doing to form a half-circle around the fallen dwarf, their faces solemn. "I… I don't mean to be a bother but… can we burn his… his… body?" Fox asked quietly, still sniffling. Duncan hesitated for a moment, but eventually, he nodded grimly. "Thank you." She turned back to the form under the blanket, disbelief still clouding her thoughts. How could he be gone? It didn't seem at all possible.
"Apostate." The elf tensed, recognizing Caien's voice. Apparently, he'd regained consciousness. The Wardens turned to look at him. His sword was drawn. "That elf is an apostate and I must take her to the Circle."
Fox stood abruptly, rage burning in her eyes, quickly replacing her grief. "I saved your life twice, templar. I got your precious sword back. My friend died because you had to have that sword. Yet all you can think about is taking me to the tower?" She glared at him. His eyes fell to the dwarf's form on the ground behind her and his expression wavered momentarily, but his gaze quickly went back to her, his features emotionless again.
"I have a duty as a templar. I can't just ignore it." He raised his sword. "If you resist, I will kill you."
"So this is the thanks I get for saving your life and doing as you asked? I should have left you in the Wilds, you know. I should have let all those Chasind swarm you and kill you. What did you do, templar? You fought one of them. One woman. I fought a swarm of angry barbarians. To save you. And I still haven't heard a 'thank you' yet."
"I cannot ignore my vows. No matter the situation." Caien's expression softened slightly. "Please don't make me kill you, though."
Fox snorted. "I can't believe you. This is the last time I help a sodding templar, I promise you that." Her gaze hardened. "I won't go quietly, templar." Caien sighed and raised his blade, a pleading expression on his face, preparing to charge. Before he could move, however, Fox found herself blocked by a tall figure. Duncan, she realized. Caien stared up at the man.
"I can't allow you to harm this woman," Duncan stated simply.
"I have a duty. She is an apostate and must be taken to the Tower," Caien said stubbornly. "I can't allow you to interfere with Templar business, Grey Warden. Step aside."
Duncan did not hesitate a single second before he spoke. "I hereby invoke the Rite of Conscription. This woman is now under my charge as a Grey Warden."