There was a sharp intake of breath down by Duncan's waist. He glanced down at the dwarf next to him; she had gone perfectly still - the first time he had seen her like that since he invoked the Rite of Conscription on her. She was staring upwards, a look of pure fear on her face.
"It's... so... high..." The casteless dwarf stuttered. "Ancestors help me..." Duncan heaved a sigh; he'd forgotten why he rarely tried to recruit dwarfs. Sure they're good in a fight, but there was the caste issues, the culture issues, the environmental issues - it was a lot to overcome and, while the need for Wardens was desperate, there simply wasn't time. At least it was overcast today - the cloud cover bore some resemblance to the rock ceiling she was used to, if much, much higher.
"Are you going to be alright?" he asked the dwarf as she continued to stare at the sky.
"I... I... think so. I feel like I should be wearing heavier boots though." she forced a small laugh. Duncan chuckled along with her, encouraging her. At least she was trying. Maybe he hadn't made a mistake after all. The pair started off towards Ostagar, with the dwarf still unable to take her eyes off the sky.
Tsuya Brosca finally stopped watching the sky; she was fairly certain that it would stay up there and she wasn't going to fall into it. Besides, it was starting to hurt. So far the trek hadn't been completely unpleasant; there was just too much to see for a girl who had barely left Dusttown. Her gawking and shorter legs meant that she lagged far behind the Grey Warden more often than not. He was silent, but she could feel his displeasure every time he had to wait for her to catch up.
It getting on towards evening that she first felt a tap on her shoulder. It stopped her short, and she whirled around. There was only Duncan, standing with clasped hands in front of her.
"Did you want something?"
"Only for you to hurry up. Time is short, Tsuya, we do not have time to dawdle."
"Says the man with long legs.." she muttered. They continued walking, when Tsuya felt another small tap on her shoulder. Again she turned to Duncan.
"Why are you doing that? I'm keeping up!"
"Doing what, exactly?" Tsuya was about to reply when she felt another tap, this time on her head. She glared at Duncan, but he wasn't doing anything. It was then she noticed something small and transparent land on Duncan and slide down his armour.
"What's that?" She asked the Warden, pointing at the clear-ish trail on his metal plate. His gaze followed her finger. He wiped his armour with his index finger and rubbed it with his thumb.
"This? It's just water. You do know what water is right?"
"But.." Tsuya shook her head in confusion "Water? Really? Where did it come from?" Meanwhile, the tapping on her head and shoulders had been increasing in frequency and she was just beginning to notice a sensation of wetness. The normally stoic Grey Warden looked stunned for a second, and then laughed.
"Of course you don't... Oh Maker, what have I gotten myself into?" The dwarf waited patiently for Duncan to regain his composure. "Tsuya Brosca, this is rain. It is water that falls from the sky. See the ceiling up there? Those are clouds. They are full of water, and when it gets to heavy, it falls in the form we call rain." Not a perfect explanation, but Duncan wasn't about to get into the heavy science.
The rain, as he called it, was falling much harder now; to Tsuya, it looked like a sheer curtain of water. It reminded her of an underground waterfall she saw once. She remembered the pool at the bottom and what was in the pool...
"Are we going to drown? It's an awful lot of water."
"Only if you decide to stand in one place with your mouth open. Which we will not. Let's keep moving.". Tsuya, unconvinced, looked up into the sky. A raindrop fell in her eye, stinging it. She winced and blinked. When her vision was clear again, she saw Duncan had already moved out and she rushed to catch up to him.
Half a league farther and Tsuya was miserable. Duster leathers were not suited for weather. It wasn't a heavy rain, just a constant drizzle, but she was soaked and the wet leathers rubbed against her bare skin, leaving it chafed and raw. She was shivering so hard in the cold, unrelenting shower that she didn't see the root under her feet. She tripped over it and fell face first in the mud.
"Oof!" She shouted as the wind was knocked out of her. Duncan turned around at the unexpected noise. It took the dwarf a long time to stand up.
"Can we stop now?" she asked petulantly. Duncan looked the miserable dwarf over, saw her dirty and soaking wet, and felt a stab of pity for the poor thing.
"I think that's a good idea." He directed her to stand under a tree while he set up camp. He set up the tent first, and sent her to change into dry clothes, and get some sleep. It had been a long day for her.
When he finished with the chores, he joined Tsuya. He just barely managed to keep his laughter in check at the sight that greeted him. The dwarf was sitting cross-legged and glaring at the tent flap. The clothes she was wearing were dry, but they were also his and overly large on much smaller Tsuya. She looked ridiculous.
"I can't sleep. The rain, or whatever you called is too loud." She waved one arm towards the top of the tent, the long sleeve falling well past her hands.
"Get used to it. This is the Fereldan surface and it's fall. Rain is going to be a near and dear friend to you for the next several moments." This statement caused Tsuya to think for a moment. Duncan shook out his bedroll, and started to settle down to sleep.
"Duncan?"
"What is it, Tsuya?" He turned on his side to face the dwarf.
"You should have let the Proving Master arrest me. This sucks nug droppings." Duncan chuckled to himself and turned to get back to sleep. She'd come around. Someday.