2

Aria woke in a makeshift tent, shivering in the cold. She remembered the trip south only vaguely. She touched her wedding band in quiet pity. She was a widow now. How long she was, she did not know.

Aria looked around, seeing two other elven women sleeping in bedrolls beside her. One's face was covered in intricate tattoos, the other's head was shaven. Both seemed to be sleeping peacefully so she did not disturb them. Her arm ached unpleasantly, and she glanced down, seeing the bruises run up and down her skin. She could not remember if she had these before the voyage south.

Aria grabbed her jacket and walked outside, several faces turning to her from the camp fire side. The man who had captured her, Duncan, walked to her side, taking her hand in his as she startled.

"It is good to see you up and walking around. We had to do a few of the tests while you were sleeping, I'm afraid. I apologize for the bruising. You fought us off a little bit too hard. I'll have Fiona take a look at time when she has time."

"What is this place?" Tabris asked, glancing around at the ruins.

"Ostagar," he replied, "A fine old fortress. The ground is high here and we have a good view of the valley below. The Wardens have decided to convene here before making our way to Gwaren. It will be easier there to survive the winter. You may have noticed your two companions. We'll be comparing our results soon. Fiona is very optimistic."

"What are the Grey Wardens doing investigating plague?" She asked.

Duncan waved her over to the side of the camp, gesturing to lines of stretchers, filled with the weak and dying.

"This disease lies in darkspawn blood. Their taint has spread and among us it has changed. It is quickly killing us. It has spread even out of Ferelden, in Orlais, in the Anderfels…it threatens Thedas itself. My kind are…exempt from it. But what has cured us will not work on the lay people. But you have survived. Your body cured itself. What lies in your blood may save the rest of us."

"And the other two?"

"The same. We have found three non-Wardens who have survived. There may be more, surely there are."

"But we are three no one will miss," Aria finished.

Duncan bowed his head, "This country is falling apart. The king is dead, much of the army gone. We must take who we can find. We must be vigilant and act quickly."

Both turned their heads as the tattooed woman was dragged from the tent, baring her teeth as two Wardens pushed her forward into another structure.

"And if we will not cooperate?" Tabris asked softly.

"I advise you to do so. We have all lost family, friends. Must more die?"

"What do you want from us?"

"Full cooperation. When we reach Gwaren, we will set up better housing. We will winter there, since it will be better barricaded against the taint. I did not take you for my amusement. I took you because I knew you could survive."

Mahariel bit into the Warden's arm, scratching as the mage drew her blood. She was restrained, pushed into the chair as the mage examined her eyes and throat.

Mahariel snarled as Fiona' hands went to her slightly protruding belly.

"Don't touch me," Juin threatened.

"The child's father was the one you were found with," she stated, "And you conceived a few months ago, before the plague started. You have carried this child this long without incident?"

"There was some spotting," Juin admitted, bowing her head.

"This is a good sign," Fiona replied, patting her arm before turning to her assistants, "This one is strong, maybe stronger than the other two. Please, Stuart, hand me that green vial there. Now, child, you will have to stay very still or this could hurt both you and the baby."

"Don't you dare touch me," Mahariel shouted, pushed back into the chair. She watched in horror as a needle filled with the dark black fluid and was plunged into her neck.

"The mage is dangerous unbound," the young Warden warned Duncan as they made their way into the forest, scouring the perimeter.

"She has been the most cooperative of the three, Alistair," Duncan replied, "I do not think we need to treat her as a prisoner."

"She did not contract the plague at all," Alistair replied, "She is the most valuable out of the three of them and the hardest to contain. She should be collared, and we both know it."

"I know you have been trained to fear her, I understand. But she understands what duty means. You will leave the mage be unless she shows signs of aggression. Do you understand me?"

Alistair scoffed and nodded, "Fine."

Duncan paused, "Do you sense that?"

Alistair frowned, "We need to get back to camp. Now."

Noam shuffled out of the tree she had been hiding in, dashing back to the ground as the two Wardens ran back into the camp. She smelt the sulfur before she saw the flames growing from the tents. She felt the urge to run, but she thought of the other two captives. Perhaps it was mistaken solidarity, but Surana refused to leave them.

She rushed into the camp as the Wardens went after the darkspawn. She saw the Dalish woman drugged and tied to the centre of their tent. Surana cut her binds and helped her to her feet. She leaned into Surana, holding on as her feet dragged slightly across the ground.

The two made it into the camp, seeing a small ring of Grey Wardens forming around them in a protective circle. Surana put her hand up in a symbol of defeat.

"The woman from the Alienage is missing," she said, "You should find here."

She sat on the ground, hoping the third companion had gotten safely away. But even if she had…where would she go? She was a city elf, with little experience in the wider world. Still, if Surana ran, she was an apostate. Perhaps she technically was already now. There was no Circle to bring her to.

The Dalish woman rested her head on Surana's shoulder, moaning in a way that sounded animalistic, like a wounded deer crying for the herd. Surana put her arm around her and waited.

Aria had been strapped into the chair as the darkspawn made their way into the camp. She looked up in panic at Fiona, who ran out with the others into the camp. Tabris struggled in her bonds, attempting to bite through the leather. When she saw a shadow approach the tent, she tried to scream for help.

One of the mages from earlier appeared to her sight and he cut through the binds with a hidden dagger. His shaggy blonde head came down to look her in the eye as he whispered, "Get the hell out of here. Run."

Tabris did not think twice before dashing out of the tent and into the fray. She grabbed the dagger the mage had left, brandishing it as a genlock grew closer. The mage blasted it back with a wave of fire.

She glanced back at him as he replied, "I'm coming with you. You're not the only one who wants out of this hell hole."

Tabris was about to protest as a slew of arrows poured into the camp and the mage pushed her on the ground, throwing a barrier up around them.

"Okay," she agreed as he helped her to her feet, "But I'm going to need a better sword."

Tabris spied a shriek and threw her blade, causing the creature to fall to the ground. She pulled out the dagger, as the mage smirked.

"You seem to be doing just fine. Come on, the eastern perimeter is down. We can get out into the Kochari Wilds. Follow me."

Tabris followed him without a further question, chasing after the mage into the wilderness. She went first over the ill constructed fence, offering her hand to him as he followed her, tumbling to the ground.

He brushed off his robes, "I'm fine. Let's go."

They ran for a few hours until they came to a hut in a clearing in the forest. Tabris knocked on the door and upon hearing no reply, picked the lock and let themselves in. It was a simple place, but there was a bed and a fireplace. They could hide out here for a while, at least long enough to figure out what to do next.

Her blonde companion flopped on the bed, his energy spent from fighting off the darkspawn that had chased them. Tabris ignored him, scanning through the texts on the simple bookcase in the corner. She vaguely wondered where the inhabitants were, but she was too tired and hungry to care too much.

She turned to the bed, "Mage, you might be interested in some of these books. I think apostates lived out here. Maybe you can learn something useful."

"I have a name, you know."

"Anders isn't a real name. You wouldn't call me Fereledy. When you give a real name, then I'll call you that."

"Ouch. Anyways, I would be more interested in food right now. So unless one of them is a cookbook…"

Tabris rolled her eyes and went to the next set of cupboards, "There's a few jars of pickles and that's about it. I think the owners packed up before they shipped out. I can't blame them. I wouldn't exactly want to go hunting in the Wilds right now."

"You're going to have to at some point."

"Me?" Tabris laughed, "I've lived in a city my entire life. The closest I've ever come to hunting is throwing rocks at angry dogs. I think you might have wanted the Dalish girl for your great escape."

"Well, you were the prettiest one."

Tabris smirked, "Nice try. I'm a married woman, don't press your luck."

Anders replied, "Honestly, I didn't think this through so well. I wanted to make a run for it and I felt guilty about you being tied up and left for the darkspawn. You also seem to be great for foraging for pickles. I think I did alright."

Tabris pulled out the jar and came to sit on the bed with him.

"So what's the plan now?" She asked.

"We can hide here until we get old, grey, and fat. In the meantime, we will fall passionately in love and start repopulating the world."

"And Plan B?"

Anders shrugged, "Maybe we'll try to find another convoy, find a ship somewhere. I don't know."

"Very helpful."

Anders bit into a pickle, the juice trickling unattractively into his stubble. Tabris giggled slightly.

"Let's worry about that in the morning," he said, "At least we get one more day of freedom."

"You didn't seem to be having much to run from."

"I wasn't exactly a willing recruit to the Grey Wardens," Anders replied, "But it was that or be annulled with the rest of the Circle. They grabbed quite a few of us right before all of this started. They wanted healers, even the naughty ones who run away. Now that the plague has hit…I did want to help, but…"

"But?"

"I'm not exactly thrilled about some things, let's just say that."

Tabris laid down on the bed, "I'm tired and I've been sleeping on the ground for days. You can sleep in here, but no funny business."

"I'm nothing but a gentleman."

Tabris smirked as she closed her eyes.