Chapter 2: The Other Recruits:
After two days of hard traveling, the four survivors had managed to put several miles between themselves and what was left of Highever. But during those two days, Aeden Cousland had hardly said anything at all to either of his new companions. Duncan seemed to take it in stride, but Kallian was getting seriously worried about him.
Living in the Alienage, she had seen more than her share of people suffering, along with her own pain. And she knew full well what happened to people who became consumed by grief, or a burning desire for vengeance.
She had voiced her concerns to Duncan, but he'd merely told her that the young lord needed to find a way to deal with his problems in his own time, and come to terms with his sorrow.
Later, when most of the night had passed, Duncan had declared that they were finally far enough away from Highever for them to be safe for the night, and that they could set up camp. While Aeden and Kallian rolled out the bed rolls and made a small fire, Duncan went out with a bow to try and hunt any game he could find. An hour later he came back with three rabbits.
When they'd finished eating what little food they had, Duncan volunteered to take the first watch, leaving the two recruits alone. Kallian was getting irritated with the way that the young lord was acting, and she quickly made up her mind that now was as good a time as any to have a talk with Aeden.
Currently, Aeden was doing what he always did whenever he had time to himself. He had his family sword out in his lap, his hands delicately traced over the old blade. With Duncan finally out of sight and making sure that Wolf was far enough away, the young elf sat down in front of the young noble and stared into the dwindling flames within him. Okay, first step down. Now I just gotta get him to talk to me.
Try as she might though, she couldn't think of a single thing to say. How do you talk to someone who had everything, then lost it all in one night after being betrayed by someone you trusted?
"My brother, Fergus, left the castle before Howe's men attacked. I need to find him… assuming that Howe hasn't sent assassins after him."
So, he's finally talking eh? Well, can't let it go to waste. Who knows how long it'll be before he starts up again? "Where was your brother heading?" She asked, trying to keep the conversation going.
When he didn't answer, she was afraid that she had said the wrong thing. Finally Aeden responded "He was heading south, towards Ostagar. That's where the king's army is stationed to fight the darkspawn. My father and Arl Howe where supposed to join him once the Arl's men arrived."
Ostagar? That's where we're heading after we pick up the recruit from the Circle. "Duncan said that after we go to the Circle of Magi, we'll be heading to Ostagar to join the fighting. Perhaps you can meet up with him there."
A few moments passed before he talked again. "I want to find him. But even if he's alive how am I supposed to tell Fergus that his wife and son were murdered while I slept in the very next room? And that I left our mother and father to die while I fled the castle like a coward?"
That was the last straw. Kallian snapped. Without thinking about it, without even registering it, she pulled back her fist and sent the young lord to the ground. Not giving him the chance to stand up again, she straddled his waist, and pinned his arms over his head.
"Is that what you think happened you bastard? Your mother and father chose to stay behind in order to give you the chance to live and find your brother. Everyone at the castle fought and died to give us a chance to get away. And you are going to just sit here and dishonor their memories by saying you're a coward? WHAT MORE COULD YOU HAVE DONE?" She screamed, enforcing every sentence with a punch to his face.
People can only bend so much before they break, and Kallian had brought Aeden to that point. Before she could land another blow, he had flipped the two of them, and pinned her arms above her head.
"I COULD'VE STAYED AND FOUGHT! I COULD'VE GOTTEN MY MOTHER AND FATHER OUT OF THERE! I COULD'VE SAVED MY SISTER IN LAW AND MY NEPHEW!"
"AND HOW COULD YOU HAVE DONE THAT?" She yelled back at him, struggling to get her hands free. "If you had stayed, you would've died. If you didn't get out of that castle when you did, the soldiers would've caught you with everyone else in there, and right now you would be dead."
The pressure on her arms lessened, though only slightly.
Not wanting to be beneath him anymore, she took her opportunity and connected her elbow to the side of his head. While he was dazed, she brought her legs up and placed one on either side of his head. With a twist of her body, she flipped the young lord into his back, bringing the two of them back to their original position with her on top.
"The past is just that Aeden: the past." She sighed in an easier tone, looking down into his eyes and leaning close to him. "No matter what we do, we cannot change what has already taken place. You're alive, which is the one thing Howe should be worried about. You can live, and take vengeance for what happened to your family. But you cannot do this by wallowing in self pity, trying to gather all the 'what ifs' of the past. Mourn them. Miss them. But don't let their deaths be in vain. All the lords and ladies I have encountered have been complete idiots. You and your family were the first nobles I'd ever met that actually deserved the title. Please Aeden; don't prove me wrong about you. Prove to me that you were and are better than the others."
"I take it, that this might not be the best time to interrupt then? Also, I have to say I really don't think that is the way you should be going about this sort of thing Kallian."
"Nah, she got it right. But they're both wearing way too many clothes for it to work right."
Both Kallian's and Aeden's eyes snapped over to the Warden Commander. Next to Duncan stood a really short, dark haired woman with a strange tattoo underneath her right eye.
It was then that Kallian realized what they must look like. Her lying on top of Aeden with their faces so close together left little to the imagination of any sudden bystanders. Feeling the tips of her ears turn red, Kallian quickly got off of Aeden and dusted herself off.
"Yeah, whatever Duncan. Just make sure you don't get your mind stuck in the gutter." She said while straightening herself.
Duncan chuckled slightly. "Who's your new friend Duncan?" Aeden asked while rubbing his jaw.
Duncan motioned for the short woman to step forward. "This is Natia of House-"
"Please Duncan," the dwarf said, cutting off the Warden, "'I'm casteless. I told you this once already."
"As you wish Natia. This is Kallian and Aeden, my two other Grey Warden recruits. Natia is joining us, and is now a recruit as well," Duncan announced, finishing the introductions.
"So Natia," Kallian said sitting down by the fire again, "what's your story? You look like you just crawled through a mile of dirt and mud, no offence."
The dwarf shrugged and sat down at the fire also. "None taken, you're not far off actually. But how I came here is a bit of a story."
"Well," Aeden said sitting down next to Wolf and rubbing his hound's belly, "we are not leaving for a while, so if you wish to you can tell us your story."
The dwarf thought for a moment, then nodded her consent. "It all started about a week ago…"
-Flashback, One Week ago-
Once she removed her helmet, the entire audience went up in shouts of fury. She looked around at the spectators and spoke loud enough for them all to hear her. "I am of no caste, yet I have defeated the best that you have." Not bad considering it might be the last thing she ever got to say to these sodders.
The guards however, did not find her very amusing at all.
She had no idea how long she'd been out for, but when she finally came to she was in a cell with her friend Leske in the adjacent cell.
"Well, 'bout time you woke up. You wouldn't believe the uproar you caused in that ring once you took off your helmet."
She looked around at their surroundings before turning back to him. "Where the sod are we?"
"Right after the guards took you away, I got caught as well. Not too long after that, Beraht used his well placed connections to get us out of there. Now, here we are; waiting for Beraht to come down and send us to meet our ancestors in person I imagine."
"And you would be right to assume that."
Both of them turned to the new person in the room. "Jarvia." Natia snarled, "So we're just waiting for Beraht to come and kill us eh? Just one question before I go. Is it true what they say? Is it true that Beraht has a limp dick, or is it just that you're that bad in a tumble?"
She knew that she was going to die, why not have a little fun?
The look on Jarvia's face was to say the least, priceless. "I'll have you know you bitch, that thanks to you Beraht lost one hundred sovereigns. Once he's done with you, you can bet your sodding arse that he will be taking out his payment in terms of flesh from your dear sister. If you two were in the same cell, I would say enjoy one last tumble. But you're such a frigid bitch that you probably don't even know how it's done."
Jarvia was out of the room before Natia could reply. "Shit, Leske. We have got to get out of here before they do anything to Rica."
Leske shook his head. "I'm sorry Natia, but they took all my lock picks. And these cells are built into the walls. Unless you've got a better idea, I'd say that unfortunately, we are well out of sodding luck."
Natia pulled back from the bars in order to think for a moment. The door opened again, and for a second she thought it was Beraht coming to end their lives, but it was only the jailer. A slight smile appeared on her face as she came up with an idea.
"Hey, dude," she called out to the man, "can you come here a second?"
The jailer shrugged and came over to her. "What the sod do you want, whore?"
Leaning against the bars, she pulled the top of her shirt open slightly. "Well, you see the thing is… I was just thinking about something Jarvia said. It has been quite a while since my last tumble. How about you and I go at it one last time before I die?"
The guard took a big gulp and glanced around. "Well, you see… I don't think I'm supposed to-"
"Shhh," she smiled while reaching out and placing a hand behind his head, "I promise you that this will be an absolute killer experience."
The guard relaxed slightly, and that was exactly what Natia wanted him to do. With a quick pull, she smashed the guard's head in against the bars. Picking up the keys off the dead jailer, she unlocked her cell door as well as Leske's. Now was the time to repay Beraht for all the 'favors' she owed him.
Beraht was on his knees, blood coming from his mouth and several deep cuts on his body. Behind her, she heard Leske cut the throat of the last man standing. "You know Beraht; I might have let you live if you had just shown my sister a little more respect."
He opened his mouth to say something, but Natia whipped her dagger across his throat, spraying his blood across the floor and the nearby wall.
Leske, to say the least, was thoroughly amused. "Ha! Did you see that? He was talking all 'I'm so tough', than you came in and slaughtered all of them. Ha, by the Stone that was sodding fun!"
She wiped her blade clean of the crime lord's blood. "That son of a whore deserved it. But now I gotta find Rica and make sure that she's safe.
The two left the underground passage and headed up into the Commons area of Orzammar. But a nasty surprised awaited them. The entire quarter was full of guards on the lookout for Natia Brosca. Apparently, they didn't consider Leske a threat. They just wanted the duster who 'dishonored' their precious Proving.
"Hey Natia, listen," Leske said moving close to her, "there is a merchant cart over there that is about to leave. You could get on it and escape right through the front gate. They just finished inspecting it, so you should be in the clear."
"No," Natia argued, shaking her head, "I am not about to leave Rica here all by herself."
"Don't worry. From what I've heard, she got herself a high up patron. No one can touch her now. And I'll be around to make sure that she stays safe. Don't worry, you can trust me."
She wanted an argument for her side, but couldn't find a decent one.
An hour later she rolled out of the merchant cart that she'd been hiding in. The grass below her softened her impact, but it still hurt, a lot.
Looking back at the Frostback Mountains, Natia couldn't believe that she had done it. She was outside Orzammar and on the surface. "Rica, by the Ancestors I will come back for you. And I will protect you and give you the life you deserve."
-End Flashback-
"…and just a few minutes ago I run across this big guy, thinking I might be able to get a few coins off of him. I was aiming for his purse, but while I was cuttin' the stings, he grabbed my arm! Next thing I know, I'm talking to the Commander of the Grey Wardens, telling him my story. Then he goes and invites me to join. Now is that weird or what?"
"Damn. That is quiet a story Natia. But there's one thing I gotta ask about; why would they want to kill you simply for fighting in a tournament, and winning at that?" Kallian asked once their newest companion finished her story.
"It's just how the whole dwarven caste system works, stupid as it is. I'm casteless. In other words, I am one who has been forsaken by the Ancestors. Therefore, by their standards I am lower than dirt. I shouldn't have the 'honor of fighting in the Proving grounds'. But by the stone, it was sodding fun kicking all those nobles' asses." Natia laughed.
"I think that is enough of telling one another our life stories for tonight." Duncan's voice announced to the group as he came back into the light of the fire "It is time for us all to get some rest. Aeden, would you be so kind to take the watch for a couple of hours? Then Kallian can take your place. In the meantime let's let our dwarven friend here rest for a while."
Aeden stood and gathered his sword. "As you wish Duncan. Come on Wolf."
Kallian watched him go, and couldn't help notice that despite the dirt, his face was much lighter than it had been before their little 'talk'. She wanted to go and chat with him again, but the call of sleep suddenly seemed very strong to her. Deciding to leave him alone for the night, the young elf laid her head down on her bedroll and closed her eyes.
Aeden sat down on a log a few yards away from the camp. His faithful mabari, Wolf, sat next to him. Aeden's face was extremely sore, and he was sure that Kallian had left a few bruises that would be showing up shortly. Aeden glared at Wolf "You were a lot of help back there Wolf. She could've killed me and you just sat there watching."
The mabari just cocked his head and gave a small whine. "Oh no," Aeden said cutting the war hound off, "you are not getting off that easily."
-Whine-
"Okay, fine. So you think that she was right eh? That she was right to do what she did?"
-Bark-
"Well, what a fine friend you are."
-Whine-
"Alright boy, you win. She was right, and I'm grateful to her. Don't go telling her about this though. Don't need it going through her head that all she needs to do is slap me in the face all the time whenever I'm not feeling right. Understand?"
-Bark-
"I never thought that humans were capable of building such fine structures. But it really doesn't look that grand to me. One thing I gotta wonder though, how in the name of the Ancestors did they get it to be so sodding tall?"
Two days after Natia joined them, the group found themselves outside of the Circle of Magi near sundown. After a quick negotiation with the ferryman, they were all loaded onto his boat. Natia was the first to comment on the Tower once the fog on the lake had cleared enough to see it well.
"It isn't that tall," Kallian shrugged while looking up, "Fort Drakon in Denerim is a lot taller than that thing."
"Err, by the stone, how do you surfacers go so high up and still not fall into all that sky up there?" Natia groaned, feeling more than slightly disturbed – not to mention noxious – by the sheer height of the tower. "Also, how do you get used to the ground not being stable beneath you? Wait… what the… I think I'm gonna-"
The dwarf barely made it to the side of the ship before her stomach let loose.
Aeden chuckled and walked over to Natia, "Take it is easy my friend. We just hold onto the ground really tightly with our feet. And it also helps if you sway slightly with the ship."
Ever since his fight with Kallian, he had found it a lot easier to cope with what seemed to be becoming part of his average day to day business. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and he could breathe much more easily. He still had not found a way to properly thank Kallian for what she had done, but he swore that he would find a way soon to do so. Although… the bruises that had appeared on his face were making Aeden somewhat reluctant to express his gratitude to the elf anytime soon.
Aeden turned from the kneeling dwarf to face Duncan. "Who are we here to collect Commander?"
"I am not sure yet." Duncan admitted. "Mages are almost always useful, and unfortunately there are currently no Grey Warden mages in all of Ferelden – the last one died in a battle about a year ago. We'll have to examine all the mages, and try to find one that is suitable for the task."
"Well, who we gonna talk to in there?" Kallian asked as she leaned against the side of the ferry.
"The First Enchanter; Irving. He and I are old friends; he should be able to give us a good idea for some potential candidates, and we can narrow it down ourselves from there."
"I don't care who it is or what happens while we're here, I just hope that they got ale in this place. I haven't had a pint in ages; think I'm going through some serious withdrawal here." Natia complained, running her hand across her mouth.
Aeden and Kallian stared at the dwarf for a moment, then at each other. Neither could put it off though, and both started laughing.
"Hey," the dwarf snapped, looking at the two. "I'm serious here. I haven't had any ale in at least ten days, and I'm pretty sure that waiting this long is like, really bad for your health… or something like that."
This only caused the two to laugh harder, and even Duncan let out a slight chuckle at the dwarf's antics. He sure had found a strange collection of people to join the Wardens.
To say that Alim was furious would have been a severe understatement. Today was supposed to be a great day for him! He had passed his Harrowing and was officially made into a full mage of the Circle. But in addition to that, Alim had been woken up by his best friend Jowan, who told him something that greatly disturbed him: Jowan was going to be made Tranquil. His friend had been at the tower for a full year before Alim had arrived, and now he was going to be stripped not only of his powers, but of his very emotions.
Coming to the First Enchanter's room, Alim took a deep breath before barging into Irving's office. "First Enchanter, I have something I'd like to talk to you abo-"
"Alim, is it common place for you to barge into someone's room without knocking first? You never know who might be behind the door."
The First Enchanter's words brought Alim up short, and forced him to look at the people who currently occupied the room. There was the First Enchanter obviously, as well as Knight Commander Greagoir, and four other people. The strangers included two humans, one elf, one dwarf, as well as one mabari hound.
"Alim, I would like to introduce you to the Commander of Ferelden's Grey Wardens, Duncan. These are his Warden recruits: Aeden, Kallian, and Natia." Irving said pointing to the human, elf, and dwarf respectively.
"Forgive my intrusion Grey Wardens," Alim said with a quick yet humble bow.
"Duncan," Irving turned to the older human, "this is one of the mages that I was talking about. Alim is one of the best healers in the Tower, and I must say he has a very good affinity with lighting as well."
"Irving, I must object to this," the Knight Commander cut in, "we have already sent too many of your people out into the world with too few Templars to watch them. I cannot afford to let more of you mages out of the Tower unguarded."
"Enough with your paranoid suspicions, Greagoir." Irving sighed. "But right now I can see that our newest mage is patiently waiting to speak with me. Duncan, I am sorry to cut this short, but I will talk to you again as soon as I have the time."
"I understand Irving," the Warden Commander smiled, bowing slightly, "we will be in the rooms that you have given us. We hope to leave in the morning. We still have a long way to go before we reach Ostagar."
Alim moved away from the door and let the Wardens, the mabari, and the Knight Commander move past him and out the door. It could've just been his imagination, but he felt like each of the recruits was sizing him up as they walked past. Once the door was shut, the First Enchanter turned towards him.
"Now my boy, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
Alim took a deep breath before speaking. "Is it true, First Enchanter, that Jowan is going to be made Tranquil soon instead of taking the Harrowing?"
"Ahh," Irving nodded in understanding, "so the Chantry maiden he is dabbling with has told him about this, yes? Oh come boy, don't look too shocked. I am well informed about what is happening with the mages in the Tower. The question is, now that Jowan knows that he is going to be Tranquil, what will he do? The most obvious is that he plans to escape, yes? And seeing that he is your friend he has asked you for help, am I correct?"
How in the name of the Maker does Irving know all of this? Alim wondered. No sense in trying to lie to Irving now. "Yes, First Enchanter, it's all true. What I want to know is this: why is Jowan going to be made Tranquil?"
Irving walked over to his desk and started to leaf through a pile of papers. "Greagoir says that he has evidence that Jowan is a Blood Mage. The penalty for this is death. I thought that being Tranquil would be more merciful."
"But how can he know this? Jowan isn't a Blood Mage, the very thought of it is ridiculous." He tired to argue.
"Of course it is my boy," Irving said turning back to him, "but nonetheless, he does plan to escape with the help of his Chantry maiden. What I want you to do is to keep me apprised of their actions, let me know when they are going to make their move so we can catch them in the act."
Alim was stunned. "You would sacrifice Jowan's future just to place some blame on the Chantry?"
"You don't understand how this works Alim." Irving sighed, shaking his head. "The world is a dangerous place – especially for mages – and unfortunately we need to take advantage of a situation when we can."
"I'm sorry First Enchanter; I am not going to be your spy… But I won't help Jowan escape either."
"Very well my boy." Irving said turning his back on him, "Do what you feel is right, and in the end, I will support your decision regardless."
Alim bowed to Irving, and then turned and headed out the door. He had to find Jowan immediately and tell him that he needed to get out of the Tower, tonight.
Once inside their room, Kallian sat down at the table and kicked her feet up on it. "So, any of you thinking about that little elf boy that busted into the room back there?" Kallian asked.
Natia immediately went for the small pitcher on the table. She was obviously disappointed when she saw that there was only water in it. "That elf looks like he'd wet himself if he ever got into a real fight," Natia stated, walking away from the table.
Wolf found a nice corner in the room and lay down. "Don't sell him short Natia," Aeden said taking the pitcher off the table and pouring both Kallian and himself a cup of water, "most of the mages here start shaking in their boots whenever a Templar looks their way. That young elf barged into a room with the Knight Commander, the Commander of the Grey, three Warden recruits, and didn't even bat an eye."
Kallian took the offered cup, "I have to admit; you're right about that Aeden. But still, if Duncan's going to recruit him, I'd like to see how he does in a fight before I start trusting him with my life."
"I want you all to stay here for the time being," Duncan interrupted as he turned back toward the door, "I have more business that I wish to discuss with the First Enchanter."
A voice begged "Hey Duncan, do you think they could send some ale over, please?"
This was meant to be a happy day for Alim. He had just passed his Harrowing the night before, and today was suppose to be filled with laughing and joy and congratulations. But no, he should've known better than to expect a happy day for once in his life.
First it was Jowan coming to him for help in escaping the Tower, then there he was making a fool of himself in front of the Warden Commander, and now this.
After his conversation with Irving, he immediately went to Jowan and told him\s friend that he would help. Less than an hour later, they were standing in front of all the phylacteries for the apprentice mages in the Tower. Jowan found his, and destroyed it.
Once the left the underground passage however, everything went to the Void.
"So it is just as you said it would be Irving." The Knight Commander muttered with his arms crossed as he fixed them with a hard, unforgiving glare.
Irving and Greagoir where standing outside the door with no less than a dozen Templars around them. "I am most disappointed in you, Lily. Consorting with a Blood Mage and helping him escape the Chantry's justice?"
"Do you even have proof of these accusations?" Alim demanded as he stood up for his friend. "You just hate mages in general, and would kill us all if you were given half a chance. I bet that you worked this whole thing up about Jowan being a Blood Mage just so you could kill one of us!"
"Alim, please control-"
"Quiet Irving, this boy dares to question me? And as for evidence, we have witnesses claiming that they saw him practicing Blood Magic when he thought everyone else in the Tower was asleep." Greagoir growled, cutting of the First Enchanter.
Alim however, did not back down for the Knight Commander. "What, one of your Templar dogs said, 'I saw him practicing blood magic' and you believe him? You Templars can't even tell the difference between Entropic and Healing magic, so how are you supposed to know what type of magic he was practicing? And as for Jowan practicing at night, every mage practices outside of their studies."
"Alim," Jowan said coming forward, "I appreciate what you are trying to do, but it is over now."
"That's right mage, and as for you Lily, you are going to be sent to the mages prison." Greagoir motioned for his men to take the young priestess.
"No," she cried, backing against the wall, "not the mages prison, please Greagoir."
"NO! I WILL NOT LET YOU TAKE HER!"
Jowan reached into his robes and withdrew a knife. Alim's world came crashing down when his friend plunged the dagger into his hand. Within an instant a wave of pure power exploded from Jowan, sending everyone in the room – including Alim – to the floor. Most of the Templars didn't move.
Alim's body felt as if it was paralyzed. He tried to turn his head, move his fingers, wiggle his toes, but nothing seemed to be working.
"What... Jowan… how could you? You told me that... I trusted you!" He could hear Lily speaking, but couldn't move his head to see her.
"I…dabbled. But I did it for you. I did it to protect us." Jowan insisted.
"To help us? How does this help anyone? You're a Blood Mage… leave me Jowan."
"Lily, please listen to me I just-"
"LEAVE NOW JOWAN. If you ever felt anything for me, you will leave me right now, and never look for me again."
Jowan's boots running across the floor and Lily's sobs where the only indication Alim had that he had just been betrayed. His best friend had not only lied to him, but was also a Blood Mage, and had used him.
A couple of minutes later, he could finally feel his body again. Getting up, he noticed that everyone else was still lying on the ground. Jowan didn't hit me as hard as the others.
Once he got to his feet, Alim moved over to the First Enchanter knelt down beside him. Reaching down he helped the old man up into a sitting position. "My, my… I didn't think that Jowan had become that powerful." Irving groaned as Alim helped him to his feet.
"Irving, this is what happens when you don't let me do my duty."
Turning, Alim came face to face with the Knight Commander. "Where is the girl?"
"I am here Knight Commander."
Every face turned to see Lily step forward. "Lily, you have just assisted a malificarum in destroying his phylactery, and then you allowed him to flee from the Tower, therefore escaping justice. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
The priestess hung her head. "No Knight Commander, I do not. And I will accept any punishment that you deem necessary.
Greagoir waved his knights forward. "Men, take her out of my sight."
With the priestess gone, Greagoir faced Alim once more. "Now as for you boy, I should have you strung up for your actions. Not to mention that you should be beaten within an inch of your life and made an example of to teach you some respect for the Templars."
"He was acting on my orders Greagoir."
Both Alim and the Commander turned to the First Enchanter. "I was the one who told Alim to follow Jowan and Lily. I will admit that some of his remarks may have been out of line, but he was acting on my orders."
Greagoir's head went back and forth between the two. "Nonetheless Irving, he will need to be punished for his actions here. You have no authority to stop me in this. Men, take him to the mages prison. We'll leave him there until he learns some respect for the Templars."
"Hold, Knight Commander."
Every eye in the room turned to see the Commander of the Grey Wardens, his three recruits and the mabari hound enter the room. "You are not needed here Duncan." Greagoir declared, trying to dismiss the Warden Commander. "And I see no reason for you to take anyone from this Tower. We don't need to set another mage loose into the world anyway."
Duncan came to a stop between Greagoir and Irving. "Your arguments are well thought through, and noted, Knight Commander. However they are irrelevant in comparison to the Blight. I hereby invoke the Right of Conscription on this mage."
"WHAT? You cannot do that! This man must submit himself before the Chantry to answer for his crimes!" Greagoir roared, his face was turning red with anger.
"I'm afraid that Duncan is in the right in this matter. Once he has invoked the Right of Conscription, no one – not even the Grand Cleric or the king – can deny him who he chooses." Irving calmly reminded Greagoir.
Looking at Irving's face, Alim saw that Irving was grinning slightly. He had this whole thing planned out! He knew that Duncan was coming, so that is why he allowed the papers to be found about Jowan. He knew what I would do, and he knew the consequences of my actions. That sly old fox!
Greagoir finally gave up and threw his hands in the air. "Fine, but get this mage out of the Tower Duncan, now."
Before Duncan could respond, the Knight Commander turned on his heel and walked out the door.
With Greagoir out of ear shot, Alim turned to Irving. "You had this whole thing planned from the beginning, didn't you?"
Irving's face betrayed nothing as he played the innocent bystander. "Plan what, my boy? This is just mere chance. But this is a chance you cannot pass up. Go forth, and see the world. And show them that mages are not something to be feared."
"Well, this is all very touching." everyone turned to face the young elf woman. Kallian, he believed her name was. "But I would rather not be here when old stone-face returns. I don't want to have any more brushes with those types of people for a while."
"While I may not agree with Kallian's choice of words, there is some truth to what she has said. Irving, would you be so kind as to lend us some horses? We have far to travel and not much time to do it in?" Duncan politely requested.
Irving nodded. "Once you get across the lake, speak to the stable master outside the Spoiled Princess. Tell him that you need five strong horses, and to send the bill to the Tower. And Alim, I have one more parting gift for you."
One of the apprentices brought forth a staff. It was completely white with a spiraling end and a flawless jewel placed in the center between the two spiraling pieces. "This staff will greatly increase your magical potential. Both your healing and destructive spells will be quite a bit more potent as long you wield this staff. This is my last gift to you my boy. Join the Grey Wardens, and bring honor to the Circle of Magi."
Alim took the offered staff with shaking hands. "Thank you, First Enchanter. I will do everything in my power to bring honor and glory to the Circle while I serve the Grey Wardens."
"Welcome Alim, I am glad to have such a worthy companion join us."
"Good to meet ya. Glad to see that I won't be the only elf traveling in this little group of misfits we got going here."
"Hey handsome, when was the last time you had a good ol' tumble?"
-Bark-
On second thought, what in Andraste's name have I just gotten myself into?
Hope that y'all enjoyed. Please review if ya feel like it. Big thanks to my beta Paragon of Awsomeness. See y'all in the next chapter.