CH.2 Maker's Mercy

Edin sat down next to a huge building with pink glass. There was a dark-skinned man rambling about something in common tongue. The young dwarf sighed lightly and scratched the head of her mabari hound, Vidar who had found them on the imperial highway. Vidar laid down by his mistress's feet and curled up, licking his chops after his meal of bandits he'd just enjoyed.
The dwarf glanced up from brushing through her own sand-coloured locks when Alistair plopped down beside her, setting his sword; which she understood came from Duncan when he joined the warden, down next to him. The giant, as Edin found herself thinking of him of, sighed, clearly still troubled by Ostagar. "Aldrei gefast upp." the dwarf whispered.
Alistair jumped slightly at her mezzo-soprano voice. "What?" She stared up at the man, her piercing blue eyes piercing him like daggers. "Aldrei gefast upp... it means 'never give up' in dwarven."
The templar stifled his surprise. The girl in front of him never seemed to be interested in talking with him. Now she was telling him words of support? "Oh..." Alistair thought of how to formulate a proper reply. "Thank you."
Edin smiled. "You're welcome, I guess." she rubbed her reddening nose. "You know how to travel up here on the surface, I can't have you falling apart on me, ya know?"
Morrigan laughed at the girl's remark earning a sharp glare from Alistair. "What? T'isn't my fault that you can't control your emotions! You need to get over it, Alistair. The may be dead, but you live and it what you must focus on, the task at hand."
As Alistair and Morrigan got into yet another fight, Edin let her mind wander back to Dust Town. Though she hated to admit it, she was homesick, and desperately so at this point. Yeah sure, Dust Town wasn't all that great, but it was home. It was her home, her life, and there wasn't a open and changing blue sky ready to fall on top of her. The duster shook her head in an attempt to stop her mind's wandering where it oughtn't. "We should keep going." she decided, pushing herself off the dust covered ground. "It best if we get some more information before moving on." Her two companions nodded in agreement as Vidar slowly stood up and shook himself free of the dust he'd collected from the street.
If looks could kill, Edin was sure that she'd have been dead there in the middle of the tavern earlier that day. It was unnerving, having an angry mage at your back, and it was ten times worse for Edin. Dwarves couldn't be mages, it was in the blood, and that's just how it was. The closest thing to magic there was in Orzammar was the shaperate in the diamond quarter, there was a better chance at finding a diamond in Dust Town. Morrigan was still questionable at best in the young warden's eyes, and bring stared down by the woman was a bit more than disheartening. Nonetheless, Edin stood by her decision to enlist the chantry girl, Leliana, into the group. There was something about her, thought the duster couldn't place it, and it made her unique.
Currently, she was watching the Orlesian weave her words in a way to convince her elder to release the man in the cage outside of the village. Edin didn't understand why he couldn't just be let go. She and her companions had done plenty for the village, completely emptying the chantry board outside. It was the the least that they could do, and it spared a life. The old woman finally sighed in surrender. "Very well, Leliana, I will trust your judgement, here's the key, just get him out of here as soon as possible." The Orlesian smiled. "Of course, Revered Mother." With that she took the key from the woman's hand and walked out, quickly followed by Edin and Morrigan with Vidar at their heels.
The trio arrived at the cage and quickly unlocked the qunari's cage. Upon being freed, the man swore his services to the dwarven girl below him. Sten had to swallow what was left of his pride as he swore fealty to not only a woman, who shouldn't be fighting, but someone no taller than a qunari child. Edin stared up at the man, yet another giant in her life with shock. She never would have expected that she'd meet someone so tall. The duster doubted he'd even fit into most of the buildings back in Orzammar. The man's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Could we take our leave? I would like to be rid of this place." Edin nodded and signaled the others to head out. The Orlesian and mage walked ahead of the group, continuing their banter about religion of some sort. It's all bogus. Edin thought quietly to herself. It's all because they've lost connection with their ancestors. The dwarf was once more forced from her thoughts when Leliana walked headlong into a villager. "I don't know if you killed the king, and Maker forgive me, I don't care. But that bounty on your head would fill a lot of bellies."
Edin grinned, knowing full well what was about to happen. "Time for some more target practice!" she called out cheerfully, pulling her mace and dagger out of their holders on her back and summoning her inner berserker. If only Rica could see me now... she laughed quietly at the thought of her older sister's face, then turning to her first target, a blonde man in a yellow-coloured tunic. The man, wielding a single, chipped and relatively dull, dagger charged at her with a what she assumed was supposed to be a war cry. The dwarf quickly disposed of him with a flurry of alternating attacks from each hand. Edin gasped slightly as another of the men collapsed behind her with a well placed arrow by Leliana lodged in his back. The duster waved cheerfully to her savior in thanks before running to help Morrigan dispatch the final three men with Vidar racing ahead. Good dog, Vidar. she thought to herself before dispatching the last of the men and sheathing her weapons. "Well that was fun!" Edin smiled bright rubbing the bottom of her now bloody nose with the back of her fist.
"Here." Morrigan said with a sigh, throwing a scrap of fabric to her comrade. Edin had sent Alistair ahead with the Qunari, Sten, to set up camp. The least she could do in thanks of removing the pest was to help her stop the bleeding. "Put the cloth under your nose and pinch the bridge at the same time." The girl did as she was told as she continued towards the imperial highway.
"Hey! It works! Thank you!" Edin grinned and tossed the cloth back to Morrigan, who slipped it into one of the various pouches on her belt.
As the group continued towards the imperial highway that was looming above them, they heard shouts of two males, one adult and a perhaps teenaged boy. Edin felt a sadistic grin fill her face as she felt her taint-infused blood begin to boil. There were darkspawn up there, and she ready to kill every one of those son's of bitches. Edin once more awakened the berserker inside her (she knew full well she'd feel it in the morning) and flew up the incline towards the assault. There were only a few darkspawn there, much to the dwarf's chagrin. She made quick work of the genlock, hurlock and hurlock alpha before turning to see the duo she and her group had just saved.
"Thank you kindly for yer' help miss." Edin was stunned to see two dwarves in front of her. There were boxes of what seemed to be goods from their wagon strewn about the highway. Merchant caste? Why are they on the surface?
"It wasn't a problem at all." she managed to cover up her shock with a smile, wiping darkspawn blood off her cheek.
"It'd be good to have formidable folk like you on the road. Mind telling us which way your goin'? Perhaps we're headed the same way."
Edin was dying to bring them along. It had been to long without another of her people, especially one that didn't care that she was a brand. "I'm a grey warden, we were just passing through on our way North." The older of the two dwarves in front of her frowned slightly. "But you're welcome to join us!"
"Grey Wardens, huh? It seems like a bit too much excitement for us." He then turned to who Edin assumed was his son. "Come on then, boy, let's get this mess cleaned up."
The girl's heart sank to the white pavement under her feet as she turned to face the two other women behind her. She had one chance to bring along someone to talk to, and she blew it by telling the truth. She fell forward slightly as ever loyal Vidar gently pushed her towards her team with his head. The blonde flashed a sad smile at the dog before walking towards the group.
Once she made it over to the group, Leliana gently patted the girl's back before heading down the path. Edin quickly caught up to her and led the group off to find where Alistair and Sten has made camp.
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