Wet boots squelched in the wet mud as Nathan and Elissa Cousland along with twenty soldiers including Ser Gilmore tramped along through the bog following the Grey Warden Duncan.
"Of all the routes to get to Ostagar we had to take the one that went straight through a bog?" I ask skeptically.
"Unless you want to encounter groups of roaming darkspawn, yes." Duncan answered.
My foot throbbed. I didn't remember ever getting the wound, but I had checked the previous hour and found it. This bog couldn't be doing any favors for it. I could practically feel the infection coming.
"We're almost at Ostagar." Duncan stated.
We kept on for another hour.
"I don't feel so-" I manage to sputter out as I collapse.
I fight to stay conscious, but eventually I lose that battle.
"Son, when Fergus and I leave to go to Ostagar you will be in charge of running Highever financially."
This was the first time I had ever been in charge of anything in my life.
"Also you still can't change the tax rates, we need the money"
It was a lie, we both knew it, but he knew I hated taxes more than almost anyone in the nobility. I'd seen lives destroyed by a single greedy tax.
"I'll try." I said cautiously.
"That's all I ask, pup"
I snap back to reality with a gasp.
"He's awake," a nurse yells to a guard"Fetch the Lady Cousland!"
"Where am I?"
"You're at Ostagar, my lord"
I feel a searing pain in my foot and Yell from the pain. I slip back into unconsciousness.
"Hello"
"Who's there" I say as I look over a sea of black.
"It's not who I am but who you are." the voice responds.
I instantly know it's a demon.
"Leave me alone dammit!"
The demon laughs.
"Oh? Don't you want to hear what I have to say?"
"No so just leave me alone!"
"Oh, but I can't little mage.
I flinch. Now I know it's a demon. No one, nothing knows that I have magic. Besides myself of course, but that's a given.
"You are far too valuable to lose, but I'll let you go for now."
I awake for the second time that day. No matter how many times these demons tempt me it never gets any easier. This demon, however was different. It felt off. As I open my eyes I see my sister's face looking over me with a worried gaze.
"What did I miss?" I say halfheartedly.
"Are you alright, you were mumbling in your sleep about demons and secrets.
Shit. I always knew I would slip up eventually.
"It's nothing, but have I missed anything." I say sounding more agitated with her than with myself.
"We arrived at Ostagar two hours ago. You've been unconscious the entire time. Duncan just told me to get the other recruits."
"is he accepting Ser Gilmore as one?"
"Yes, but it took a bit of convincing."
I sigh with relief.
"Good, Good"
"He also accepted you."
My heart froze. Why would the Grey Wardens be interested in me? Did they know I was partially a mage. Hopefully not, but if they do it wouldn't matter since I was being recruited anyways.
"Meet Duncan at the bonfire. I have to round up the other two recruits."
"I'll meet you all down there."
I don't directly head down there instead I get a lay of the ruins. I also discreetly "borrow" items when I could. While exploring I find a prisoner hanging in a gibbet.
"Don't suppose you have any food. They haven't fed me for days."
"Sorry I don't have anything. I could try to get some food for you though."
"I have an item you might be interested in if you get some."
This interests me. I am a bit of a hoarder. That was a lie I am a hoarder of extravagant proportions. I am also a newfound pathological liar.
I walk over to the guard and ask
"Why hasn't this man been fed anything?"
"We need everything for the soldiers. We simply don't have the resources to feed worthless scum like him."
I am appalled by what I hear.
"That's absurd even prisoners deserve proper treatment. Could I convince you to give any of your food to this poor man."
"There is no way you would ever get me to feed that traitor."
"Even for twenty silvers?
"I suppose I could be swayed."
I hand over the silvers and he hands me a cloth bag filled with stale bread. I supposed anything would work for a desperate man.
"Here you go" I say after walking back over to the prisoner and handing him the food. "One certified rejected guards lunch."
"Thank you. Here's this key I stole, it opens the mages chest."
"How come the guards didn't find it."
"I prefer not to divulge this information."
I decide not to inquire further and go my way. I eventually come across this bonfire when the kennel master yells
"You there could you come over here."
I stroll over to him.
"What do you need."
"One of my hounds has fell ill and I need someone to get a flower for a poltice from the wilds, and I heard a rumor that the recruits were going into the wilds."
"If we do go out I'll look for one."
"That's all I ask."
After the brief encounter I went back to the bonfire where every other recruit was. There were five of us. Me, my sister, Ser Gilmore, the thief, and the knight from Redcliffe along with the warden Alistair. Duncan gave us our task, we were to head out to the Kocari Wilds and retrieve three vials of darkspawn blood along with three old Grey Warden treaties. Sounds simple enough right? Wrong. Directly thirty seconds into our mission we were attacked by a pack of ten or fifteen wolves. Straight after that we found a group of slaughtered troops, and a dead missionary with a note about a meeting place under two chasind statues. There we encountered the leader of all the wolves in the area. After that we found the missionary's father, Rigby that had a note that led us to his strongbox that had instructions to return it to Jetta in Redcliffe. We then found a dead soldier with a pouch of ashes and a note that said to sprinkle the ashes on specific rocks to summon a demon. Of course we unanimously agreed to do it. Once we had summoned the demon it knocked down the thief, Daveth. He cried out and hit the ground hard, knocking him
unconscious. The knight, Jory practically hid behind his shield. Ser Gilmore distracted the demon so Elissa and I could sneak behind it. It worked almost perfectly, and the demon, overwhelmed, fell. Seeing the demon suddenly reminded me of the demon that attempted to posses me in the previous hours. We collected the darkspawn blood and set off towards the Grey Warden outpost that held the treaties. While we were on our way I studied Jory and Daveth. Jory seemed like he was about to piss himself and run back to Redcliffe. Daveth didn't seem fazed. He seemed devoted to becoming a warden. I also couldn't help but observe that Alistair was watching my sister's hips with a certain intensity that bordered on zealousness. I laughed silently to myself, my sister tended to have that effect on people. We finally arrived at the outpost to find it riddled with darkspawn. While everyone else decided to take the weakest darkspawn out first my 14 year old mind decided to go after the darkspawn with the giant fucking ax. I slammed into and my body took over and started wearing down it's defenses. I didn't realize that my weapons had caught on fire. I finally stabbed my dagger through one of the slits in the helmet after it had taken a swing of the ax that was too wide. The fighting quietly died down. I realized finally that my daggers were on fire, and put them out. We strolled into the outpost and opened the only chest there, and it was empty. A female mage stepped out from behind a pillar.
"What you seek is now longer here."
"How would you know that." I asked
"Twas my mother that took it."
"That belongs to the Grey Wardens!"
"And let it be stolen by darkspawn and thieves?"
The conversation carried on for a while longer, but I didn't care enough to listen. A while later we followed the mage(this is Morrigan). We arrived at a quaint little hut in the wilds.(Maker am I really using quaint. I wish I was dead). My sister conversed with an elderly woman that came out of the hut(It was Flemeth) all I cared about was we got the treaties. We returned to the part of the wilds from which we came. Along the way we found a root bridge to the two chasind stautes. More fucking wolves guarding a cache. On the way back I found one of the flowers the kennel master was asking about. I quickly gathered and caught up to the group. We finally got back to Ostagar, and went off to find Duncan. As Duncan approached we all gathered around the bonfire. I saw Duncan empty the vials we gathered into a goblet. I was about to look away, but I saw Duncan empty another vial of slightly different blood into the goblet. He , and Alistair made a speech about how we were grey wardens and what the wardens were about(I tuned out again. I was 14 all right). Ser Jory was nervous after Duncan said there was a low chance we would survive. He drew his sword and was wanting out of the order. Duncan ran him through with his sword. Duncan then passed the goblet to Daveth and he was toold to drink. Daveth drank, and died. Duncan said a few words than moved on to Ser Gilmore. Ser Gilmore ,bless him, drank. Ser Gilmore died that day. It then moved on to my sister. I had seen the rate of survival, and I was scared out of my mind. My sister drank from the goblet. My sister survived the joining. It was then my turn to drink the concoction of blood. I drank content knowing that my sister was alive, and that it didn't matter whether I lived or not. I passed out.
