Chapter Four
Alistair held back allowing the recruits to pass through the gate before him, instead of leading the way himself. He figured the rear position would be the perfect place to observe them without being obvious about it, knowing Duncan would ask him for his insight. Unfortunately, he knew his opinion wouldn't matter much until they passed the Joining Ritual but he couldn't dwell on that. He had to focus on the responsibility to bring all his charges safely back to camp with everything in hand.
When Duncan told him he would be in charge of the recruits, Alistair thought Duncan had lost his mind. He knew he wasn't a leader, not like anyone ever put their faith in him before. Duncan reassured him that he would do fine and reminded him that it was in his blood to lead.
In truth, he was scared shitless leading this group because he didn't want to disappoint Duncan. Duncan wasn't just his commander or a good friend; he was much more than that. He was like a father that Alistair always dreamt of having.
The sound of the gate closing behind them and the heavy wooden plank being latched into place quickly reminded him he had a job to do. He wanted to get it done and over with as fast as he can.
By the unsettling looks on Sir Jory's and Daveth's faces, they too felt like as he did. Skylar, on the other hand, showed no signs of concern, distress, or even fear but he wasn't fooled. He knew she was probably just as nervous and scared as the rest of them. She just hid it better.
"I still don't see why we need the blood," Sir Jory grumbled.
"Didn't you hear what Duncan said," Daveth answered irritably, "It's for the Joining Ritual."
"But what could they possibly do with it in this ritual?" Sir Jory questioned. "Do you even know how dangerous darkspawn blood is? I hear the taint in darkspawn blood can drive a man insane and it's a slow painful death."
"Then we have to be extra careful when we gather the blood," Skylar commented dryly.
Alistair watched Sir Jory's eyes fall accusingly on him as he confronted him, "Why does the ritual need darkspawn blood for?"
"It is part of the tradition," he answered carefully, "And like Duncan had told you, you will learn more about the Joining when all of us return."
"Now what kind of answer is that?" Sir Jory snapped.
Before Alistair could respond, Skylar jumped in and stated calmly, "The only one he can tell you."
"But…" Sir Jory stammered.
"But what," Skylar argued, "As a knight, do you question your commanding officer's orders?"
"No," Sir Jory answered.
"Alistair is our commanding officer on this quest. Give him the proper respect he deserves. Don't question him further about the blood or the ritual," she stated evenly.
Thinking the discussion was over, she heard him quickly point out, "But my commander wouldn't send us out on a fool's errand collecting darkspawn blood for some secret ritual."
"I don't know how people are knighted in Redcliffe," she remarked, "But in Highever, initiates for knighthood have to go through secret dangerous rituals to prove their worthiness of becoming a knight under the Cousland's banner. Something similar to what we're doing. Need I remind you that we are the initiates here; the recruits who have yet to earn the honor and right to call ourselves Grey Wardens?"
"Point taken," Sir Jory sulked and let the subject drop completely.
Alistair knew he should have been angry for Skylar interfering, but he was impressed by how well she handled Sir Jory. Not only did she have the courage to stand up to him but she got him to back down and see reason without too much of a fuss.
He feared if she hadn't step in, Sir Jory would try and bully him to reveal more about the ritual, not that he would allow him to. Still it could have easily gone into a physical confrontation between him and Sir Jory, and he knew Duncan would surely disapprove of that.
Knowing he needed to take the lead again, Alistair commanded, "Let's get going. I don't want us out here when the sun goes down."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Daveth agreed.
"Before we get started, may I take a look at the map Duncan handed you, Alistair? I need to get my bearings," Skylar asked.
Alistair nodded and pulled out the map as the others gathered around him. He already had the map memorized from the first time Duncan handed it to him on their way to Redcliffe. The only reason why Duncan had the map again was he must have forgotten it at Duncan's tent the night before when he looked over it once more.
He watched Skylar pull away from the group first and headed a little ways down the road. Suddenly Duncan's warning about Skylar trying to find Fergus Cousland ran through his mind. He was about to call her back but held his tongue when he noticed she had stopped and waited for them. It seemed she was taking the point position on herself without being given the order to. Needing to know where exactly her intentions were and remind her why she was here if need be, he left Sir Jory and Daveth and headed toward her.
Skylar cringed inside when she saw Alistair walking toward her. She couldn't tell if he was angry with her but there was a look of determination on his face that worried her. She figured he was going to chew her out for interfering with Sir Jory when it was his place to deal with the situation.
"I hope you're not planning on going out on your own in the Wilds in search for Fergus Cousland," Alistair stated bluntly.
"Huh?" Skylar replied completely taken aback from Alistair's comment. That was the last thing she expected him to say.
"Duncan told me you may try and look for Fergus Cousland while you're out here. I strongly recommend you don't," Alistair answered. "As you well know the Wilds are filled with a lot of unknown dangers, not to mention the whole darkspawn horde is out there as well."
"The thought of looking for him did cross my mind," she admitted, "But after looking over your map and realizing it's just a small section of the Korcari Wilds, I knew it would be impossible to find him not to mention suicidal."
"So I won't be expecting you to run off then. Just to make sure we're clear," Alistair commented.
She smiled, "You have my word, I won't run off," then added adamantly, "But if we do by chance run into Fergus and his scouting party, you won't stop me from talking to him. It's imperative that I speak with him."
"I heard about Highever and the murders of the Teyrn and Teyrna. I get it that Fergus Cousland needs to know about it being their son and the new Teyrn," Alistair commented while trying to ignore once again the flashes of pain he saw in her eyes. "But the task of retrieving the scrolls and blood and our safety are your top priorities. The rest has to be secondary. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir," she answered, knowing he was right but at the same time hating him for reminding her.
"Two more things; don't call me sir, I'm not knighted," Alistair said with a twinkle in his eye and then his voice became sincere, "And thank you for your help with Sir Jory."
As she watched him return back to Sir Jory and Daveth, the only thing she could think of was, "That was different."
She wasn't quite sure what to make of Alistair. Most men in his position would have shredded her on the spot including Fergus and Gilmore for interfering in the matter of Sir Jory instead of thanking her for it. What struck her odd was he was more concerned about her abandoning the tasks of the Grey Wardens and the group to search for Fergus than stepping on his leadership toes.
It was a rare thing for her to see a man confident in himself not to be threatened when a woman steps in to help. Regardless there are women that are warriors, in positions of power, and so forth; it was still very much a man's world. A lesson her mother and Nan had drilled in her head.
Thinking about her mother, she found herself wondering if her mother's death was quick and painless or did she suffer. Knowing her father was on the verge of death, she couldn't help thinking how long did it take him to die.
The next thing she knew, she was no longer standing in the Wilds but back in the larder on that horrid night. She saw her father lying at her feet bleeding to death on the dirty floor. Next to him, her mother staring lifelessly at the ceiling; her body battered and bruised with her clothes torn away and her throat slit just like how she found Oriana. Standing at the larder's entrance like a bloody demon, Arl Howe taunting her on how she failed to save her family while calling her a coward for running away.
She tried to go after him with everything she had but couldn't move. It was as if a powerful force froze her in her spot. She even tried screaming at him and was somehow struck mute. She was undoubtedly at the mercy of Arl Howe and his cruel and sinister laughter was slowly killing her spirit.
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Alistair felt somewhat better knowing at least one of his concerns was put to rest. He was certain Skylar wouldn't run off therefore allowing him to keep his promise to Duncan about getting her to the Joining Ritual. Now if he can get them on their way without any delays and help them finish their tasks, he would be great. He just hoped for Duncan's sake the treaties will still be there where he told them they would be.
"Are you done with the map?" he asked once he joined Sir Jory and Daveth.
"Personally, I'm the fly by the seat of my breeches type of guy," Daveth joked, "I don't need no stinking map."
"Good to know," Alistair said unimpressed. He turned to Sir Jory, "And you?"
Sir Jory folded the map and handed it back to Alistair, "Let's get this done and over with."
As they headed toward Skylar's direction, Alistair realized she hadn't moved from her spot. He called out to her, telling her to start heading out on the road but got no response.
"What is she waiting for?" Sir Jory questioned impatiently.
"Maybe she's waiting for us to get closer," Daveth replied.
Alistair was starting to get a bad feeling and continued to call out to her as he raced toward her. Like before, there wasn't a response.
What he saw when he finally reached her froze him to the depths of his soul. Her face was ghostly white and her eyes were wide and unfocused. The only sign of life he could see in her was her clenching and unclenching her fists by her side.
"Skylar," he said gently.
When she continued to remain in her trance like state, Daveth commented nervously, "Maybe she's under a spell, possibly blood magic. I hear those mages can even call out demons to do their bidding."
"Its magi," Sir Jory corrected, "And all the magi are under the watchful eye of the Chantry and Templars. So why would they dare to cast a spell on her?"
"Then it was the Witches of the Wilds who placed the spell on her," Daveth insisted.
"Then why didn't they place spells on us as well?" Sir Jory challenged.
Daveth shrugged, "Don't know, but my nose is twitching telling me they're watching us."
"Your nose is always twitching," Sir Jory scoffed. "It's driving me crazy."
"It knows when there's trouble," Daveth defended himself.
Alistair ignored both of the men and continued to focus his attention on Skylar. As a former Templar, he was trained to detect unsanctioned magic especially blood magic and sensed no spells being casted on her. Whatever was happening to her, he had to find a way to bring her back.
Grabbing both of her shoulders, he shook her gently and called out her name again. He felt her shutter within his grasp and watched her slowly blink as tears cascaded from the corner of her eyes. He struggled against himself to not pull her into his arms and hold her and instead smiled at her once he knew she was looking at him.
"Welcome back," he said relieved.
He noted she was no longer as pale as before and some of the color had returned to her face but it was her eyes that concerned him. They were constantly dancing all around as if she was trying to get her bearings. Needing to make sure she was still with him, he gently asked, "Skylar, are you alright?"
She focused her attention back on him, and for one brief moment, he saw the look of humiliation cloud her beautiful face before she turned away. He heard her answer quietly, "Yes, I'm fine," as she pull herself away from him.
Before he could ask her what happened to her, Daveth inquired, "So was she under some kind of spell?"
Skylar's head shot up in response to what Daveth had said. A powerful spell casted on her made perfect sense for what else could it be? It would at least make her strange behavior somewhat excusable in her eyes because she didn't know how to defend herself against magic particularly dark magic.
"Oh not this again," Sir Jory groaned as he rubbed his forehead irritably. "The Witch of the Wilds doesn't exist but only in the Chasind legends."
"They do, I tell ya," Daveth protested, "I've heard stories."
"We all heard the stories," Sir Jory snapped.
"Enough!" Alistair shouted and looked directly at Daveth, "And no, Skylar wasn't put under a spell."
Skylar felt her heart plummet to the ground as shame consumed her. There was no question in her mind that if anyone would know for sure about magic, it would be Alistair.
She watched Daveth cross his arms in front of his chest as he narrowed his eyes at Alistair, "How can you tell? Were you a Templar in another life or something?"
"Yes," Alistair answered curtly, "Before I was a Grey Warden."
The next thing she knew both Sir Jory's and Daveth's eyes fell on her with skepticism and worse no faith and respect toward her. At that moment, all she wanted to do was run and hide but her stubborn pride refused her to do so. Instead she fell back on her fearless leader façade with her head held high and her shoulders back while revealing nothing of the turmoil she was feeling inside.
She was all prepared to be bombarded by questions and accusations from the men when Alistair moved in front of her as if he was shielding from Sir Jory and Daveth. "Let's get a move on. We're burning precious daylight," Alistair commanded, "Skylar, you take point."
Skylar nodded and headed toward the road that led deep into the Korcari Wilds.
"Are you…" Sir Jory started but was quickly silenced by a deadly look Alistair gave him and fell behind Skylar with Daveth beside him.
Alistair chastised himself, "You dumbass! You should have lied and said she was under a spell so she could save face. Now you'll be lucky if she wants anything to do with you again let alone speak to you."
He reminded himself that Skylar still had the Joining Ritual to face before he should worry if he lost her… he wasn't even sure what to call it. Still deep down, he couldn't help feeling like he had betrayed her somehow.
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Skylar was thankful Alistair had put her on point. She couldn't bear to hear the degrading things Sir Jory and Daveth might be whispering back and forth about her. Not like she didn't deserve them. So far she made quite the impression on both of them acting like a hard ass and a cocky one on top of that. Granted in her defense with Daveth, he started it but that didn't mean she had to lower herself to his level.
But to have her moment of weakness, if she could call it that, in front of them, how could she earn their respect as a fellow Warden? It terrified her to what Alistair could be thinking of her, wondering if she was worthy of being a Grey Warden.
She had no idea what happened to her or what caused her strange behavior. It was nothing she ever experienced before. She had nightmares in the past but never when she was alert and wide awake. Nor did they ever feel so vivid, so real that she could have sworn she was back in that larder instead of the Korcari Wilds. She could still smell the lingering scents of her father's blood mixed with her mother's perfume.
It was only Alistair's sweet sounding voice that freed her from the madness of her mind. When she saw his handsome smiling face, it was all she could do not to jump into his arms begging him to hold her. Thank the Maker; she still had enough sense to stop herself for making even a bigger fool out of herself than she had already.
What the bloody hell was wrong with her? She was a Cousland for Andraste's sake. A long line of warriors and rogues who stopped at nothing till the duty was done or died trying to. Falling to pieces wasn't an option she could afford, at least not now when everything rested on her to keep it together.
The sad awful truth was she knew she was shattered, remnants of her former self she barely recognized. She could no longer call herself the daughter of a Teyrn and Teyrna even though the title never really meant anything to her except maybe being a pain in her ass but still it was a part of her identity. Her home, the very foundation of her being was viciously ripped away thanks to Arl Howe. Even if Fergus and she were able to reclaim Highever, it wouldn't be the same. The scars were too well embedded into her soul.
She hated and resented this sudden needy attachment she was starting to form towards Alistair. Where was the fiercely independent woman she was famous for who didn't need a man and loved her freedom? If she didn't know any better she could have sworn Alistair had managed to imprint himself on her somehow and she became his Mabari War Hound. Yes, her parents would be so proud seeing their daughter reduced to this.
The sound of a wolf's howl interrupted her pity party and hastily brought her back to the task at hand. If she didn't pay attention to what was happening around her, it could get her and her companions killed. That was something she couldn't and wouldn't allow to have another person to die on her watch again.
Again another wolf's call sung out through the air with other howls accompanying it this time but louder, making her aware they were closer to her and her party. Her eyes searched vigilantly among the trees and bushes for any signs of the animals. Out of nowhere, a pack of large wolves came charging at them.
She shouted at her companions as she drew her sword and dagger, "Wolves!"
Alistair watched in admiration on how well Skylar was defending herself against a wolf that was practically bigger than she was. Her movements were fluent and graceful as she dodged the wolf's lunges and attacks while making precise deadly strikes into the animal. She seemed like a natural with the duel blades in her hands, a skill he knew was difficult to accomplish let alone to master.
His chest clinched in fear the moment he saw two other wolves take her by surprise knocking her to the ground while the first wolf continued its attack on her. Racing full force toward her with his shield and sword drawn, he could see from the corner of his eye Sir Jory and Daveth trying to get to her but they too were engaged in their own combat with the wolves.
By the time he reached her, she had managed to kill the first wolf and was struggling to get to her feet as she wrestled with the two other wolves. He shield bashed one of them drawing its attention to him which was exactly what he wanted, leaving only one for her to contend with.
What he didn't expect was getting more of the pack's attention on him and ended up fighting not one but three wolves at the same time. He stabbed one of the wolves right in the back of its neck killing it instantly while shoving another one toward Sir Jory and Daveth which they pounced on. Once the two wolves were taken care of, he started to search frantically for the third. He hoped it was smart enough to run away, realizing they weren't easy prey but deep down he knew he wasn't that lucky.
All of the sudden he was confronted by a large mouth with huge razor sharp teeth and dark sinister eyes charging right at his face. Before he had time to react or even defend himself, the wolf was violently shoved away from him and was being wrestled to ground by Skylar.
She had her legs wrapped around its hind quarters while her arms squeezed tightly around its neck as it tried to fend her off. Despite her best efforts of trying to pin the animal down, Alistair knew it was only a matter of minutes before the wolf would overpower her and kill her. Rushing to her aid, he started stabbing the beast praying he wouldn't hit her by mistake while Sir Jory and Daveth joined in. When the wolf finally stilled, she let go of it and slowly stood up while brushing the dirt and leaves off of her.
"That's the craziest thing I ever saw, girlie," Daveth said with a chuckle, "Wrestling that wolf like that."
"And reckless," Sir Jory scorned disapprovingly.
Skylar shrugged while hiding the pain, "Well it's a good thing I had all those countless hours playing and wrestling around with my Mabari then."
"I doubt seriously your Mabari would try to rip your face off or have you for supper," Sir Jory pointed out dryly.
"True," she answered casually, "Craver most likely lick me to death. But the tactics of handling a huge playful dog still applies to dealing with a wolf whose out for your blood. The only difference is you just take it more seriously with a wolf."
"That makes sense," Daveth replied.
"It was still reckless," Sir Jory grumbled.
Skylar just shrugged again and went to retrieve her sword and dagger, leaving the men behind.
"So she's the one that Duncan made the special trip to Highever for," Sir Jory said unimpressed when Skylar was out of earshot. "I don't see why."
"Did she manage to ruffle your feathers, Sir Knight?" Daveth mocked.
"No," Sir Jory answered defensively, "It's just her wrestling that wolf and thinking it's was all a game and losing her..."
"Hold it right there, Sir Jory," Alistair interjected angrily, "Her wrestling that wolf probably saved my life."
"Okay, I'll give her that but she got lucky," Sir Jory replied evenly. "Couldn't Duncan find a better recruit who at least seen some combat and is more stable?"
Alistair's eyes narrowed toward Sir Jory, "What do you mean by more stable?"
Sir Jory rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Her little ordeal she had right outside the gate."
"Whatever happened to her, she's fine now," Alistair defended.
Sir Jory looked at Alistair as if he had lost him mind and challenged, "Are you willing to bet your life on that?"
"Now that was a stupid question to ask even for you," Daveth ridiculed as he and Alistair looked at one particular wolf's carcass that was lying next to them.
Changing his tactics, Sir Jory reiterated his other pointed, "Well she hadn't seen any real combat."
"How would you know if she had or hadn't seen any combat? You two are the best of friends now?" Daveth challenged.
"If she's the Skylar from Highever that I'm thinking of…" Sir Jory started to comment and pause for a moment. When he continued, it sounded like he was talking more to himself than to the others, "But that doesn't make sense. He wouldn't allow her to be here unless… if the rumors are true."
"What rumors? If you know something Sir Jory, don't leave us hanging," Daveth said impatiently.
Alistair too was curious to hear more about Skylar if she was the same one Sir Jory was referring to. He knew next to nothing about her other than she was witty, courageous, intelligent, and the most beautiful woman he had ever saw. Still that didn't tell him anything.
Part of him wasn't sure he even wanted to hear what Sir Jory had to say. He was beginning to get the impression that Sir Jory had something against Skylar. Maybe she did ruffle his feathers a bit just like Daveth had suggested.
Before Sir Jory could answer, Skylar shouted out to them, "Hey fellas, I think I found something."
"More wolves to wrestle, I presume," Sir Jory grumbled.
Alistair decided it would be best to ignore Sir Jory's snide comment and turned his attention toward Skylar. Expecting her to be standing in the area where the first wolf attacked her, he found her several yards further down from them standing next to a patch of tall grass and weeds that went up to her waist and waving them over.
By the time they reached her, she had her back toward them staring at the ground. It was the smell of decomposing flesh that caught him first. Whatever she found was obviously dead and had been for some time if the putrid stench was any indication. The closer he walked toward her; he could see what was left of a man's body lying halfway in the water of a large pond.
"Girlie, it seems you found more than your blades, didn't ya?" Daveth commented solemnly, "Poor bastard."
Skylar nodded, "If something hadn't caught my eye, I would have missed him."
"It's obvious there's nothing we could do for him. Let's carry on so we don't end up like him," Sir Jory said.
Skylar couldn't believe the callousness she heard from Sir Jory. This was a human being for Andraste's sake; a man who clearly died mercilessly and was left to rot in the unforgiving Korcari Wilds. The thought of his death going unnoticed was terrible in itself but to dismiss him so completely as unimportant enraged her.
She thought about the poor man's family, and the tortures they could be going through not knowing what had become of him. She understood firsthand what that felt like even though there was no doubt in her mind that both of her parents were dead. It was how they, particularly her mother, had died that was unknown which her mind had already come up with its own terrifying conclusion.
"Don't go there," she silently warned herself, fearing she would be drawn into that nightmare state again.
Feeling an overwhelming need to find out the man's identity so she could give his family closure that she sorely lacked herself, she started to search his body for clues. It took all her willpower and strength not to become violently ill from the pungent smell of rotting flesh or sticky gooey ooze between her fingers. She almost lost it when she pull away a piece of clothing and found bugs swarming out of the gaping wound.
"Focus," she kept ordering herself while pushing back the bile that threatened to escape and continued on her search.
"Girlie, I don't think you will find anything worthwhile. If the bandits that lurk in these forests didn't strip him clean than the animals who feasted on him sure destroyed his valuables," Daveth pointed out.
Sir Jory sneered, "Scavenging a man's corpse who has been deceased for some time, have you no respect for the dead?"
Alistair had to begrudgingly agree with Sir Jory. He was not only appalled by her disturbing the poor man's remains but was extremely disappointed in her. It seemed she was only out for a quick reward and couldn't care less who she stole it from. She did say she and Daveth had a lot in common. Maybe he should have taken that more to heart instead of focusing like a fool on how beautiful she was.
"Maybe Sir Jory was on to something about disliking Skylar," Alistair thought bitterly, "We should have left the poor man alone."
Skylar was about to tell Sir Jory where he could shove his snide remark at when she found a piece of damaged parchment. She carefully unfolded it and to her relief the words written on it were still readable. Absorbing the contents of the letter, she found the man's identity.
She jumped up and squealed with joy, "I found it!"
"Found what?" Alistair asked devoid of emotion, not really caring what she found.
"I know who he is," she answered, looking excitedly at all the men, "His name is Jogby, and this is a letter from his father to him."
Alistair was quickly taken aback by her answer, expecting that to be last thing she would say. From the excitement she was expressing, he assumed she had found some treasure that would fetch a lot of coin and not the man's name. Then it dawn on him that she did find something of value more so than gold or treasure, she found his identity therefore giving him a little piece of immortality.
Shame consumed him knowing he had harshly misjudged her letting Sir Jory's distain influence him without waiting to see what her true intentions were. She had gone out of her way to find out who the man was while he and the others did nothing which made him feel he had disgraced himself as a person, warrior, and a Grey Warden.
"So what does this have to do with us?" Sir Jory asked impatiently.
Skylar's excitement had calmed and was replaced with determination as she stated, "We need to find his father and let him know what happened to his son."
"Are you bloody mad?" Sir Jory exclaimed, "We don't know where his father lives nor do we have the time for this. There's a bloody Blight going on or have you forgotten, Skylar?"
"Sir Jory is right," Alistair said regretfully.
"I haven't forgotten about the Blight!" she snapped as she approached the men. When she was about a foot from them, she watched all of them take one very large step back from her. Staring at them in confuse, she asked, "What?"
"Ah girlie, your hands smell like shit," Daveth said gently.
"Oh," she replied and started turning different shades of green the moment her nose began to work again. "I better wash them," she replied between gags.
As she rinsed her hands in the pond water, she continued, "His father wrote about a campsite he has out here in the Wilds. That's probably the reason why Jogby was out here to meet his father before he was killed."
Again Sir Jory reiterated, "I still don't see what that has to do with us?"
"His father wrote out landmarks and directions how to reach his camp. If we're lucky, we can find his father at one of these places or the camp itself. Then he can see to Jogby's remains," Skylar answered
"That could take all day!" Sir Jory protested, "Not to mention possibly weeks."
When she came back smelling at least a little better, she pointed out, "We can still look for the landmarks while gathering the items we need for the ritual. Who knows, maybe this campsite is on the way to the old ruins where the treaties are being kept."
"I don't know," Alistair remarked, not complete sure if this was a good idea.
"We have to try!" Skylar exclaimed. "Do any of you have love ones out there… family? If something, Maker forbid, happens to you, wouldn't you want someone to let them know and keep them from wondering?"
"I have a wife who's with child back in Highever," Sir Jory stated quietly.
Grabbing onto it as a lifeline, Skylar tactfully used it, "If you should die, Sir Jory, wouldn't you want her to know and possibly receive a keepsake of yours to remember you by? If not for her, what about your child… shouldn't your wife have something to tell them when they're older?"
"I don't have anyone who would give a tinker's damn about me if I kicked the bucket," Daveth remarked, "All my life I have done things only for myself. Maybe it's time I do something for someone else. We can't give the poor bastard a proper send off but maybe we can put his soul to rest letting his family know about his unfortunate demise."
"This is complete madness, you know," Sir Jory said as he stared at Skylar.
"It's the right thing to do," she shot back.
Sir Jory nodded while mumbling to himself, "What have I just gotten myself into?"
Again Alistair interjected looking directly at Skylar, "Duncan expects us to be back at camp before nightfall with vials of blood and the treaties in hand. We can look for Jogby's father but those things are our first priority."
"I understand, Alistair. I won't let this interfere with that," Skylar promised.
"Good to know. Now that's cleared up," Alistair said with a smile, "Skylar, lead the way."
What happened next took all the men by the surprise. She squealed with happiness once again but this time hugged each one of them while thanking them excitedly. It was quite the transition to see a fierce female warrior suddenly acting giddy.
Suddenly realizing she had done an improper action unworthy of a noblewoman; Skylar quickly composed herself but not before her face turned red with embarrassment. She cleared her throat uncomfortably and commented softly, "Thank you all for doing this."
Daveth laughed, "Oh I don't know, girlie. If you really want to thank me properly, you can do that later on tonight in camp."
Before Alistair could reprimand Daveth for his crude innuendo, Skylar let go of her temper and punched Daveth squarely in the jaw knocking him to the ground. It was a risky move but she didn't care. She was done with Sir Jory's snide comments and Daveth indecent proposals. It was time that both of them knew exactly who they were dealing with when it came down to her.
She made be broken and not complete sure of herself but she was done feeling weak and helpless. Her stubborn pride and will wouldn't allow herself to be continuingly kicked when she's down. If she can't earn their respect then so be it. They will know she can stand up for herself and be a force to be reckoned with. If Alistair can't understand that, then she didn't need him either.
She stood over him, glaring menacing at him and snarled, "How is that for a proper thank you, Daveth?"
All prepared for Daveth to jump up swinging, she was stunned by his laughter as he continued to lie on the ground and said playfully, "Too soon?"
He raised his hand up to her in truce which she automatically took helping him back onto his feet. As he rubbed his sore jaw, he commented with a chuckle, "For a tiny thing, you sure know how to give a wallop."
She gave him a confused look, "Thank you, I think?"
"Don't mention it," he laughed. "Okay girlie, what's the first landmark?"
She looked over the letter again and said, "The first landmark to look for is a tree leaning on a ruined building."
"Oh that should be easy considering we in a forest with lots of trees and ruined buildings," Sir Jory mocked.
Skylar turned and glared at him while resisting the urge to hit him too. Unlike Daveth, she suspected Sir Jory was the unforgiving type and most likely come after her for it. She had no doubt that Alistair and even Daveth would step in before he could touch her but she didn't want to cause more trouble for Alistair. Instead she walked past Sir Jory but not before she stepped on his foot and putting all her weight on it. Despite his plate mail boots, she had the pleasure of seeing him winced knowing that his toes will feel the pinch especially when he walked.
Sir Jory's head whipped around so fast Alistair thought it would spin as he stammered, "Did you see what that little bitc…" and stopped the moment Alistair arched his eyebrow at him.
"You might want to stop while you're ahead, Sir Jory," Alistair warned.
Sir Jory shot a glare toward Daveth when he heard him snickering in the background, "What are you laughing at, Daveth? She punched you and you landed flat on your ass."
"True," Daveth answered while rubbing his jaw, "But she fought fair with me, and I can't say I didn't deserve it. You, on the other hand," he laughed, "She fought dirty. The toes on your foot she stomped on are going to be in excruciating pain by the time we get back to camp. I hope you have another set of boots."
"She didn't even make a dent in them," Sir Jory lied and stalked off behind Skylar.
Daveth turned to Alistair as they started walking, "I bet you, he'll be on the lookout for another pair of boots real soon while he tries not to limp in front of us. Serves him right, that arrogant ass."
"You don't have much room to talk either," Alistair said curtly.
"Ah that improper proposal I gave her. I've been wondering when you were going to chew me out for that," Daveth replied unfazed. "Good thing you let her handle it because I doubt she would have liked you for stepping in on her fight."
"Why would you say that?" Alistair challenged.
"She has to prove herself much more than I do, and that's saying quite a bit considering my shady past," Daveth answered.
"That still doesn't give you the right to treat her like… like some… It doesn't mean you should disrespect her like that," Alistair stammered angrily.
Daveth sighed and raked his hand through his hair, "Look Alistair, what I said to Skylar did the trick."
"You purposely angered her?" Alistair exclaimed in astonishment.
Daveth shrugged, "Well I wasn't expecting her to wallop me like she did but yes I pissed her off on purpose because I didn't want Sir Jory to go in for the kill."
"I don't understand," Alistair replied. "You're not making sense."
"Did you see her blush right after she hugged all of us when we agreed to find the father of that poor bastard?" Daveth asked, and when Alistair nodded, he continued, "It was obvious she was embarrassed by her actions, and Sir Jory is the type of person who would see that as a sign of weakness. Because he agreed to help her, she might not stand up to him again…"
"Because she may feel like she owes him a debt," Alistair finished for him. "Does that mean you expect her to owe you a debt for helping her too?"
Daveth laughed, "Nah, I have too much respect for her, and she's too much fancy for my taste to bed. I just enjoy riling her up enough to get the banter going between us."
"That's good to know," Alistair muttered to himself which caused Daveth to smirk.
"And one more thing, Alistair," Daveth advised, "Don't coddle her. She's a feisty one who's not looking for a hero but someone strong enough to stand beside her and possibly stand up to her."
"How do you know what Skylar is looking for?" Alistair challenged defiantly, "She hit you and now you think you know her? And what makes you think I'm interested?"
Daveth smirked even more and answered, "Suit yourself then, Alistair."
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Skylar's eyes scanned the area, looking closely at the trees to find the one leaning on a ruined building. So far she couldn't see any that fit the description. It was like looking for one particular needle in a stack of needles. She was beginning to wonder if Sir Jory was right about trying to find Jogby's father was complete utter madness, not that she was willing to admit that to him.
An another pungent smell of decaying flesh and death plagued their noses before they discovered a badly damage wagon that was tilted on its side and lying next to it was a dead ox skinned down to its flesh. A little further down the road, weapons, armor, limbs, and body parts of soldiers were littered everywhere as their blood stained the ground.
"What in Andraste's name happened here?" Daveth gasped.
A young man's voice called out, "Over here!"
All of them fanned out in search for the person the voice belong to while keeping each other in their line of sight. It was Skylar who first spotted the soldier lying on his belly trying to crawl. As she raced toward him, she shouted out to her fellow companions that she found him and they quickly joined her.
"Who… is that? Grey… Warden…?" The soldier asked while gasping in pain.
"Well, he's not half as dead as he looks, is he?" Alistair replied sarcastically.
Skylar was shocked by Alistair's cold behavior toward the soldier. It was obvious he was in a battle of some kind and barely made it out alive. He had what looked like a nasty deep slash on his left side that was made by a serrated blade, and it was bleeding quite heavily. It amazed her that the man was still conscious.
"My scouting band was attacked by darkspawn!" he explained quickly. "They came out of the ground… Please, help me! I got to… return to camp!"
"I got bandages in my pack," Alistair commented as he pulled out the fabric out of his back and healing ointments.
While Alistair was tending to the soldier's wounds, Skylar kneeled next to the soldier and asked, "Whose scouting party were you with? Was it Fergus Cousland's?"
"Yes, my lady," the soldier said breathing through the pain, "Fergus sent half of us back with word while he and the rest of the band stayed to monitor the horde's progress."
Trying to stay calm and not let her mind go into a complete panic, she questioned further, "You said your band was ambushed. Is Fergus still alive?"
The soldier hissed in pain and then coughed up blood before answering, "The ambush happened here, my lady, yesterday afternoon. As for Fergus being alive, he was two mornings ago if he and the rest of the band haven't been discovered yet."
"Do you know where he could be right now?" Skylar pushed.
"When I left him, he was ten miles south from here and said he will go deeper into the Wilds following the horde. So my lady, your guess is as good as mine to where he might be now," the soldier answered solemnly.
Skylar stood up and took several steps back, needing a minute or two to herself. She was relieved that Fergus was still alive even though it sounded he was far from being safe.
Still it worried her. For Fergus to send half his men back to camp at Ostagar, it could only mean the danger of the darkspawn horde was worse than King Cailan anticipated and possibly confirming Duncan's worse fears. It was something she knew she needed to tell Duncan.
The moment Skylar had walked away from him and the soldier; Alistair leaned close enough for only the soldier hear, "I hope you're telling the truth, boy, about Fergus Cousland and everything. If I find out you deserted and lied to us to save yourself from being hanged, I will personally gut you worse than the wound I just patched."
The soldier's eyes were large and round with fear as he stammered, "I swear… by Andraste's grace… sir, I'm telling the… truth."
Alistair nodded and said loud enough for all to hear, "I'm all done. Do you think you can make it back to camp on your own?"
The soldier nodded, "Yes sir. I just need some help getting up."
When Alistair and Daveth helped the soldier back to his feet, Skylar quickly joined them. Alistair was relieved to see no shadows of pain and grief shown in her eyes or on her face but instead she looked more determined than before.
"Thank you," the soldier said with a groan, "I've got to get out of here! I have to warn the king!"
As the soldier disappeared down the road toward camp, Sir Jory turned to his companions in a near panic, "Did you hear an entire patrol of seasoned men killed by darkspawn!"
"Calm down, Sir Jory," Alistair spoke gently, "We'll be fine if we're careful."
Not buying it, Sir Jory snapped, "Those soldiers were careful, and they were still overwhelmed. How many can the four of us slay? A dozen… A hundred…? There's an entire army out in these forests!"
"There are darkspawn about," he admitted but quickly pointed out, "But we're in no danger of walking into the bulk of the horde."
"How do you know?" Sir Jory challenged, "I'm no coward but this is foolish and reckless. We should go back."
"You could have fooled me," Daveth replied mockingly. "This is part of our test, remember? If we don't bring back the vials of blood and the treaties, we fail. You don't want to return to your wife in disgrace, do you?"
"I still do not relish the thought of encountering an army," Sir Jory defended himself.
Alistair walked toward Sir Jory and stated in a calm but even tone, "Know this: All Grey Wardens can sense darkspawn. Whatever their cunning, I guarantee they won't take us by surprise. That's why I'm here. But that doesn't mean I'm here to make this easy for you. "
Daveth laughed, "You see, sir knight, we might die but we'll be warned about it first."
"That's reassuring," Sir Jory grumbled and turned toward Skylar, "You haven't said a word about this. What do you think?"
"I intend to finish what I started," Skylar comment evenly, "You can go back if you like, Sir Jory, but you might want to take your chances with us then going back to camp on your own."
"Fine," Sir Jory grumbled, "I'm staying."
"If it doesn't rile up your moral ethics, Sir Jory, why don't we all see if we can find anything useful in the debris," Skylar suggested while waving her hands outward toward the surrounding area.
"Anything particular you looking for this time, Skylar?" Sir Jory growled.
"Health potions, weapons, armor that's not badly damage - anything that can be useful not only for us but for the army back at Ostagar. I have the feeling we're going to need those items with the up and coming battle we're about to face," she stated plainly.
Daveth answered, "On it," and turned to Sir Jory, "Come on, Sir Jory, I'll show you how to scavenge like a professional."
"I can hardly wait," Sir Jory muttered as he followed behind Daveth leaving Skylar and Alistair alone.
Alistair turned to Skylar shaking his head in disbelief, "Who would have thought a knight from Redcliffe could be so cowardly, and he pushed to be recruited."
"Well he better find his courage quick then as do we all," Skylar remarked heavily, "If Fergus sent back half of his men with word about the horde, then the darkspawn threat is worse than what everyone believes confirming what Duncan had told me when we first arrived at Ostagar."
"Are you sure?" Alistair asked.
She nodded, "I'm positive. If it wasn't that bad or the treat was manageable, Fergus would have come back himself to report his findings. Knowing him, he and the rest of his men are planning ways to stall the horde until all the forces can be assembled."
Alistair sighed, "Then we better retrieve the blood and treaties and proceed with the Joining Ritual as soon as possible." Then he gave her a pained look, "Listen I know how important it is to you to find the father but…"
"Don't worry Alistair. If we get the blood and treaties before we find the father or the campsite, we head straight back to camp with no complaints from me," she answered but then quickly added, "But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop looking for the landmarks though."
He smiled at her, "You do believe in lost causes, don't you, Skylar?"
She gave him a wink and stated, "They only become lost causes when you don't even try to do them."
"You have a very good point," he replied.
That statement she made about lost causes had impressed him more than all her actions combined so far. Now he was starting to see why Duncan had made that special trip to Highever for her. It was that type of thinking Duncan and he believed would help end the Blight. He just hoped she had the will and the strength to back up her words.
All of the sudden he felt a tingling sensation crawling up and down his skin while the static sounding voices that were a constant in the back of his mind began to grow louder. He knew instantly that darkspawn was near and getting closer.
From the different patterns and pitches of the static voices, he got a general idea how many they were about to face. As a group, he was confident they could handle the darkspawn but spread out like they were; they would be easy to overpower and kill. He needed to gather all of them together before the darkspawn spotted them.
Alistair's sudden behavior change from relaxed to alert reminded Skylar of Craver when he sensed something wasn't quite right. Instead of Alistair's nose twitching for the scent like Craver's would, it was his eyes that were darting all over the place searching for the threat. It was then a cold chill raced down her spine like an omen warning her bad things were coming her way.
She watched him pull out his shield and turned toward her, "We got to regroup with Daveth and Sir Jory and fast."
"What's wrong?" she asked hating the nervous tone in her voice.
"I don't think we're alone," he answered as his eyes once again danced all around the area, "I really don't think we're alone."
Before she could say anything more, he grabbed her hand and pulled her with him as he raced toward the last place they had seen Daveth leading Sir Jory to. With her free hand, she pulled out her family's sword ready to defend them while he continued to have his shield out to protect them. It wasn't her idea of fighting an enemy but from his tight grip on her hand, she was pretty sure he wouldn't let go until they joined Sir Jory and Daveth.
The problem was she couldn't see anything that poses a threat to them, not like she could focus on any particular area anyway. It was all she could do to keep up with Alistair's pace and not to have her legs tangle up with each other to the point he would end up dragging her.
When she felt herself starting to stumble and tiring from Alistair's fast pace, to her relief she saw Sir Jory and Daveth. They were standing next to another broken down wagon with two of its wheels missing and a pile of items stacked near it. She couldn't make out what they were saying but it was clearly obvious they were arguing. No doubt in her mind that Sir Jory was acting like a pampas's ass again.
Just as Alistair and she reached Sir Jory and Daveth, he let go of her hand and drew out his sword. In a voice filled with authority and warning, he shouted at them, "Darkspawn are coming. Prepare to defend yourself!"