A/N: This piece covers the events in Lothering, where Galion, Alistair and Morrigan recruit some more companions, and an old acquaintence makes a reappearance.

-ooOOoo-

Chapter 4

Doubling Up

-ooOOoo-

The trio of travellers had settled in to a barely visible clearing on the northern edge of the Korcari Wilds. Galion and Alistair had been joined by Morrigan, the very same witch who had assisted them in obtaining the Grey Warden treaties less than a week earlier. Earlier that evening, she had changed into a wolf in order to catch a couple of rabbits for the evening meal. Galion commented on it as he was braising the rabbit pieces with some wild onionweed on a hot piece of metal over the fire.

"So you are skilled in Shapeshifting, Morrigan?" he asked.

"Indeed, Warden" replied the witch, pausing before adding "your own people also use the same magic, is that not so?"

Galion nodded, sprinkling some wild thyme onto the rabbit and onionweed pieces. "In my clan there were no shape changers, but several of the clans to the east and north utilise the craft."

"You did not learn it yourself, then?" asked the witch.

"No, nor did Merrill, nor our keeper" replied Galion. "My own leanings were more towards natural magic and healing".

"And light, from what I have seen" commented Morrigan, looking pointedly at Galions' staff, which was a few metres away, spiked into the ground and emitting a bright light from the top.

"Light is a useful branch of Primal magic, seldom studied even amongst we Dalish."

Alistair moved into the circle of light, having been off collecting some more wood for the fire. He threw down his bundle of logs and planted himself at one end of the fire, making a triangle of faces illuminated by the glow. "That smells good, Galion. Is it rabbit?" asked Alistair.

"Morrigan caught them while I found the roots" said Galion, gesturing at the pot nearby which held some orange and white shapes, bubbling happily in water.

Alistair gestured over to the shelter which Galion had created. "Will that thing last the night? It won't collapse on us overnight, will it?"

Galion had used his magic to grow a series of roots and vines from the ground, then weaved them together to form a tent like structure. This would accomodate the three of them tonight. Galion had the forethought to make an internal screen so Morrigan would have some privacy.

"It will be fine, Alistair. It's solid enough for our purposes."

"It looks like a croissant. An Orlesian bread" commented the templar.

Galion smirked, thinking that the human Warden must be getting over his grief and returning to his wise cracks, rather than the dull silence of the last day or so. He poked the closest rabbit piece with a knife, and the clear juice told him it was done. The trio shared out the food, and while chatting discussed what items they should try to get in Lothering the following day.

-oo-

Morrigan winced as she hobbled towards the abandoned cart, leaning heavily on Galion. She sported a crossbow bolt through her calf muscle, courtesy of one of the bandits who had attempted to waylay them outside of Lothering. Alistair, Galion and Baran were unscathed. It was only that the crossbow fired when its' owner hit the ground dead that caused this predicament. Baran was the newest addition to the group, the very same Mabari that Galion had helped treat while in camp at Ostagar. He'd already proved adept at killing darkspawn, and now had a bandit or two to add to his tally.

Galion helped Morrigan onto the back of the cart, then carefully lifted up her leg, letting her heel sit on his shoulder so he could get a better look at the wound.

"Alistair, in my pack there's a rolled up leather pouch, can you get it for me?" asked the elf.

Alistair nodded, and dug around in his friends' pack, finally pulling out the roll in question. He plopped it down beside Morrigan and unrolled it. "What is all this stuff, Galion?" asked Alistair.

"It's some bits from a fletching kit - the kind of thing you use to make arrows. I use it to keep some tools in there - ah, that's what I need" he replied, pulling out a pair of large clippers.

Morrigan stifled a cry as Galion carefully slid the clippers over the vaned end of the quarrel. Galion looked up at the witch, concerned. "Do you need something to bite down on, Morrigan?"

The witch merely nodded, and Alistair pulled out an empty leather scabbard and proffered it to the witch. She took it and put the scabbard in her mouth, nodding to Galion to continue. The elf sliced through the back end of the quarrel, leaving a small but clear stump sticking out of Morrigan's leg. Working quickly, Galion grabbed a tool that looked like a pair of pliers and clamped down on the head of the quarrel. With a fluid motion, he wrenched the remainder of the quarrel through the wound, leaving a clean hole that punched through the witches' calf muscle. Quickly chanting in elvish, he closed the wound, knitting the tissues back together and regrowing the torn skin and muscles.

Galion inspected the wound site and used a clean cloth to wipe the witches' blood away from both sides. The witch spat out the scabbard and took a deep breath, then sighed. "Thank you, Warden" she said, with an incline of her head and a small smirk.

"Ah, it was no trouble, Morrigan. You will let me know if there is any stiffness later in the day, won't you?"

Galion wiped down and packed up his tools while Alistair re-read the note he'd found on the body of a knight beside where they had fought the bandits. "Galion, we need to decide where we're going to go, once we've picked up equipment here" said Alistair.

Galion climbed up into the cart beside Morrigan and sat down, looking over at the witch. "What do you think, Morrigan?" he asked.

The witch pursed her lips, then suggested "we should go after this fellow, Loghain, whom you have spoken so highly of. Once he is out of the way, then these treaties can be followed in safety."

"You can't be serious! Loghain would be in Denerim, in a fortress surrounded by guards, and an army... it's just not possible!" exclaimed Alistair.

"I was asked for my opinion, and I gave it" retorted the witch.

"Is that true, Alistair - would Loghain be back in Denerim by now?" asked Galion.

"I think so. He would have crawled back to his burrow there after running out on us at Ostagar."

Galion furrowed his brow while he thought about what to do. He had read the treaties and knew where to get help from. The Mages were the closest, but not by a lot. Galion estimated he could find one of the Dalish clans fairly quickly. The Dwarves of Orzammar were the furthest away, so they could wait.

"We should also see Arl Eamon in Redcliffe. It's not very far, and he's no friend of Loghain. He will be sure to lend us his support" said Alistair, breaking the elf's reverie.

Galion hopped down from the cart and slung his pack over his back. Extending a hand to help Morrigan down, he picked up his staff and faced his fellow travellers. "We need some supplies and some information about the battles. Once we have those, then we can choose where to go next. Let's head into this shem - human town and make a start."

"Good enough" said Alistair, noting that Morrigan was nodding as well.

-oo-

Lothering was a small village that had grown alongside a junction in two trade roads. To the north were the myriad of farms and freeholdings of the Bannorn. To the south was the last gasp of the Imperial highway, which led to Ostagar and the wilds. To the west along the southern shore of Lake Calenhad was Redcliffe, while along the eastern shore of the lake was the Circle Tower and eventually Highever and finally the sea. The Chantry dominated the buildings in the village, most of which were neat wooden huts. A small stream ran through the village, which was crossed by a footbridge.

Galion and his companions stopped by a notice board in front of the chantry, which indicated a few jobs that the chantry was willing to pay for. Morrigan grumbled a bit about aiding the Chantry, however Alistair reminded her that they needed money, and this was a pretty easy way to obtain it. The group headed over the bridge into the central part of the village. To the right was an inn called Dane's Refuge. "We'll probably find supplies in there - once we have some coin" said Alistair. His Dalish companion nodded, still a little apprehensive being amongst all of these humans.

As they left the edge of the town, they saw a crow cage with a large figure crammed into it. The figure was muttering something in a deep voice which neither warden nor witch (nor dog, probably) could understand.

"By the Creators, a giant!" exclaimed Galion.

The giant glowered at Galion and in a deep voice rumbled "leave me be, elf. I'll not amuse you any more than the humans around here."

"My apologies, giant. I cannot help to wonder how a creature of your size remains trapped in this flimsy cage. Surely just sitting down and sticking out your legs would break the lock?"

The giant stared at the elf, saying nothing.

"Who are you?" asked Alistair.

The giant looked over at the warden, then looked back at Galion, saying "I am a Sten of the Beressad. I am of the Qunari people".

"The Uraman of the North. My tribe has heard of your people" muttered Galion. "How did you come to be in this cage?"

"I slew some farmers" the qunari stated, matter-of-factly.

"I see. So you don't break free because you are remorseful? Or do you seek death from the darkspawn horde?"

"It is as you say" said the qunari, looking down at his feet.

Looking at Alistair, he said "Sten, we find oursleves in need of assistance."

"Really. What type of assistance do you need?" asked the qunari.

"We seek aid to stop the blight. We are Grey Wardens. Fight along side us, find atonement by killing the darkspawn which would seek to destroy us all" said Galion. Alistair nodded solemnly.

"Who has the key to the cage?" asked Alistair.

"The head priestess in the Chantry would probably have it" growled the Qunari.

"Even if he does not decide to join us, we should let him out anyway. To be left for the darkspawn is too horrible a fate for any man, regardless of his crime" whispered Morrigan.

"Consider what we offer, Sten. We will be back" said Galion, who took his waterskin and placed it at the bottom of the cage beside the qunari's feet.

-oo-

As it happened, Galion and his companions ran into a few scattered groups of bandits, while they were looking for the nest of spiders and bear den for the Chantry board. If Morrigan had any lingering doubts about Galion and Alistairs' ability to fight, they were quickly put to rest. Galion's acceptance of the new mabari, Baran, was also justified, as the plucky dog was able to take on a pair of archers by himself and come out on top. The fight against the group of bears allowed Galion to cast an entangling roots spell, which caught all the bears within. While pinned in place, the bears could do little more than growl and claw at the roots that held them. Morrigan was able to charge up a powerful lightning spell, which arced across two bears, electrocuting both of them. Alistair ducked in beside the last bear and slipped his sword into its' throat.

"We should skin these. Bear skins are really good as blankets or cloaks" suggested Galion.

"We won't have time to cure and tan these, Galion. The darkspawn, remember?" said Alistair.

"Can't we sell or swap them though? I thought I saw a place with skins hanging outside on the edge of town."

Alistair sighed and watched as Galion and Morrigan showed him how to skin a bear. Baran was happy to roll around in the dusty ground. After the task was finished, Galion and Baran took the three skins (which were quite heavy as they were still fresh) towards the building he'd seen, while Morrigan and Alistair went to the Chantry to collect their payments for services rendered.

The group met back at the entrance to Dane's Refuge, the local tavern for Lothering. One of the villagers was quite forthcoming with information about what had happened in the last couple of weeks, and Galion filed away the necessary information while he waited for his human companions.

"What did you get for the skins, Galion?" asked Alistair.

"He gave me some buckskin and a cured bear pelt. And some coins" said the elf, holding up a few silver coins. He passed the money over to Alistair, who added it to the few sovereigns he'd collected with Morrigan.

They stepped into the tavern, taking a few seconds at the doorway for their eyes to adjust to the dim light within. A few soldiers were sprawled about in various stages of inebriation. A bard was upstairs playing some cantina melody, while a few onlookers nodded in time with the music.

"You! It's you!" cried a soldier, close to the fireplace. His lithe frame and bow marked him as a scout of some kind. Galion thought and his brow furrowed. He had seen this man before, but could not place him.

The man bustled forwards, reaching Galion in a few strides, before grabbing the elf's hand and shaking it vigourously.

"I'm so pleased to see you alive! Especially after what they said about the Grey Wardens at Ostagar. I told you sergeant, didn't I tell you?"

"Enough, Garrick." A burly looking officer walked forwards, eyeing the Wardens. "So you are Grey Wardens, then?"

Galion looked at Alistair and nodded towards the sergeant.

"My instructions are to apprehend you, but I'm not about to do that. You saved the life of my brother here, and that's a debt I'm now repaying."

Galion's eyes widened as he looked at the man called Garrick. "I remember - you were the wounded soldier we found in the wilds. We pulled those arrows and I healed you up."

"I'm glad you made it back to camp. Especially now" said Alistair, looking at the sergeant.

"Whose instructions?" asked Galion, looking up at the sergeant.

"Teyrn Loghains', of course" replied the man. "We will give you until sunrise to leave, Wardens. I cannot disobey orders longer than that." The sergeant sketched a salute at the Wardens, and ordered his men out of the tavern. Garrick slapped Alistair on the back as he left with a satisfied grin on his face. Alistair watched them leave with a bemused grin on his face, then ordered some drinks from the tavern keeper. The three sat down at the table the soldiers had occupied, with Baran lounging near the wall.

"I have a feeling we just dodged an arrow there" said Galion. "Those soldiers would have tried something rash if not for Daveth and I helping out that one in the wilds."

"Wardens, we should be on the move soon. Noon has passed and we shall need to find some place to camp ere nightfall. We cannot stay in this village" said Morrigan.

"That Qunari in the cage. We'll need to get the key from the revered mother in the Chantry" said the templar, taking a sip of his watery ale.

Galion noticed someone approaching the group. She was dressed in Chantry robes, with her red hair and pale skin standing out against the mute browns of the robes. She stood at the head of the table, between Galion and Morrigan and seemed to gather up her courage before speaking.

"Excuse me, but I could not help but notice that those soldiers called you Grey Wardens. Is this true?"

Her accent was not lost on Alistair or Galion, who recognised the Orlesian influence but for different reasons.

"That is true" stated Galion, not sure how to address a Chantry sister. Alistair nodded and Morrigan looked up, interested.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Leliana, formerly of the Lothering Chantry."

"Formerly?" asked the elf.

"Yes. I would like to come along with you."

Galion looked over at Alistair, who was mirroring his raised eyebrows. Morrigan uncharacteristically stifled a giggle into her hand.

"Well, I'm all for willing volunteers, but we're not going to be taking tourists. We'll be doing a lot of fighting, sister, as you can see" said Alistair, gesturing to the blood stains and spider gore on his boots.

"Oh, I wasn't always in the Chantry. I can fight, and shoot rather well" said Leliana, looking at Alistair.

Galion looked at Alistair, who shrugged.

"We do need help, that's true. In fact there is a task you can help us with right here in the town" said Galion.

Leliana looked over at Galion, realising that he was probably the leader.

"What do you know about the qunari in the crow cage outside of the gates?" asked the elf.

-oo-

With Leliana's help, Galion and Alistair were able to secure the key for the Sten's cage. While the Wardens spoke with the templar commander, Ser Bryant, Leliana collected her meagre belongings and rejoined her new companions. Alistair also introduced Galion to Ser Donall, who was able to shed more light on the dead knight the group had come across on the causeway. Alistair was alarmed to learn that the Arl of Redcliffe, Eamon, was very ill, and the bulk of the knights had been sent off to look for an artefact called the 'Urn of Sacred Ashes'.

Galion had quite a different reaction to both Leliana and Alistair when the Urn was mentioned. As far as he was concerned, Andraste was a human, who had helped Shartan and the elves to throw off the yoke of Tevinter rule and found the Dales, the second Dalish homeland. Leliana and Alistair, both Chantry educated, saw her as the bride of the Maker. Galion often wondered how humans only managed with one deity. Surely he would be very busy. Maybe that's why shemlen were always in a rush.

Morrigan and Baran had been waiting at Sten's cage. The taciturn qunari had said little, but Morrigan had noticed that Galion's water skin was now empty. When the other three approached, she retrieved the water skin and passed it back to Galion.

"So you wish to live, qunari? Join us, and find your atonement by helping these humans against the darkspawn" said Galion.

"As you wish. Release me and I will follow you against the Blight" said Sten.

Galion motioned to Leliana, who used the Revered Mother's key in the lock, leaving the key in place once it had popped open. Galion gave Sten a couple of apples and some dried meat, then presented him with a two handed sword and some steel armour which had previously belonged to a bandit leader.

"This equipment should be sufficient" muttered the qunari, between mouthfuls of food.

The group, now numbering six, left Lothering with three hours until nightfall. The plan was to walk at a brisk pace for a couple of hours and then set up camp. Once they reached the northern entrance to the causeway, a group of darkspawn attacked the group. The darkspawn had been menacing a pair of dwarves, but once the Grey Wardens arrived they homed in on them like a beacon. Galion took the opportunity to hold back, watching to see how well Sten and Leliana would fare against darkspawn. He threw heal spells at Sten and Alistair, but didn't actively attack any darkspawn himself. Leliana proved to be adept with a bow, and she pinned several darkspawn in place, and caught at least one of them in the eye with a well placed arrow.

Morrigan froze and electrocuted several, while Baran bowled over a genlock and ripped off it's face and throat. In a few minutes, the darkspawn were dead, and none of the party had even a nick or scratch, thanks to Galion's healing and their own skill.

The dwarves who had been hiding behind a cart came forward and introduced themselves as Bodahn Feddic and his son, Sandal. The pair had been collecting equipment from amongst the wreckage and hadn't noticed the darkspawn until it was too late. Fate seemed to favour them as it was at this moment the Wardens arrived. In exchange for the safety of their camp, Bodahn and Sandal agreed to carry their bulkier equipment in their ox cart. This meant the Wardens had now a party of eight, doubled in less than six hours.

-oo-

The camp that night had a pair of fires, a large central one, and Morrigan had a smaller one off to one side. Perhaps the witch still did not feel comfortable around large groups of people. Galion was used to communal fires and camps, and the stillness reminded him a little of his tribe at night. He wondered how his clanmates were - Lyna, the clown, Merrill his best friend, Fenarel the stoic, and Tamlen... the dead. He sighed, and looked around at his new clan. Seeing the qunari seated on the opposite side of the fire, he walked over. Sten looked up as he approached, suspiciously.

"How long were you in that cage, Sten?"

"Two or three weeks. I lost count."

"That long without food or water?"

"No, it rained from time to time. This is Ferelden, after all. Rain is inevitable."

Galion appraised the qunari while Sten watched. There was no distended belly from starvation, and he seemed to have retained a lot of muscle mass. He knew a little of qunari physiology, but as the giants were so rare in Ferelden - and even more so amongst the Dalish - he had not had the chance to study one up close before. Sten seemed to tolerate the Dalish poking him every so often, and grudgingly lifted his arms, splayed his fingers and looked left and right while Galion muttered to himself. The mage had healed Sten in the short skirmish with the darkspawn, and was now trying to learn about the qunari in order to heal him more efficiently.

After some time, Galion finished his inspection of Sten with a nodding of his head.

"You are fit enough to fight?" It was a statement, but Galion had posed it as a question to the qunari.

"I am, warden. You need not be concerned" replied the giant.

Galion sat down with Leliana and Sten at the main fire, while Alistair was nearby, sharpening his sword. As Morrigan was already familiar with the Grey Warden treaties, he decided to explain his plan for persuing the old Grey Warden alliances.

"We have three treaties with which the Grey Wardens made with certain groups a long time ago. The Dwarves of Orzammar, the Circle of Magi and my people, the Dalish. In the text of the treaties is a promise of large forces of fighters to commit to aiding the Grey Wardens" he began.

Alistair joined the others at the fire, still carrying his whetstone and sword. "We also can probably get help from Arl Eamon of Redcliffe. He's a good man and wasn't present at Ostagar, so the main part of his forces should be intact" he added.

"We'll be making for the Circle of Magi first. It's the closest, and should be only a matter of talking to the, err... First enchanter, I think that's his title."

"What happens once all of these armies have been recruited, Warden?" asked the qunari.

"By then the archdemon will have shown itself" said Alistair.

"We then need to convince the man Loghain to commit his armies to our cause. I'm hopeful he will see the logic of combining our strength."

"The man is a regicide and a traitor" grumbled Alistair.

"He's also declared us outlaws, so we should keep a low profile for a few months until things die down a bit" said Galion.

"I think this has all the makings of a great tale. A band of outlaws, recruiting the population against the Blight, and a final showdown with a great evil" said Leliana, with a far-away smile on her face.

Galion looked at Alistair and Sten, who shrugged.

"After we've been to the Circle of Magi, we will try to contact my people. That may take a while, but it is on the road to Denerim, and we will need to check in there sooner or later" said Galion. He stretched and felt a couple of pops on his spine.

"That's the general plan, at least. We'll try to stick to it as best as we can. But for now, you two and Alistair need to get some sleep. I'll take first watch with Morrigan. Alistair, I'll wake you and Leliana in six or seven hours, and Sten, you'll be on first watch with me tomorrow night."

The qunari nodded and left the campfire, along with the two humans. Baran was dozing by the fire, and Galion motioned to Morrigan to come over and stand the watch with him. It was the beginning of a pattern that lasted many nights.