Author's note: Don't worry, the usual sidekicks will still appear, Morrigan at least, and likely quite a few others. I hope people enjoy the story – it'll be a bit long but I hope it won't feel too long!
Anyway, back to the story!
It was several days after having parted with the main army and the little group had only seen a few travelers on the roads. The first days had been come and gone in a mixture of grief and worry the sheer amount of death had also taken quite a toll on the elves. They had all kept to themselves, Lyra more than most as she had taken to go wandering alone, even asking that Tamlen didn't follow – something which had been unsettling.
They had made camp in a small clearing amidst two hills where the wind didn't bother but where there was still a view of the lake Calanhad. It was a very beautiful place and the weather the last few days had been perfect for traveling.
Tamlen had taken a seat against a young pine tree, intending to think things over when Lyra had noticed him. Now she lay close to sleep with her head resting in his lap. He didn't mind, almost the opposite, but she had a way of drawing his attention from where they were supposed to be.
He wanted to think of the group and the so-called leadership which had guided them on this path towards this Arl Earmon. Ever since joining the Wardens Tamlen had been pushed around with direct orders, unlike back in the clan where everything felt more fluid...
He closed his eyes hearing only the alluring whispers of the wind and his chosen's quiet breathing. He admitted himself a smile, at the very least they were still together, still alive, though Lyra seemed changed from the person she was among the dalish.
Tamlen hoped it was due to the company or that they couldn't just do as they pleased anymore – not that they were allowed to do as they pleased back in their clan either, but there were always something to be done in the forest and Lyra had always liked those tasks.
Like hunting shems, like exploring caves... He tried to shake his head, to make the day disappear but without luck. He should have listened to her warnings, the walking dead should have been a sure sign that something was wrong. He had even felt it in his very core, but ignored it in his reckless attempt to impress Lyra and to bring something of worth to the Keeper.
He looked down at the head resting so in his lap. Not that she needed impressing, they had been best friends and chosen for each other since little after birth, but he always wanted to impress her somehow, and maybe she felt she had to do the same. Maybe that was why they were always just on the edge of the Keeper's leash.
Looking down on her dark hair he couldn't help but smile. He stoked her head gently and while she didn't move he was certain that she was smiling as well. He felt a faint fire spring to life inside of him. One he knew all too well. It was a shemlen influence, he was certain of it. He wanted to bond with her, and more... They had not spoken of it, of cause, but he was sure that she shared his idea that it was not a matter to be rushed, despite what his body might think of it. They would wait till it became natural and then they would bond, not a moment sooner. She moved a bit, changing her weight, to Tamlen's great dread he felt his own body move as well, and so close to her head that she would surely notice his affection. The shame, he was corrupting the pure bond they had together and the way they were positioned he could not help it.
Think of something else! Anything! He saw the mirror again. Inside it he had seen something that might have been Arlathan back in the days of glory. He would have been praised. To be able to share the knowledge with all the keepers! But it had all been a lie, a snare set up by his own impatience and the will of the Mirror. Impatience was a shemlen device and he hated the part of him that had it. The mirror had ensnared him with pretty pictures of what he wanted to see, and they all paled and the lies cracked when he had tried to look back at the girl next to him.
The mirror had it wrong, it was not Arlathan Tamlen hoped to find, it was the acknowledgement of his dearest friend. Arlathan would just have been the means to an end... He realized it for what it was, and part of him had known even back then at the mirror: It had been a desire demon.
"You are tense, what is bothering you?" He opened his eyes and saw the pained expression in her face. Her amber eyes looked into him and he had to look away, what if she saw him truly?
"It is nothing"
Her head was still his lap and he was painfully aware that his erection had not lessened in the slightest, though she at least seemed not to notice. "Tell me a story" she asked, closing her eyes.
It was her way of calming people, stories and tales. She knew most by heart and had spun several fantasies to entertain the children when she had been asked to humor them. Perhaps she had not changed so much after all, maybe she just didn't need to show that side so much anymore.
"Which would you like to hear?" he asked, which resulted in a beaming smile from the girl, one which he couldn't help but copy.
"The one of Drae'es the Bear" she said a slight laughter coloring her voice.
"There is no such tale" Tamlin replied, fairly sure that he was correct.
"Then make it up."
Alistair looked up from the campfire and noticed that Tamlen was still sitting by his tree and still with Lyra resting on his lap even after two hours. The boy still stroking her head while talking.
Alistair had begun to like the two of them more and more, if for no other reason than that they never caused any problems within the group. His eyes trailed to Elissa. They didn't do so intentionally, at least. Several days had gone and the group would with luck reach the Redcliffe Village in a day or early the next. Once there then all they had to do was meet with the arl, which would be a simple matter – not that Alistair looked particular forward to the meeting. There would be a lot of memories there and the newest had not been good.
Alistair tried to think of something else. "It will be good to enter a village won't it?" He smiled at Elissa who was idly poking the campfire with a stick.
"Indeed" she answered never taking her eyes off the flames.
"Yes, I could use a shave, a bath and a beer. I'll be as good as new in no time!"
Elissa might not have looked away from the fire but he saw a faint tug at her lips, she enjoyed it!
"Of cause they might need most of the water in the lake to get all the dirt off me, I swear, even my lice has left me for better pastures!"
There was no mistaking it, she was able to smile.
"I knew you'd come around!" He said, as proud as if he had won the heart of the fairest lady in the land.
"Alistair,.." her tone dismissive. With a sigh she continued. "What would you do if you were the last of a bloodline?" She looked up at him, eyes red. She was going to cry and he had never been good at dealing with it.
"I suppose I would want the line to continue." He ventured, it seems like the safest bet.
"So would I" she buried her face in her arms.
"You didn't find your brother then?" She had spend the time with the army convoy seeking news of her brother, or anything about their task. Judging from Elissa, she couldn't have found much news, or if she had then it had been the worst.
"No one knew, no one knew anything! It's just..." she she wiped her eyes in a sleeve but didn't look back up at him. "He was supposed to be there, I came to warn him! Duncan saved my father and helped me escape – he asked father to let me join the Wardens and I agreed... But I did so to help Fergus, what do I have left now?" Her voice carried an angry and bitter undertone but most of it was pure grief. Alistair had lost a family in Duncan's death, but this girl had lost her world. There was no comforting scenarios, other than one...
"He may still be alive." Alistair wanted to give her a hug, give her a hearty slap on the shoulder or let her cry it out on his, if needed – but she was royal, not to mention a woman.
She curled up tighter, her legs against her chest and her head buried deep in her arms. "You also have us, Elissa. We will all help the best we can." He knew that was a half lie, but he would certainly do everything in his power to aid her – as long as the darkspawn was defeated first.
A silence descended upon them, one that Alistair wished he could break, to somehow cheer her up, but nothing came to mind and soon she calmed down.
"Forgive me Alistair, I, I didn't mean to..." she shook her head briskly. "I didn't mean to burden you with my problems."
"It is fine" he soothed, attempting his kindest tone.
She returned to stare at the fire, it was like it had never happened.
"I like to think that we can be a shoulder for each other, we are all Wardens after all." the last bit was added in somewhat panic, he realized that she might have seen it like he was trying to get familiar with her.
She gave a smile, a true unforced one this time. "I would like that"
Alistair panicked, this was a vulnerable woman he was talking with, racked with grief but this was also the closed thing he had gotten to actual flirting. "Care for some deer stew?" Alistair offered, hoping to change the subject, as he took the pot off the fire.
"No thank you" she looked tired now, but better, more at ease, than she had before.
"Are you sure?" Alistair took a healthy portion of the deermeat and some of the other mushy stuff Lyra had added into the pot for flavor. It tasted a bit like dirt but the good kind, but with a very good aftertaste. "Its quite good!" he commented, still chewing.
Elissa gave the pot a glance before she gave in. "Fine, give me a small portion." She held out her plate as Alistair pured her a large portion, though she didn't complain.
"The funny thing is, I never had this appetite before I joined the Wardens. I hardly ate at all back when I trained to be Templar."
"You were a templar?" she asked after having finished her mouthful of deer.
He swallowed a particularly bitter root and made a face. "Yes"
"How did you become a Gray Warden then?"
"To my luck, Duncan came along, saw that I was unhappy and asked me to join his order." Which had been a wonderful day, he had never been so happy to leave as back then.
She offered comforting smile, which helped. "Duncan was a fine man, it was easy to see that he thought kindly of you."
He bowed his head, the grief was returning and so was the feelings of guilt. "He – He was a fine man, like a father to me. Something I would never be able to repay."
"Love is not something you need to repay in such a way, I am sure he knew what he meant to you." Alistair could only nod to that remark, Duncan had known but it didn't make the guilt any less.
Thankfully the dwarf appeared with more firewood, promptly ending the storytelling, which Alistair was only happy for. He did not mind sharing his past, but he needed to make amends first. Put Duncan to rest, and in his own time, perhaps much like the young lady did with her shattered life.
As they passed the last hill they could see most of the village and the looming Redcliffe Castle placed on a steep hill. The hill itself looked to have sprung directly out of the waters of the lake, just beyond the village. It was home, though more quiet than he could remember. The noise had always been one of the things he liked about the village, when he was in the castle he was never allowed to play or make too much noise, but no one cared in the village.
"Let us find a room at the inn, resupply, wash up and then make an appointment with the arl Eamon."
"Why not just meet with Eamon and hand him the letter?" Tamlen asked, he looked about as merry as a drowned rat.
"Alistair is right, Tamlen, we should at least be somewhat presentable when meeting with him, and I for one could use a real bath!"
Duran nodded to Elissa's comment. "Aye, it is settled, to the tavern!"
Alistair chuckled, what a fine bunch they were.
As the group got closer the feeling of wrongness grew, Tamlen had even prepared his bow seeming certain that something bad was underway. A sentiment Alistair shared, he himself had a firm grip on the sword at his hip.
"Are you here to help us?" squeaked a voice, a child's voice. Tamlen had already an arrow directed at the trunk of the tree where the voice had come from.
"Come out!" the elf ordered before Alistair could even think how to act. The kid moved out from behind the tree, looking very frightened.
"Oh don't be so hard Tamlen!" Scolded Elissa and stepped in front of the elf. "Hello there" she gave him a bright smile.
"Are you here to help us?" the kid repeated, looking no less frightened than he had when Tamlen had an arrow aimed at his forehead.
"We might be, what is your name?" Elissa coerced, motioning the kid forward.
"I'm Tomas" he took a step back.
"Hello Tomas, what is it you need help with?" Elissa took a step forward, and the kid took one backward – intend at keeping the distance between them.
"Bad things come at night, I know I wasn't supposed to see them but I did and now the mother is angry with me!"
It made sense, if the arl Eamon had been under attack from darkspawn he might have kept the army here to defend, but then why hadn't they seen any sign of an army then? - Or darkspawn for that matter.
"We will help if we can" Alistair replied, the kid looked much relieved. "Can you take us to the arl?"
The kid looked from Alistair to Elissa and back. "Arl is sick but bann Teagan is giving orders. He is in town!" He pointed towards the chantry.
"We will see him then, care to lead the way kid?" Tomas gave a quick nod, looked back to Elissa, gave her and the elves a wide berth before he jumped onto the road and ran down the hill, the group of Wardens following him.
When the group finally arrived at the chantry Alistair was panting and sweating like a pig. Armor was not for running! Elissa's chain and Duran's scalemail had left both in much the same state though both hid it better than he. Only the elves seemed to have managed the run with some decency, their breath hardly quickened. Of cause they carried far less in their backpacks as well! Alistair carried some leather armor, some changing clothes, while the elves only carried... well he wasn't sure really. He had not seen them in anything other than their leather armor, not even when they went to bed.
"Tomas! Where have you been?! The Revered Mother has been so worried that you might have run off! Don't you ever do that again you hear!"
"Yes mother" the boy mumbled, nimbly avoiding his mother and entered the chantry.
"I am sorry, I -" the broad woman that was his mother started when the doors to the chantry opened and the bann walked out.
"Welcome, we could use some aid. I am..." The bann trailed off, his eyes locked with Alistair's. "Alistair?"
"No, Alistair is my name, Taegan" He could hardly contain his smile. Taegan had acted much like a brother to him back when Alistair lived with the arl, a brother who always had treats with him...
Taegan smiled too. "Some things never change, but I am glad you are back my friend! The arl is in danger and so are we"
"The darkspawn?" Alistair asked already bracing himself against it. He would get rid of the darkspawn threat, for the arl and for Duncan.
"No, though it may be related, I don't know. It started three days ago when the first rider came from Ostagar, telling us that the battle was lost and the king dead. Later that day Earmon fell ill though the healer could do nothing. It got worse yesterday evening when we heard inhuman screams from the castle..."
Teagan took a deep breath, steeling himself. "The dead attacked our village last night, killing four families. It was only three undead attacking then, wearing the same armor that the guards use in the castle." Alistair could see where this was going.
"They were recently dead too, the skin still whole but their skin was cold even before we killed them off! Alistair, there is half a hundred guards in the castle, at least, and that is when most of the guards are needed elsewhere."
The bann let the news sink in. There might be a raid this evening, and it could easily be ten times the size of the former. Against fifty men, dead or otherwise, the odds were bad particularly if it was to take place in the night time.
"We should make a sneak attack, now, before they enemy is ready." It had been Alistair's thought too but it had been Elissa who proposed it.
"Miss, for all we know they could be ready now."
"I am daughter of the late teyrn Cousland, and if this enemy was ready then it would have attacked – if it intends to!"
"Pardon, my lady, but even so, we do not wish to provoke them. What if the last nights attack was a warning?"
"Ye'd prefer to wait then? Let them slaughter the villagers so avoid hurting they'r feelings? Phaw!"
"Duran!" Alistair scolded. "The idea is the best we can hope for Teagan. We should stop the problem at it's core."
Teagan however just shook his head in resignation. "I cannot believe that you would just leave these people to die!"
"They are no worse off then before we came!" argued Elissa.
"Unless you only stir up the nest and we are left to deal with it!"
"What would you have us do then? Just wait? Nothing was ever solved by just accept a beating bann Teagan. As a man in your position should know."
The bann bowed his head. "I know, my lady, but several was injured yesterday and we do not even have any armor or weapons to defend ourselves with, should the worst come. The mayer has tried to convince Owen, the local smith, to give us his stock but Owen has locked himself up inside the smithy refusing to talk to anyone."
"I will talk to this Owen, meanwhile bann Teagan, you should consider if you don't think our idea has merit. Now where is the smithy?!"