Chapter 7 - Can we keep it?

Their trip to Orzammar took an unexpected turn as they ran into a merchant who out of nowhere handed Revas a Golem control rod. Hastily he told them where and how to wake the Golem. Before Revas had so much of a chance to question him the merchant ran off laughing. Revas jumped up in excitement she had never met a Golem and this seemed just to perfect. She ordered the group to head off to gather their new Golem. They didn't complain she didn't think any of them were too eager to go into Frostback Mountains. Revas was hoping that collecting the Golem would be simple but nothing was ever simple. The hair on the back of Revas neck stood on edge, Alistair shivered and they both knew what they felt. Darkspawn. Readying their weapons the group snuck into the town and watched the darkspawn movements. They waited for them to gather together before they struck. The attack was swift and the remaining darkspawn were easy to dispatch. There was a lack of dead villagers and upon searching Revas was relieved to find them safe and protected in a house.

After talking to the villagers they were given on more task before she could wake up the Golem. Find a missing child somewhere in the depth of the house they were in. Shouldn't be too hard she thought. Oh how she was wrong. Just when they found the child they had to defuse a delicate situation with a demon in cat form. Revas groaned in displeasure not another demon I have had enough with these things. The demon was holding the child hostage in some sort of trance. All the demon requested was to be freed of her prison. She played along with the demon little game and just when the demon was about to take the childs body Revas pounced. The child screamed and ran out of the room. The demon hissed at her and transformed into its real form before attacking her. Revas took pleasure at killing this beast to hold a child hostage is truly sick this thing.

Finally when everyone was safe they returned to the frozen Golem, "Dulen harn" she cried.

Twitching to life the Golem slowly moved its stiff body. Looking down at Revas it inspected her, "And not even a mage, this time. Probably stumbled across the rob by accident, I suppose. Typical"

"You could be more thankful" She growled at its rudeness.

The Golem was amused, "It thinks I should be thankful? Well, of course it does. Why would it not? I stood here in this spot and watched the wretched little villagers scurry around me for, oh, I have no idea how long. Many, many year"

"oh" Leliana whined, "you poor dear! That would be... really, really boring"

"and the villagers had no idea they were being watched? Creepy" said Alistair.

The Golem stared at Revas strangely, "It... Does have the control rod, doesnt it? I am awake, so it... must..."

"yep right here in my left hand" She smiled

The Golem cocked its head, "I see the control rod, yet I feel... Go on. Order me to do something."

"alright give Alistair a big hug"

"hey!" He shouted in protest

Revas giggled, "try not to crush him"

Alistair pouted, "thank you I suppose"

"and... nothing? I feel nothing. I feel no compulsion to carry out its command. I suppose this means the rod is... broken. I have no idea what i want to do. I am glad to be mobile, is that not enough?" said the Golem

Revas threw the control rod away, "well you're welcome to come with me"

Alistair jumped in surprise, "Are... you certain you want to bring that thing with us? It could be dangerous. And large"

She laughed, "Think of it as a portable battering ram"

Scratching his chin "good point. Better it than me, anyhow"

The Golem walked towards them, "I will follow it then... for now. I am called Shale, by the way."

"I am Revas, please to meet you" she reached her hand out for a shake

Shale looked at her blankly, "This should be interesting"

-()-()-

As they returned to the road to Orzammar they were stopped by a woman in distress. Revas eyed her suspiciously and whispered to the other, "keep your guard up this could be a trap". She was right and a pack of bandits ambushed them. The fight was quick and clean these bandits weren't very skilled save for one elven man who gave Revas room for pause. She had never felt comfortable killing another elf and luckily the fight only left him unconscious. Revas lightly kicked his gut to wake him up.

The elf moaned and groaned before looking up at her, "Mmm... what? I... Oh. I rather thought I would wake up dead. Or not wake up at all, as the case may be. But i see you haven't killed me yet."

The elf accent surprised her, she had never heard one like it. Crossing her arms she glared at the assassin, "That could be easily rectified"

"Of that i have no doubt. You are most skilled. If you haven't killed me, however, you must have kept me alive for some purpose, yes?"

"You seem awfully glib for a prisoner"

The assassin chuckled, "It is my may, or so i am told. Let's see, then. I assume you kept me alive to ask me some questions, yes? If so, let me save you time and get right to the point. My name is Zevran. Zev to my friends. I am a member of the Antivan Crows, brought here for the sole purpose of slaying any surviving Grey Wardens. Which i have failed at sadly."

"I'm rather happy you failed"

"So would I be, in your shoes. For me, however, it sets a rather poor precedent, doesnt it? Getting captured by a target seems a tad detrimental to one's budding assassin career"

"too bad for you, then."

"Yes, it's true. Too bad for me"

"What are the Antivan Crows?"

Leliana jumped in explaining that they were an infamous order of assassins. Zevran then went on to explain that he was hired by Loghain, which didn't surprise her. Zevran attempted to strike an agreement between them. In being allowed to live Zevran would join her and help her on her mission. Revas couldn't denied that having another elf in the group was tempting but he was an assassin. He made a vow not to harm her if she allowed him to join them.

"Why would I want your service?" she asked

Zevran smiled, "Why? Because i am skilled at many things, from fighting to stealth and picking locks. I could also warn you should the Antivan Crows attempt something more... sophisticated... now that my attempts have failed. I could also stand around and look pretty, if you prefer. Warm your bed? Fend off unwanted suitors? No?"

Revas heard both Fen and Alistair growl. She had to stop herself from smiling as she replied, "no"

"I like a woman who knows exactly what she wants, i really do. So What shall it be? i'll even shine armor. You won't find a better deal, I promise"

Revas thought for a moment before accepting the offer. She knew it was a risk but they needed help and he had already proven to be a skilled rouge. She thought that he might even have a few tricks that Revas could learn. She could hear Alistair cursing under his breath. Sighing Revas didn't like him angry but she couldn't please everyone.

-()-()-

Alistair watched as Revas made her nightly rounds talking and greeting their new companions. He didn't mind Shale too much, the golem didn't seem like it was going to kill any of them any time soon. He could not say the same about Zevran. He hated the fact that she allowed him to live. She argued with him that they needed all the skilled help they could get. He knew she was right but it didn't stop him from hating it. Alistair glared as he watched her sit and talk with the elf. Zevran seemed too cheery to him and he always made passes at Revas which made him hate the assassin more.

"If you stare any harder your eyes will pop out" Morrigan smiled "Tis amusing" Morrigan chuckled

He didn't bother looking at the witch, "I see you have left your little cave to talk to me. Pardon me if I don't feel honored"

"I did not come to talk to you fool. I came for some dinner, seeing you pout how could I resist"

Dragging his eyes away from Revas he glared at Morrigan, "I am not pouting I am just watching over her"

"Call it whatever you would like fool" Morrigan bent down filling her bowl with the bubbling stew.

Alistair returned his attention to Revas, "I don't trust him"

"There we are in agreement"

He laughed

"I do not trust the assassin but i trust Revas and her judgment. Beside it must be nice for her to have one of her own kind here"

Glancing at Morrigan curiously, "what do you mean?"

"She is an elf surround by humans. We may be her friends. She may trust us but she will never feel like one of us. She needs someone to talk to who understands her peoples plight" With that Morrigan turned and left him to his thoughts. Alistair notice Revas get up. Pulling out his sword he began to sharpen it trying to look like he was busy. Sitting down next to him he couldn't help but smile. "done talking to the assassin?" he asked

"Clearly I'm talking to you" she joke

Alistair chuckled. Revas tapped her leg and he could here Fen run over to her with that simple command. He smiled and said, "so what do you think of the Frostback mountains?"

"They are beautiful"

"yes they are. Let's just hope it doesn't snow any time soon. I don't think we have the right gear for it"

"oh I am sure Bodahn will have something in his cart" humming a tune to herself she let her mind drift away before saying, "So you said this Arl Eamon raised you?"

He smirked, "Did I say that? I meant that dogs raised me. Giant, slobbering dogs from the Anderfels. A whole pack of them, in fact"

Fen barked and Revas giggled, "That would explain the smell"

He was surprised She is playing along, "Well, it wasn't until I was eight that I discovered you didn't have to lick yourself clean. Old habits die hard, you know"

"Uh-huh. Slobbering dogs. I see"

Alistair looked up in the sky with fake wonderment, "Or did I dream all of that? Funny the dreams you'll have when you sleep on the cold, hard ground, isn't it? Are you having strange dreams?"

She placed her hand on his, "Only ones where we're making mad love in my tent"

Alistair face went completely red, "I... oh. I think I... completely lost my chain of thought... oh, there it is." Revas giggled as she removed her hand and all he could think was, evil beautiful woman. Clearing his throat he tried to make the blushing stop, "Let's see. How do I explain this? I'm a bastard. And before you make any smart comments, I mean the fatherless kind. My mother was a serving girl in Redcliffe Castle who died when I was very young. Arl Eamon wasn't my father, but he took me in anyhow and put a roof over my head. He was good to me, and he didn't have to be. I respect the man and i don't blame him any more for sending me off to the Chantry once I was old enough."

"He wasn't your father? So you know who is?"

"I know who I was told was my father. He died even before my mother did, anyhow. It isn't important. Arl Eamon eventually married a young woman from Orlais, which caused all sorts of problems between him and the king because it was so soon after the war. But he loved her. Anyhow, the new arlessa resented the rumors which pegged me as his bastard. They weren't true, but of course they existed. The arl didn't care, but she did. So off i was packed to the nearest monastery at age ten. Just as well. The arlessa made sure the castle wasn't a home to me by that point. She despised me."

Revas glared intensify at the fire, "what an awful thing to do to a child" She growled.

He placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her, "Maybe. She felt threatened by my presence, I can see that now. I can't say I blame her. She wondered if the rumors were true herself, I bet." His hand slid away from her shoulder and went to his neck as if he was reaching for something. "I remember I had this amulet with Andraste's holy symbol on it. The only thing I had of my mother's. I was so furious at being sent away I tore it off and threw it at the wall and it shattered" His hand fell as he bowed his head, "Stupid, stupid thing to do. The arl came by the monastery a few times to see how I was, but I was stubborn. I hated it there and blamed him for everything... and eventually he just stopped coming"

Revas began stroking his arm in comfort, "You were young"

"and raised by dogs. Or I may as well have been, the way I acted. But maybe all young bastards act like that, I don't know." gazing at her, "what about you? How was your upbringing?"

Pain flashed in her eyes and he regretted asking. She took a deep breath, "It was hard and unpleasant. The constant fear of humans coming in and killing us, the poor living conditions, the total lack of freedom" Pausing, "I had my family though, my father was kind and gentle always making a bad day brighter. My mother was smart and beautiful she taught me about the Dalish and life outside the walls. She taught me how to fight and protect myself and always look at the fact that a person either human or elf was still a person. It was a hard thing to do after..." Her voice trailed off and Alistair placed his free hand on hers, "after she was killed" she finally whispered.

Remaining silent he watched her eyes grow dark.

"she always told me that inside we all have the same heart, the same blood, that underneath it all we are the same." Revas gazed into the fire, "I always wanted freedom, always wanted to see the world but I never thought it would be like this" she then smiled at him, "I am glad that I am not doing it alone"

He returned her smile, "So am I"

-()-()-

They were one day away from the entrance to Orzammar. The days seem to shorten as the snow cloud hovered above them menacingly. Finding a safe and comfortable surrounding for a camp sight was hard but as the evening grew old they eventually found one and quickly set up. Alistair sat by the camp fire trying his best to stay warm. In the distance he could see Revas sitting by her tent reading her third book on the Dalish. He wanted to talk to her, he wanted an excuse just to be near her but all the excuses his brain would come up with were dumb. He was never good at this she was always the one coming to him to talk. She always knew what to talk about and what to say. Argh this shouldn't be this hard he thought irritably. Suddenly something soft and wet touched his nose. Looking up he watched as snow began to fall brilliant.

As they had trekked higher into the mountain Bodahn had given them all fur lined coats to keep them warm. Looking around camp everyone seemed preoccupied with their own things. Sten was walking around the camp on sentry duty. Leliana and Zevran were talking about maker knows what but he notice that Zevan kept touching Leliana leg. Shale and Morrigan stayed out of the main camp area and Wynne was testing out new spells. Focusing Revas he noticed she was shivering. Without thinking he went to her side draping his fur coat over her.

She jumped in surprise at his touch but then smiled at him, "oh no Alistair don't worry about me. I don't want you to be cold to"

Backing away from her he cheekily smiled, "no, no don't worry about me I am big enough to handle a little snow" she went to argue but he stopped her, "Revas your shivering. You need it more than I do so please take it"

Pulling the coat over her a bit more, "thank you"

Sitting down next to her, "you're welcome"

Smiling she returned to her book.

Talk to her about the books. Ask her to teach you about it or something don't just sit here in silence. "Ah... so... ah... how are the books?"

Beaming at him "It's wonderful! In the first book I learnt about their religion, did you know that they had nine gods? Each representing different aspects of their lives like death, hunting, crafting etc. That there was a Fen'Harel or The Dread Wolf, that could walk on the mortal land and with the gods" Fens ear picked up and he cocked his head "in the end the wolf tricked the gods and that's why the elves believe the gods didn't help them." Taking a deep breath "Oh and I learnt about thier crafting techniques and hunting style. Right now I am reading about their culture and language."

"wow that is a lot"

Revas blushed, "I am sorry its just reading these is like a dream come true"

"Just wait until you actually meet the Dalish"

Revas laughed quitely.

Rubbing the back of his head Alistair smiled akwardly, say something. "I was wondering... maybe if... you could teach me a bit about the Dalish."

Revas raised a brow, "really?"

"yeah like maybe some of the language and culture, you know the stuff you are reading about"

Her eyes darted from her book and back to him, "Are you sure?"

"yeah it would be a great way to kill time while we are at camp"

Closing the book, "Most of it you can read in these books"

"yes but i would love to learn from you"

"oh" she smiled, "well umm... where would you like to start?"

"how about with the language, so I know when you are insulting me"

She giggled "very well Lethallan" She handed him one of the books, "I will try and teach you but you must read the books as well"

Taking the book well at least when I read I will have her near me, "very well"

She smiled, "so lets get started"

Revas began to speak in the elvish tongue translating what she was saying. Listening intently to her his mind was raced. He didn't really know if he would pick any of this stuff up. He also wondered if she thought him strange for wanting to learn about the elves. As she continued talking a smile stretched across her face, Revas was happy someone to talk to. Sighing contently Alistair was pleased to spend time with her. Glaring at Zevran briefly he smugly smiled now she wont need to talk to you.

Elven language:

Lethallin; Lethallan (leth-ah-LEEN; leth-ah-LAHN): Casual reference used for someone with whom one is familiar. Lethallin is used for males, while lethallan is used for females.