Day 5, late afternoon
Just sitting around wasn't good for my mood, so I pulled out the sword for a test drive. It's heavier than it looks and it's a bit rusty, so it's probably mostly iron. It's balanced almost dead center and doesn't have much of a hilt or an edge. I doubt it's worth more than the metal it's made of, but at least it's a sword. (Actually, it's more of a crowbar. The problem is I'm not Gordon Freeman. [Ah, humor. I think that means I'm feeling better.])
I tried the usual things: thrusting, chopping, blocking. In about 10 minutes I tired out my arm, aggravated my knee, and realized that without some real training I'm a dead man if I get into a melee.
So I thought about some dinner. I poked around in the MRE and decided on the refried beans. They weren't quite the taste of home I was looking for. On the plus side I found a ziplock bag in the MRE.
So I checked the map. I've got a decent idea of where I am in relation to Lothering, and now I'm further away from Denerim than I was. If I can get to Lothering before Ostagar happens I've got a chance to make some usable money and make some long-term plans. Distance is the issue. Bertrand wasn't too clear on his map's scale, and guessed we were around 40 leagues from Lothering. If a Ferelden league = 3 Ferelden miles = 3 statute miles then I should have just enough gas to get there.
Guess that's it for now. I'm going to try meditating again. Here's to a better tomorrow.
Day 5, dusk
I turned to the last blank page in this journal and made a list of names. Family, friends, coworkers, acquaintances. Couldn't think of anything to write that wouldn't sound narmish. If I do I'll add it later.
Day 6, sunrise
I couldn't sleep last night. I just kept staring out the windows and feeling sorry for myself. Which was stupid, because all that did was drag my mood down further than it is. So I went over the list of names I wrote and had another good cry. That made me feel better.
But I still couldn't sleep. It seemed like I checked my watch every two minutes, then finally around 2100 (watch time) figured that if I couldn't sleep I'd hit the road. It turned out to be a pretty good idea. The South King's Road (as Bertrand called it) is mostly wide, graveled, and generally well-maintained. There were a few rough spots and shallow water crossings; it's a good thing I had the Outback and not the Impreza. I was able to maintain a pretty good pace without having to worry about other travelers. And I guess there's a law about building right along the road, because the only buildings I passed were well back from it.
It took me about an hour and a half to cover about 50 miles, and that's when the low fuel light came on. I pulled over, killed the engine, and thought about the situation for a moment. I couldn't come up with any new answers, so I started the car, reset the trip odometer, and continued west.
I kept a close eye on the distance I'd travelled. I figured I had 30-40 miles of fuel left. I ended up going less than 20 when I thought I saw city lights. I stopped, killed the engine again, and let my eyes adjust to the darkness. Sure enough, there were enough lights in the distance that I was probably looking at Lothering. I started the car for the last time and drove a bit farther, then turned off the road. I found some brush and hid myself as best as I could, killed the engine, and stared out the window until I fell asleep.
I didn't have the quasi-nightmare, but did dream vividly again. This time it was about Leliana, oddly enough. It wasn't erotic; it was more of a "Hi, nice to meet to you" type thing. Then a Mabari told me to not be so sad and that soon I wouldn't be lonely anymore. Thinking back on it, the dream actually does seem a little nightmarish.
IIRC Leliana becomes/became aware of the Warden via a dream, so now I'm wondering if she's aware of me via the same method. This implies that whatever force/entity/whatever that brought me here wants me to go to Lothering. If that's the case I'm assuming it also wants me to hook up with the Warden there. If it wanted me in Ostagar I probably wouldn't have been able to start my car two days ago.
Great, now I'm granting motive to an unseen, unknown force (hopefully not THE Force).
Anyway, based on this I'm guessing I'm not the Warden. I'm old, banged up, and have no real useful skills for this 'verse. What I do have is knowledge, a few useful bits of tech, and a grim determination to figure out WTF is going on.
If I'm going to be at all useful, though, I need to make sure I start by being in shape. 50 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and 10 minutes or so of playing with the sword will be a good start. (I won't be able to start running again unless I can get my knee fixed.)
I feel safe enough to head into Lothering and try to find Leliana at the Chantry. I might be a fugitive from the Templars, but if anybody calls me out on it I'll say it's a one-armed man they're looking for. I'm actually glad I ended up making the drive last night; there's a much smaller chance I'd started any rumors or tales that might put the Templars back on to me. And I traveled a lot faster than communication (even with yesterday's down time), so I should be safe for a few days at least.
I still need a shower, but I settled for washing my head and rinsing out some of my clothes when I got water. I still haven't had any reactions to the local cuisine, but I haven't been eating much either, and bread is usually safe. Don't know about the cheese. My jeans were kind of loose when I arrived; they're sagging on me right now. I haven't shaved in a week and I look pretty scraggly, but a few minutes with my knife's scissors cleaned up the worst of it. Still, when I checked myself in the mirror, I looked like a serial killer.
Survival tip: if you need a toothbrush cut a green twig off a tree, splinter the end, and gently scrub your teeth. A fingertip inside a wet piece of cloth will work, too.
So a quick workout, some breakfast, and time to pack. A few things will get left behind: the A/C filters, the sunshade, scraps of paper. Anything remotely useful goes with me. (That includes the cell phone. I have an idea that I'll need a mage to test.)
Fuck! Broke the passenger side mirror. But it's good practice for the driver's side.
Fuck.
No problem with the rear view and vanity mirrors. I wrapped the boards up with the Velcro. Everything else got stuffed into the grocery bags. I tested the load; it was a little awkward, but not too heavy.
I took one last inventory of the stuff I was leaving behind and poked through the car to make sure I hadn't missed anything useful. I hadn't, so with that I made sure the windows were rolled up, the doors were unlocked, dropped the keys on the driver's seat, and closed the door. I bade the car farewell, but I doubted it would.
A/N: my thanks to those of you who've left reviews; I really appreciate the feedback!
I know this is a short chapter compared to the previous two, but for me it seems to work. I personally prefer to write shorter chapters (thanks to L.E. Modessit), but will actually aim for a good stopping point regardless of length. But please, let me know what you like: shorter, more frequent updates, or longer and more complete, but less frequent, posts.
