Borrowed Time, Ch 10 – It's Raining Wardens
AN: Yummy yummy Teagan. That is all.
They were an hour away from Redcliff when Alistair stopped Shiva. They had been walking and talking on and off the first half of they day, so when they actually had to stop and talk she knew it was something serious. Especially since he had more trouble than usual getting the right words out. He even started with the nickname he thought of the day before, which meant he expected her to be angry about something he was about to say.
"Shiv, there's something I have to tell you and... You may think I should have told you before. Which is true! I know I should... you know, talk about it with people I have to be close with for stuff and... Anyway. Did I tell you how I knew Arl Eamon?"
Shiva was trying to be patient. It was getting more difficult with each 'you know' and 'um'. "No, you didn't."
"Well, he raised me. He's not my father. I'll come out and say it, I'm a bastard. My mother was a servant girl in the castle at Denerim and my father... Who did not raise me because Arl Eamon raised me... Well, he's King Maric. My father, that is. Eamon isn't Maric. Or my father."
The image of Cailan popped into her mind and she believed what Alistair said. "Huh. There's something about hearing it..." She considered what this meant, for her and for him. He must have had quite a bit of weight on his shoulders, even if as a bastard he was treated as a commoner. She had never heard of any child of Maric's besides Cailan, so how many knew of this secret? She had many questions, but she took a slower approach. He would probably tell her all in time, considering how much he liked to talk. "I knew a face that handsome could only belong to royalty. I also noticed you and Cailan looked just alike. Except you are a little bit cuter than he was." To tease him, Shiva started 'idly' tracing the edge of his gauntlet.
He chuckled, blushed –to no one's great surprise- and in a fake deep voice commanded, "My lady, unhand me before I call forth the wrath of Theirin blood upon ye!" He immediately regretted saying it that way and that loud. Returning to his version of normal, he softened into a quiet inquiry. "But you're not mad? About me not telling you sooner?"
"No ser. That's a pretty big deal and we hardly knew each other. I'm only surprised you're telling me this soon. What does being Maric's son mean to you?"
He seemed to get irritated about the general subject, suggesting he had lifelong problems with it. The way he stiffened answered her before he even spoke his mind. "It means being coddled by everyone that knows. Even Duncan kept me out of the fighting because of it. It means a lot of people who find out will probably want to use me somehow."
"What about Cailan's death? How do you feel about that, considering he's at least your half brother?"
"Well, I feel worse about it because of the fact he was my king, not so much because he was my half-brother. I mean, we didn't even know each other, really." He sighed. "I just thought I should tell you this now since it would probably come up around Eamon."
With that discussed, they continued. Leliana and Sten were curious about what transpired between the Wardens, but were getting used to them having their own little world and agenda. Shale, Morrigan and Loki had continued walking and were far ahead.
None of the party expected to find a ghost town. When they arrived, each had assumed they would have met someone on the road before even getting to the village. The only bodies they passed were dead ones. Most were torn, as if by animals. Their clothes, shoes and feet were dirty as if they had been running through the village trying to get away from whatever hunted them.
"Spread out, look for survivors or supplies." Shiva was scanning the area, looking for movement or any indication of which building survivors would be hiding in. Shale stomped forward, uneager to be stuck once again with more boring villagers. Luckily, there didn't seem to be any. The scared looks it would get had long since lost its appeal, but the golem was used to it. It just kept trudging forward, relying on its ears more than its eyes to pick out signs of life. If a sigh or scream was heard, it could herd the little sheep toward the rest of the group.
Morrigan remained in the center of the clearing, casting a spell. She summoned a wisp and whispered her command. As she stepped to the right, the wisp floated left. It would return to her and lead her to anything it had found. If it found nothing, it would return only to dissipate before her eyes.
Leliana approached the chantry. She was worried that the destruction from out there had gotten into the chantry and found she couldn't bear to see if it was so. She didn't want Morrigan to be the one to look because the witch would probably rejoice if the worst had happened. "If there are survivors in there, they will be safe. I will check it later." Leliana followed Loki to the left, who had his nose to the ground.
Sten broke the door down. Inside the building he saw a forge with a dead man inside. He was large, charred on one side and had chunks of flesh ripped off his forearm and face. His clothes had burned off, leaving every fattened part of his body in full view. Sten snorted, checking the walls for supplies. The store was bare so he turned to leave. Something below a crate caught his eye just before he exited. It looked like a piece of raised wood, perhaps a shield. It would be of no use to him, but he knew Alistair had a flimsy shield he was using. The qunari approached the crate anyway, trying to see if there was anything else of use in the vicinity. What he thought was a shield was actually a trap door, which was locked. If the fat roasted human in the forge had the key, it would be difficult to find in the coals and probably too hot to touch. Sten decided punching through would be more efficient. Inside, he found a pathetic stockpile - daggers, leather armor, a longsword. He scooped up what he found and carried it outside, dumping everything in full view in case one of his other companions saw anything useful.
Alistair went to the residential area. He climbed the stairs, finding blood all over the planks. To his left, a door had been broken down. There was a knife on the ground where he could see. When he entered the small house, he could see an open wardrobe with toys on the bottom. It was as if a child had chosen there to hide. Stepping further into the house, Alistair called out to see if any of the family remained. He heard whimpers from down the hallway. The hallway turned right to a flight of stairs and led to a closed door. The door was locked when he tried it. After the rattle of the knob, more whimpers came from inside – louder than before. "Hello? Is anyone in there? I'm not here to hurt you. Hello?"
"Who is it? Why are you in our house?" A shaky voice had spoken, definitely belonging to a young woman.
"My name is Alistair. I was here to go to the castle before I saw the… What happened here? Can you tell me that, at least?" It wasn't likely they'd open the door for a stranger when something horrible had ravaged their home. It was probably best the door remained locked in case whatever did this came back.
"Dead things keep coming back at night. They destroy everything… drag people off! Our mama…" Alistair could hear the young woman sobbing and another hushed voice in desperate need of comfort.
"What kind of dead things? Does that mean it's safe in the daylight?"
"They came earlier last night, almost before the sun was gone for the evening. They're people! Loved ones we've lost this past week. The blacksmith is who took our mama. He had died the night before. We saw it from the window…" She couldn't speak more through her crying.
"Are there any other survivors? Anywhere at all? How many are in there with you?"
A lad answered this time. "It's just me and my sister. Everyone else is in the chantry, but when we saw one girl go knocking, they didn't let her in. They won't unbar the door!"
Alistair heard a loud crash then, coming from outside towards the courtyard, possibly beyond it. The two inside heard it too. "Wait here, I'll go see what that was. Stay quiet! I'm here with some friends, if any others come, don't be afraid of them." Alistair bounded down the stairs and ran outside.
Shiva watched the group each go their separate directions, then headed back up the hill where they had passed a few buildings. There was a long, rickety looking bridge to her right, leading to a house. That would be a dead end and anyone who ran there would have been trapped. Anyone that stupid would probably be dead. So the warden continued further up the hill and went to the building at the top. Straight to the tavern, as usual.
Inside, there were discarded pints, plates and utensils on the tables. Chairs and stools were turned over. Behind the bar was cleared. The door to the cellar was smashed open and there was a corpse by it that had been stabbed in the head. The dagger was still embedded in its skull. Shiva found little else in there. She walked back outside and walked to the edge of the deck. She had a good view of the whole area. Below her, she could see Loki and Leliana returning to the clearing where Morrigan already stood. The wisp returned to her and blinked out of existence. Sten was standing over a pile of something he had found, much like a dog that had uncovered bones and was waiting for his pat on the head.
There was a steadily growing noise below Shiva. The planks she stood on were groaning under her weight. She didn't notice in time. Taking a few steps to the side wasn't enough, and she didn't have enough time to turn and run to steady ground. The deck fell below her; all she could do was hope the roof below her would break her fall and not her neck.
Shiva came to with a splitting headache. Whispers were coming from all around her. She wondered if she would open her eyes to another nightmare, but as she lay there her surroundings cleared and did not get more menacing. When she opened her eyes, a priestess was hovering over her. Behind her stood a nobleman. The blue tunic he wore matched his eyes, which shined brightly. His hair was auburn, short except for a braid he had tucked behind his ear. High cheekbones and a chiseled jaw, his chin was covered with scruff, shaped into the 'devil beard' as she called it. He happened to be devilishly handsome, too. "Mother Hannah, is she well?" Mephistopheles had what was probably the sexiest voice Shiva had ever heard. It was smooth and deep.
"The Maker's protection is over her-"
Shiva's chuckle surprised them. The devil kneeled beside Shiva. He sure didn't act like the devil - he seemed worried about her condition. "My lady, are you alright?" His hand was on her shoulder.
"Did I do that?" She pointed at the hole in the roof above her. Slowly turning her head, she saw parts of the roof and balcony around her.
"You fell through the roof." He nodded. "Gave everyone quite a scare. I wasn't sure you had survived your fall. I am relieved you have."
Shiva heard her name from above. It was Alistair calling. She wasn't ready to be on her feet yet, but she sat up anyway. She had her hand on Lucifer's shoulder to steady herself.
"Down here, Alis. I'm in the chantry."
"So that's what it takes to get you in one, huh? I'll be right down." Shiva regretted laughing at his joke. It intensified the throbbing in her head.
"I'd recommend using the door." She called to him.
"Berwick," the devil called an elf over. "Her companions are coming in, take down the barricade blocking the door." The elf nodded and went to the door. There was something suspicious about him, but that was usually the case when an elf was locked in a room full of humans.
Shiva took in the rest of the area now that she was alert once more. It smelled like candles and fear. There were bookcases all around. Some shelves had been cleared, leaving piles of books on the floor here and there. The altar was kept relatively clean, though it was covered in candle wax. Women and children were cowering in a small alcove near the altar. There were about fifteen in all, including Mother Hannah, Berwick and Satan himself.
"My lady - your name is Shiva, correct? That is what your friend called you. My name is Teagan, Bann of Rainesfere," they shook hands. It was warm and calloused. She figured he was a swordsman.
She knew of him. She had lived in a small village near his bannorn. The village was burned and had become haunted. The new evil that had arisen there was powerful, so several Banns from nearby heard of it. Teagan was one of the ones who went to investigate personally. He had traveled there with 10 men and left with 3. He was heavily injured himself. She knew more than she wanted to about that incident.
"I've heard much about you, Bann Teagan."
"Good things I hope. Now if I may ask, what has brought you here? Had you heard what was happening?"
"No, we were trying to see Arl Eamon concerning the Blight. My friend and I are Grey Wardens. The Blight continues and we need to rebuild the army against it." Alistair and the others were let in by then.
Teagan opened his mouth to speak before noticing something behind Shiva. "Alistair? Is that you? Oh, thank the Maker you yet live! Eamon and I feared you had fallen along with Cailan."
"Not yet, no. While Loghain has anything to say about it, we kind of have to watch out backs."
"Indeed, I was at the Landsmeet where he declared all Grey Wardens traitors."
"Then could you enlighten us as to what crawled up his ass?" Shiva's previous knowledge of the great Hero of River Dane was inconsistent with the erratic actions he had shown since their brief meeting. She didn't know if he was always like that and the storybooks decided to leave that out or what. Hopefully the Bann could shed some light on that.
Mother Hannah fussed. "Watch your language, this is a holy place! The Maker-"
"The Maker and I aren't on good terms, lady. Now don't interrupt." Chantry folk were usually patronizing old maids and frankly, sometimes they needed a dose of their own medicine.
"I don't know what has gotten into Loghain," Teagan wasn't put off by Shiva's disrespect to the priestess, but they needed to stay on topic.
"What did he say exactly?" Alistair was asking. He had loathed Loghain since his retreat at Ostagar. So much that it colored Alistair's opinion on what he thought before. It was as if he had always hated the Teyrn, which wasn't the case.
"He said he pulled his men in order to save them. That Cailan risked everything in the name of glory. He declared that the Grey Wardens were traitors… murderers of the king. I don't believe it. It is an act of a desperate man."
"Handsome and perceptive. Why haven't we met before?"
"I'm sure I don't know, but whatever it is that has kept us apart until now has officially earned my resentment." Teagan turned the charm on high when she said this. When he smiled, his eyes squinted into small crescents that made Shiva want to giggle. She had no idea how he managed it with such simple words, but her entire body felt warm, cheeks especially.
"If it's the same thing that's harassing Redcliff, when we kill it that'll be two birds with one stone." She tried to cool off the mood a little, lest she pounce on the nobleman then and there, earning another scolding remark from Mother Hannah.
"Then you do intend to help us?" Teagan was able to switch from responsible and compassionate to lustful in the blink of an eye. He must have been a delightful tease when he put his mind to it.
"Yes, though I would expect your alliance in exchange." Shiva wasn't happy about how much time this could take, and the risk involved. But she knew there would always be a price.
Quid pro quo, yes or no. Yes or no, Clarice?
"Then you have it, and thank you, my lady. This is wonderful news. But what is it you intend to do? I tried to lead these people to safety but they are weak from lack of water and nutrition. They cannot make it far."
"Do you know what is going on in the castle?"
"I do not. There isn't a sound at all coming from it. I wish to enter it but cannot leave the rest behind."
Shiva had to think hard on this one. He seemed determined to protect the handful that remained, though leaving them behind would be her preference. They would be of no use, only a hindrance. "How far in are the kitchens? If there is trouble in the castle, I know we can plow through it. They can get nourishment, find more secure refuge inside and we can perhaps find more answers there."
"I think you may be right. If we could speak aside for a moment, warden?" Teagan led Shiva closer to the altar and spoke in a hushed tone. "I know of a secret entrance into the castle. I can lead everyone there and get us inside. Though I see you have companions and would have to ask that one or two of them help keep an eye on the women and children. I can lead while you and the rest who will help clear the danger – if there is danger inside – follow. Can you do this for me?"
"Yes, I can have Alistair and Leliana – the woman in the robes – guard the survivors. My Mabari will also stay with them to stay alert for signs of danger. The rest of us will go with you." Teagan looked over her party. This meant the qunari, the golem, and the very obvious apostate would be with him, as would the Warden, who looked like a capable fighter herself.
"That will do. We have very little supplies left, mostly food and water we've had to ration. I will tell them to finish it off so they can have the strength to make it to the secret entrance. It isn't far, but it is up the hill. This will leave less to carry." Teagan walked toward Mother Hannah and Berwick to update them, and Shiva did the same to her party.
Morrigan immediately opposed. "How pointless. One would think we'd have enough to contend with elsewhere."
"What, you think they would just hop aboard a carriage, we'd have their alliance after having to do nothing for them? You have much to learn, wild one." Shiva had her hands on her hips and was shaking her head.
"And you have much wisdom to acquire, for if you had any you would know not to patronize me." Shiva laughed at her annoyance.
Directly taunting a mage now? She may be right about my lack of wisdom. I'll be damned if I acknowledge that aloud, though.
Leliana interrupted before Morrigan could cast a 'fuck you' spell. "I will gladly defend the women and children for you."
Alistair agreed with her plan. "Oh, there are some others too, I spoke to them in one of the houses. They're keeping the door locked, but I think I can convince them."
"Go get them then. Lead them here and be quick about it." Alistair jogged towards the door and went outside.
They waited another several minutes before everyone was ready and gathered by the door. Mother Hannah had told everyone what was about to happen, and Alistair returned with a woman in her early twenties and a small boy, presumably her brother. The group, now consisting of 22 people, a golem, and a dog, started for the secret entrance.