Alistair had breathed a sigh of relief when the evening was finally over and people began to settle in whichever ways they could.
A simple thing as sleeping arrangements was far from as easy as he had dared imagine. Morrigan had demanded a bed, something which only Elissa had opposed, though it seemed more from spite than anything, and in the end she gave over. The second bed was to have been Tamlen and Lyra's as they could sleep in a single bed. Almost needless to say, neither of the elves found that decent and in the end Elissa had gotten it, though she had to fight Duran every step of the way.
"Alistair?" he opened his eyes, though it was not with his approval. The hushed voice came from Elissa who was towering before him next to his pillow.
"Yes?" he finally replied when it was clear that she wouldn't leave. His eyes focusing on the woman standing in a worn nightgown. She had gotten it back in Redcliffe Village though traveling in rough country in all kinds of weather had marred some of its splendor.
"I had something I forgot to tell you after dinner. It is important" she added when he was about to turn over and continue into a restless sleep.
"Fine" he bit off, rising from the bedroll. "What?"
"Let us go into the hallway, so we don't wake the others." Alistair had rolled his eyes at that but the girl had already moved to the door and he had no choice but to follow.
As they softly closed the door behind them Alistair was quick to break the silence. "Look, everything we told you is true. Morrigan really is a mage, not -" he stated dully in anticipation to what she would talk about.
"I know, it isn't that"
"What then?" Alistair asked not bothering to hide his yawn.
"I found out why Lyra had such problems with her nightmares,"
Alistair woke a bit at that. Lyra was the center of a growing line of questions that he didn't have adequate answers for – so was Elissa, for that matter.
"She is a mage. It must have kicked in after Ostargar or near Redcliffe."
He took a moment to process it. It would certainly explain a few things, perhaps also what she was doing with the bloodmage. It gave rise to a list of other questions then. She was an apostate, clearly, but by associating with a bloodmage she might even be a maleficar. In which case she was a walking timebomb of wanton destruction.
"I... see" he replied finally when she gave him a strange look.
"I figure that we were quite fortunate actually. She could learn a spell or two from Morrigan this way."
"You can't be serious!" Alistair burst out before he continued in a hush to Elissa who seemed somewhat taken aback by his outburst.
"She might draw Maker knows what to her at this stage if she doesn't have a teacher and -"
"Another reason why Morrigan is a blessing in disguise! She could teach her."
"Morrigan is an apostate, a dangerous one at that, and possibly a maleficar. You noticed her eyes didn't you?"
"Why did you agree to take her along if you were so against her?" Elissa hissed.
"I can keep an eye on her this way, and everyone seems so taken in by her."
Elissa was quiet for a long time, likely thinking the same thoughts that he himself was thinking: They knew just enough to know they needed to know more. The Chantry or better yet the Circle would be a natural choice to ask for aid. The matter of gathering aid could be done in the same stroke. With luck they could get a mage to travel with them, to teach Lyra and keep an eye on Morrigan... and settle his worries concerning Elissa as well. This might even be an elaborate plot by some nefarious demon. The demon they met in Redcliffe Castle might plot something like this. Another reason to be cautious, and seek aid from some professionals.
"We should meet with the Circle, they could teach Lyra how to control her powers and teach us how to control Morrigan."
Elissa nodded. "Yes, I was thinking something along the lines, but we can't let them take Lyra away for years of training, we are few enough as it is. If Lyra leaves then Tamlen is sure to follow – and we loose our best link to finding elven allies."
That was an aspect that Alistair had not considered. What if the mages demanded to keep Lyra? Would she refuse? If she didn't refuse, should they let her leave?
"We are all Wardens" Alistair said after a small pause. "They have no hold over us" The only danger would be if Lyra wanted to stay. With no stable structure Alistair could not use rank to force anyone. He hated being in charge, but not everyone was like he...
"We should get some sleep, we will have to set off tomorrow or at the very least the one after that."
Elissa had already turned, moving though the door into their room. He had wanted her to stop, try to tell her of a suddenly imposing train of thought. She might take over where he could not. Would not.
Breakfast was a quiet affair, everyone having slept poorly it seemed. Alistair had through most of the meal been wishing Elissa would break the silence and speak to them about the trip to the Circle. Elissa however looked quiet content to simply eat her food in piece.
Not that the food was anything to be thrilled about. They had to pay 9 silvers for a single room and some stale bread and some bowls with oatmeal. They even had to argue about that to the innkeeper as he had only given them two beds then he thought it would be fair to only give them two bowls. When he heard that they were a group of Wardens and everyone was armed to the teeth – not that they threatened him directly in any way – he had conceded.
"So," started Alistair, painfully aware that everyone was looking at him. "I have been thinking -"
A snicker from Morrigan shattered his momentum.
"What were you thinking about?" asked Elissa sending the mage a quelling look.
Alistair sat dumbstruck for a moment but regained quickly. Why couldt Elissa not just have continued? He sighed mentally but continued. "Where we should go from here. The letter we got from Yellings say that we should gather allies. With the aid of the treaties Morrigan provided it should be an easy matter. And... well..." His mind went blank. The horror of poor planning.
"What are these treaties?" asked Lyra when Alistair had stopped making a fool of himself.
"What? Oh, well, I haven't had time to look at them..."
"Maybe we should do that then?" She suggested over the table, Alistair felt suddenly caught, what if the Circle was not even included in the treaties?
"It sounds like an idea" finished Elissa, giving Alistair a puzzled look before continuing. "We need some supplies as well, it is still warm but winter starts soon and we should be prepared when we travel the road. I propose that we use today to gather supplies and come up with a plan for what to do next."
Everyone gave a nod, save for Morrigan who just sat back and observed. The sneaky little woman that she was. Almost like she had heard his thoughts she turned to cast a look on Alistair who couldn't help but feel his cheeks heat. Could she read minds?
"Also, we will need another bedroll for Morrigan, some warmer cloths for us all... How much coin do we have anyway?"
A few of the others started to fiddle with their purses and only belated did Alistair realize that he carried Lyra's ill gotten goods. When they finally opened the purse it came as quite a surprise, Lyra had likely had no chance of knowing, but the purse she had cut must have contained all the sovereign that the group had gathered, 17 sovereign in total in addition to a small number of silver.
"For a group of bandits they sure did gather quite a bit!" Alistair burst out, instantly lowering his voice as a few of the nearby patrons cast a glare their direction.
"Indeed, if they figure out it was us they will likely not let us pass another time..." Tamlen injected, casting a glance to Lyra.
The girl faltered under their stare, something Alistair could sympathize with. "Regardless we can put this money to good use. With so many refugees prices are sure to soar." He couldn't help himself and set the innkeeper an icy glare – not that the man noticed.
"Right, so let us spit up the duties" continued Elissa, interrupting Lyra's muffled apologies.
"I shall gather my own things." Morrigan said, looking Elissa directly in the eye and Alistair could only imagine the battle they were waging – a battle he would have lost the second it started.
"Fine. But please get some..." Elissa trailed off, looking for the proper word. "concealing clothes, we do not want to stand out."
Alistair could almost feel the frost in Morrigans voice. "I dress for no one but myself. Why should I dress to please others?" She snatched a single sovereign from the table and motioned to rise.
"Society does place value on appearance, specifically on how well people blend in."
Morrigan stopped in mid motion and looked at the girl sitting at the end of the table, her yellow eyes searching for something.
"Much like in the Wilds, we survive by blending in."
A smile spread on Morrigans face, a triumphant smile. "I have not been concealing myself in the Wilds, by right of power I do not need to!" At this point several of the patrons in the inn was casting weary glances at their table, at Morrigan in particular though she did not seem to mind. "Those with power make rules, Warden. I have power and I shall do as I please!" With that she finished her motion with a certain flourish, rising from the table, and turning quickly and left. Her hair swaying violently behind her.
"That woman...!" Elissa muttered, just audibly.
The groups was divided easily after that, Tamlen and Alistair would get some rations while Elissa and Lyra would see if they could find some warmer clothes as well as other random equipment, like a bedroll for Morrigan and if lucky a cheap mule to carry some of their bags. Duran was left with the impossible task of tracking down Morrigan, and if that didn't work then the more pleasant task of getting news – which to his mind meant hitting the nearest bar listening to gossip.
"So, food, exciting isn't it?" Alistair commented in good spirits as they reached the marketplace. To say there was chaos was an understatement, there were huge crowds yelling loudly, quite a bt complaining to the few guards while others were simply screaming out their lungs with doomsday prophecies or other nonsense.
"I wonder if they even got any food here" Tamlen commented as he walked by a few stalls selling very little of anything.
"Not many sell food these days," commented one of the sales men by one of the stands. Tamlen stopped, noting that Alistair continued to look on the other stalls.
"If you buy something I can point you in the right direction though" the man gave a toothy smile, not the most pleasant sight Tamlen had ever beheld. He was suddenly reminded that he had not been been on his mouth branch for the last few days.
"I will look around a bit first." Tamlen replied not really having much faith in the salesman.
"Your loss" grinned the man and returned to his chair. For good measure Talmen cast a look at what the man was selling, it looked like copper ornaments and colored bottles. It was little wonder the man was down on his luck.
Across the square Alistair looked to have found something and Tamlen hurried past a few stalls which looked in pretty poor shape. "Did you find something?"
"Yes" Alistair said, dragging the reply out a bit, sounding a bit thoughtful though that was likely not the case. "But not quite what we had hoped for.
Only then did Tamlen notice the small figure behind Alistair. "Don't tell me you are bringing kids along."
"What? No, no, nothing like that. These two got separate from their parents and have nowhere to go. It happened yesterday..." A small nod from the oldest of the two very young girls confirmed it, Tamlen got a quick look at the girl, dirty and in poor clothes with a mass of red curls and looked very hungry.
"Alistair..." They really didn't have time, or food for that matter, to save everyone, especially not when a good quarter of the town was lost from their parents or on the brink of starvation.
"I can't just leave them like this, what if..." thankfully he stopped, though only to cast a fond look at the girls who still stood behind him. The eldest couldn't have been very old, perhaps four or five.
Tamlen knew he would regret it. "What is your name girl?" he asked, kneeling down to be at eye hight.
"M-melys" she stuttered, barely audible.
"And what are your parents names, Melys?"
"Mom's name is Kath and daddy's name is Virigil" Tamlen gave a tentative smile and got up walking the short distance to the nearest guard.
"Have you heard of a Kath or Virigil looking for their daughters?"
The guard drew an exasperated breath "This again?" he confirmed and gave the girl a glance. "Their parents likely left her here. Haven't heard from them. There are many lost kids on the streets, I can't keep track of them all. The names don't ring a bell."
"Can't or won't?" asked Tamlen, sporting a wicked smile.
"Can't, ser! I have tried finding a few of the folk in my off time, I found two sets so far – both had dropped their kids and hoped to move north"
Tamlen took a step back in disbelief. The elvhen were generally not so fertile, and their way of life didn't encourage large packs of children, leaving his own kids was the last thing he would have wanted.
"It may be hard to swallow for a knife ear, but it is the truth. The times makes monsters of us all"
Tamlen looked away but gave a nod. More than he would like to admit, and he was likely no different from the guard in that. Everyone was becoming more vile, Alistair perhaps as an exception.
Tamlen took a deep breath and steeled himself, he would be a monster in this. Upon returning to the pair, who had been talking merrily, Tamlen took hold of Alistair's shoulder, forcing the man to rise.
"We have much to do." He turned to the kids, handing the eldest a few silver – not that she would survive long but it was the best he could do. "We cannot help you kids, stay if you must but I suggest you try to survive as you can." With Alistair in tow he turned and walked with brisk steps towards the junk dealer who might know where to get food. It was likely the hardest thing he had done.