Chapter 10

Kallian reflected on the past few days while she stood in front of a mirror. The Arlessa had given both the female and the male companions their own separate lodging for their short stay in Redcliffe. When Aedan had said that they were going to ride hard and fast, she had no clue to just how hard they would be going. She swore that her back end had a perfect impression of a saddle by now. Releasing the straps on her armor she thought back over what happened when they had returned to Redcliffe castle.

Flashback

The group had ridden for two days straight to get to the Circle and another two days to get back to Redcliffe; pausing only long enough to rest the horses. When they returned to Redcliffe, Aedan wasted hardly any time at all in getting the bag of lyrium to the four mages inside.

Wynne seemed surprised that they had returned so quickly, but she brushed it off and stood up. "We need to decide which mage will enter the Fade. Any one of the four present." Wynne explained preparing the lyrium.

"Why can't someone who isn't a mage enter?" Kallian asked.

"It has to do with lyrium," Alim explained. "Only mages and Templar's can use it, but only mages have the ability to enter the Fade with it. Before a mage can be considered a Brother or Sister of the Circle, they must enter the Fade and fight off a demon."

"So, one of you four get to enter the Fade and fight off the demon eh? Sounds good to me, I wasn't lookin forward to going back there anytime soon." Natia said offhandedly.

"Who will go Aedan?" Wynne asked.

Kallian watched as Aedan's gaze went over all the mages. "Jowan, have you spoken the truth about your want for redemption?"

The dark haired mage's eyes suddenly became very fearful, but he slowly nodded. "Good, then you will be going into the Fade and fighting off the demon."

"Aedan, that isn't a good idea. Sending a Bloodmage back into the Fade?" Alim said worriedly.

"If he truly wishes to right this wrong, then he will do it. And truth be told, I would rather risk him than one of you." Aedan stated coldly.

And so it was no more than an hour later, Jowan was standing in front of Conner while the other three mages stood around the pair. The three mages had their eyes closed, and each was saying a soft chant that was spoken in too low of volume for anyone to hear. Soon Jowan and Conner were surrounded by a circle of light and then Jowan's head snapped back and his eyes went blank. "He's in the Fade now," Wynne said breaking off of her chant momentarily.

"How…how long until...until we know?" The Arlessa asked nervously.

"There is no way to tell," Wynne said with her eyes still closed. "It could take him a couple of minutes, or hours. It depends on how deep the demon has managed to engrain itself into the boy. Now please be silent. This does take a lot of concentration to hold the spell in place."

For the next hour the Kallian and the rest of the group sat around as they nervously waited for Jowan to come back from the Fade. The mages had all held their positions and were still softly saying the chant that allowed Jowan to enter the Fade in the first place. Kallian was sitting against the wall with Wolf watching the mages when Natia sat down next to her.

"So, you think this will work?" The dwarf asked.

Aedan, Sten, and Alistair were walking around behind each of the mages. She had no reservations as to their intentions. If Jowan failed or if he became possessed, the three men would strike him down without hesitation. "I don't know Natia," she answered truthfully. "I hope so, but this is so much different than the demon we faced in the Tower. Back then we all fought together, now it is just one man, even though he is a mage, against a demon."

The two fell silent again as they watched the ritual progress. After an hour of no change everyone was starting to get worried, but then Conner's head shot up. The scream that came from the child was unlike anything she had ever heard before; the voice belonged to something that didn't belong to this world. When the scream died, Conner fell forward, as did Jowan.

The mages immediately let down the spell around the two and stepped back. The Arlessa ran to her son and cradled him in her arms. "Is he…is he Conner again?"

"Yes," the weak voice of Jowan carried through the room. "It was a demon of desire. It got a hold of Conner in the Fade and promised to keep the Arl alive in exchange for it to use Conner's body."

"Is the demon dead?" Teagan asked standing over the mage.

"In truth, I don't think a demon can die. But it will never be able to take hold of Conner again." Jowan explained wiping the sweat from his brow.

Teagan motioned for guards to come over. "You have my thanks Jowan for saving my nephew. However, even by doing this your crimes cannot be overlooked. You will wait in the dungeon until Arl Eamon is well again, and then your fate will be decided."

Amazingly, Alim came up to the mages defense. "Bann Teagan, with all due respect, shouldn't Jowan be given some time or reprieve seeing as what he just di-"

"Thank you Alim." Jowan said cutting him off. "I thank you for what you are trying to do. But I said it before. I am tired of running, I will accept whatever fate has in store for me."

Teagan waved his arm and the guards took Jowan back to the dungeon. "Well," Natia said breaking the silence that had overcome them. "Who do we need to go and save this time?"

End Flashback

Getting out of her armor fully Kallian looked down at the dress that was laid out for her with mild distain and awe. The Arlessa had explained to them what was going on with the Arl, and told them that the only cure was the Urn of Sacred Ashes. Of course Morrigan simply laughed and said they were a myth, while Leliana listened on in complete and utter silence. Apparently, one Brother Genetivi was searching for the Urn and had made significant progress. Now they had to head over to Denerim to find this Brother and then head out to find the Urn. On top of that, they had to still secure the allegiance of the Dalish and the Dwarves.

Picking up the dress she quietly dressed herself. Aedan had noted that they were in no condition to continue traveling tonight. All three mages were exhausted; also Aedan, Zev, and herself were exhausted from the hard riding they had just done. The Arlessa was bound and determined to hold a banquet for her guest even with the Arl sick. Aedan tried to politely decline, saying that none of them had regular clothing outside of their armor, and the Arlessa had responded by sending fine cloths to each of their rooms.

After putting the finishing touches on her dress, Kallian turned to inspect herself in the mirror. What she saw in the mirror surprised her. She hadn't worn a dress since her failed wedding day, and even though her dress was considered to be of the best make, this dress put it to shame. As the style was in Ferelden, it had a high neck line, but left her shoulders exposed. Tan colored silk ran down her body stopping just a few fingers from reaching the floor.

If she were completely honest with herself, she was more than a little nervous about tonight. The surviving nobles of Redcliffe would be in attendance, and she still didn't care for nobles at all. Well outside of Aedan of course. Aedan seemed to have been able to pick up on her distress, and reassured her that he would stay by his side throughout the night. Taking a deep breath to steady herself she walked out of the room and walked down the hall towards the banquet hall.

"-terrible what happened to your family my lord. I've always known that Howe was no good. My Lord? Are you alright my Lord?"

Aedan was trying very hard to concentrate on what the Noble Holden was saying, but his mind was suddenly sidetracked when Kallian made her appearance into the main hall. She was absolutely stunning. He had never seen her in anything other than armor before; now gazing at her wearing a dress left him absolutely speechless. The elder noble he was talking too turned to see what had gotten his attention. "Ah, a fine young lass there. Too bad she was born an elf. But I have other things to keep your mind occupied. You see my daughter is around the same age and-"

"If you remember I told you earlier Holden that I am a Grey Warden and as such I am not to hold a title, so I have no claim over Highever, and even if I did I would defer it to my older brother. Now, if you will excuse me, the 'elf' as you say is Kallian, one of my companions, and I've been waiting for her arrival. So if you please I will take my leave." Aedan winced slightly at his tone, but after listing to that man for so long he was ready to punch him.

Aedan walked over to Kallian, trying hard to fight down the amusement he found in her trying to act casual. She was definitely not use to this situation. "My Lady Kallian," he said making his presence known.

She jumped slightly at his words. Fighting down a laugh he gracefully raised her hand and placed a light kiss onto her hand. "You can fight a horde of darkspawn and undead without flinching, but get into a room full of nobles and you start shaking?"

A nervous smile spread across her face. "You know that I don't like nobles Aedan, I may never. And for very good reason I might add."

"I know Kallian. Don't worry; I'll be here to protect you from the big bad nobles."

Her smile became less nervous. "Well come on," he said taking hold of her hand to lead her. "It's time to be seated and then the banquet will begin. Hopefully this won't last too long; I've never had the stomach for these gatherings."

Aedan made sure not to let go of Kallian's hand while they were being seated, and made sure that she was seated right beside him as the rest of their companions and nobles gathered. Somehow they had managed to find some type of loose dress for Natia to wear, although she looked like she wanted to kill the first person who said anything about her being in a dress. Zevran and Alistair both wore simple dress cloths much like Aedan. Morrigan still wore her traditional clothing, drawing much attention from the young men at the table. Wolf was standing obediently behind him, patiently waiting for any table scrapes he was sure. Alim and Wynne still wore their mage's attire, claiming that it was nice enough for such a gathering. Leliana, he noted, was wearing what looked like a cross between a Chantry Sister's robe and a fine dress much like Kallian was wearing. Sten refused to wear anything but his armor, and since they couldn't find a seat big enough for him, he stood off to the side with the other guards.

"My Lords and Ladies," Arlessa Isolde called out gaining everyone's attention. "Tonight, we are gathered here to celebrate the lifting of the darkness that has shadowed this castle. We give our thanks to the Grey Wardens and their companions who dine with us tonight for their aid in the fight against the darkness. Without their help, many more would have died. Grey Wardens, make the Maker guide your path and protect you as you continue to fight against the darkness that has come across this land. To the Grey Wardens!"

Cries of 'Grey Wardens' went around the table as the assembled nobles all raised their glasses and saluted the Wardens and their companions. Aedan picked up his glass, motioned for everyone else to follow, and returned the gesture. Perhaps this wouldn't be too bad.

The following morning found the Wardens walking out of Redcliffe castle. They were offered horses, but seeing as how there weren't any big enough for Sten, or small enough for Natia, they politely declined. But they still took two pack horses to carry their supplies. At the moment the group was waiting for Alistair to arrive by the outskirts of the village. He had mentioned something about a man wanting to talk to Wardens and just disappeared.

As the day wore on however, Aedan was beginning to lose his patience, as was the rest of the group for that matter. "Where is that fool. I don't know what's worse; sharing camp with that man or waiting for him."

While Aedan didn't agree with all that Morrigan said, he did agree that waiting for the ex-Templar was starting to become quiet annoying. This was only supposed to take a few minutes, but it was already well over an hour since Alistair had left to talk to the man.

"Excuse me, but if possible, could I…get some help with something?"

A merchant sat was standing awkwardly on the road rubbing the back of his neck as he nervously stared at the well armed group in front of him. "What's the problem?" Aedan asked shortly.

"Well…you see my wagon…it's stuck in a ditch right now, and I can't move it."

Aedan looked across the field for any sign of Alistair. "Alright," he said after not seeing the Warden. "Sten, Zev, Alim. Let's see if the four of us can't move this damn thing."

Alim and Zev complied without comment, but he was sure he heard Sten mutter something about a waste of time. Luckily for them, the wagon wasn't in too bad of shape and it was quiet light so the four of them were able to easily get it out of the ditch. "Oh, thank the Maker. I don't know what I would've done without your help." The merchant smiled.

On any other day Aedan might have been more cheerful, but the effects of the ale from last night and his annoyance with Alistair had left him less than agreeable. "You do realize that Redcliffe is just over that hill. You could've easily gone down there and gotten help."

The merchant shifted nervously. "Well… you see I…I…wait. You and your companions happen to be trained soldiers? If so, there might be a way that I can pay you back."

Aedan's bad mood lifted slightly. "What do you mean?"

The merchant ignored him and dug around in his wagon for a moment before returning with what looked like a long thin dagger. The only exception being this one looked dull as a spoon. "You see, I found this…well bought it actually and I was told that thi-"

"By the Ancestors! That's a control rod!"

All heads turned to the Natia at her outburst. "Well…your dwarven companion is right."

"Okay, back up here. What is this 'control rod'?" Leliana asked to Natia.

"It's a way to control Golem's. The invincible stone warriors of the dwarves." Natia explained not taking her eyes off of the rod.

Suspicion took hold in his mind. "If this thing can control a Golem, then why haven't you used it? And better yet, why are you giving it to us? What aren't you telling us?"

The merchant scratched the back of his head again. "Well, you see I heard about it, but as I heard, there are darkspawn in the south, and I don't want to head down there. So please, take it. I'm sure you can get more use out of it than I ever could. The golem is suppose to be in a city called Honneleath to the south."

"Great, more darkspawn. Why can't anything we do ever be simple Aedan?" Natia complained.

Aedan walked up to the merchant and took the control rod from him. "Thank you for the gift. Now, if you could just show me where Honneleath is, I would greatly appreciate it."

Aedan pulled out one of his maps and marked the location onto it. The merchant then said his goodbyes and left the group. "Well," Kallian said breaking the silence. "Perhaps something good is finally happening to us?"

"I don't know Kallian," Alim said leaning on his staff. "We'll still have to fight through a small horde of darkspawn to reach this golem. Are we sure it's worth it?"

"'Worth it'? Are you bloody crazy Alim!" Natia demanded. "A golem is incredibly strong. Just a few of them could hold back a small army of darkspawn. If the dwarves hadn't lost the ability to make them, the darkspawn would've never made it out of the Deeproads."

Alim was about to comment again, but just then Alistair showed up with another man with him. "Everyone, this is Levi Dryden. He has something that he wants to talk to us about."

"So let me get this straight. There is a Keep filled to the brim with Weapons and Armor specifically designed to for fighting against the darkspawn. A man just gave us the location on how to find it, and we are all standing around her because?" Natia said out loud once Levi finished his story.

"Because it is a lot to take in at the moment," Aedan explained to the impatient dwarf. "Sophia Dryden was sentence to treason and the Keep was attacked by the King. Since then, almost all records of the Keep have been erased. Almost as if it never existed, in fact, many still believe that the Keep was leveled to the ground."

"Well that's good," Natia said crossing her arms. "That means that no one has found it. So everything is still there."

"It was said that a Library rivaling the Circles existed at the Keep," Wynne added in. "If it still exists it would be priceless find."

Aedan could see that everyone in the group wanted to do this. "Alright," he said pulling out one of his maps. "We head to Honneleath first seeing as it isn't too far from here. After that we'll back track and head up towards the Circle and then up into the Coastlands. Let's move, we got a lot of ground to cover over the next few months. And every moment were gone is another that Loghain has to build support."

Once on the road Aedan took point in front of the group with Kallian close by his side. "You don't seem too excited about this Aedan. It could be the find of a lifetime. Not to mention this whole business with the Ashes."

"I'm just worried." He confessed.

"Why?"

"Simple. Nothing good has happened to us so far. Betrayal, betrayal, assassination attempts, and everything else that has happened, this just all seems too good. I'm just worried."

Kallian smiled and grasped his hand. "Aedan, remember the promise we made to each other back in Redcliffe during the battle."

Despite his sore mood he smiled at the memory. "Yes."

"That's good. Just remember Aedan, as long as were together I trust you to protect me just as I will protect you."

"See what I mean. We can't be on the road for more than an hour and what happens? Assassins. Again."

"Please Aedan," Zev said calmly pulling his dagger out of the back of an attacker. "Don't insult me by comparing me to these idiots."

"Well what do ya know. Still one poor bastard left alive. Whaddya say Aedan, can I kill this one?"

Aedan looked over to where Natia stood and saw a half dead man lying at her feet. At first he thought Natia was kidding, but the way that she was holding her dagger and the look in her eye told him that she wasn't. "Wait, don't kill him. At least not yet." Leliana said coming forward and standing before the injured man.

"Who are you?" She asked him.

The man coughed out blood before he spoke. "Someone who regrets taking this job now. It was suppose to be easy. Kill the red-haired wench, and do with the others as I please."

"What!" Aedan yelled stepping onto the man's back slamming him into the ground again. "Who sent you after Kallian, you have one chance to answer me."

"Wasn't…sent after the elf. Sent after the human red-haired wench."

"What…after me. Who? Why?" Leliana said clearly confused.

"Don't know…who…don't care why. Paid was good. Apparently wasn't good enough though." The man said coughing up blood.

Alim stepped forward and leveled his staff. "Where were you to meet up with your employer after the job had been completed?"

The man looked up the staff and started to shake. "Denerim. We were going to meet up in Denerim. Here, I got an address. Please ser mage, don't do…anything hasty here."

The man shakily held out a piece of paper. Leliana snatched the paper from him and began reading it over. "So, can I leave?"

"I say kill him. One less on our trail then." Sten said without emotion.

"No," Leliana said not looking up from the note. "There is no reason to kill him. He won't try anything like this against us again. Will you?"

"No. Please…let me go. I won't tell a soul about you."

Aedan sheathed his sword. His action was followed shortly by his companions lowering their weapons. "Get out of here." He said the man emotionlessly. "And pray to the Maker that our paths never cross again. If we do, then I'm afraid you'll never see the light of day again."

The man slowly got to his feet and started to walk away while holding his hand over his wound. "Thank you good sir…thank you."

When the man was out of sight everyone turned back to Leliana. "So, our pretty little bard 'tis keeping secrets. Is anyone else not surprised by this?" Morrigan asked.

"We all have secrets in our past Morrigan," Aedan said coming to the defense. "Just as Leliana has her own."

"Any idea who sent these men after you Leliana?" Kallian asked.

Leliana's face turned ashen. "It's Marjolaine. It has to be."

"Your old mentor? I thought you got away from her." Alim stated leaning on his staff.

Leliana folded up the piece of paper and tucked it away. "I did too. Apparently I was wrong."

"So what are we gonna do then huh? I don't know about the rest of you, but I ain't lookin forward to being attacked by assassins again and again." Natia said crossing her arms.

Leliana lowered her eyes and didn't answer. But there was no need for her to answer. Everyone already knew what had to be done. "So we go to Denerim then." Aedan said casually.

Leliana's eyes shot up and looked at him in surprise. "Please, I can't ask you all to go out of my way. The Blight is much more important than my past."

"Aww, come on Leliana," Kallian said coming forward and hugging the bard. "You're our friend. And besides, we have to go to Denerim eventually for this 'Brother Geni-whatever."

"We've come to a crossroads then. We have several objectives on opposite ends of Ferelden. Any have any ideas?" Aedan asked looking around.

Alim stood upright off of his staff. "Aedan, you may not like this idea, but I feel that it would be best if we were to split up for the time being."

While it was true that he didn't like the idea, he had already come to the conclusion that they would have to separate as soon as the assassin talked to them. The only question was who would go where? "Very true Alim. But the main question is who will be going where and what are the two groups hoping to accomplish?"

Alim shifted nervously. "Well, I think that one group should head down to Honnleath and collect the golem. It is too good of an opportunity to pass up. And the other can go and secure the aid of the Dalish on their way to Denerim. We'll need to pass through the Brecilian Forest to get to Denerim anyway. If we're going to find the Dalish that would be the best place to find them."

Aedan scratched at the few days' worth of growth that was starting to show on his jaw. He'd never had a beard before so he was more than surprised when it started to come in. The only problem was that it itched terribly. "It's a good plan. The group that goes to Honneleath can also travel up to the old Warden's Keep near Soldier's Peak and stop at the Circle on the way to restock. I'll be leading that group. Then the group that will heads towards Denerim can also try to find this Brother Genitivi while they are in town. Now the only question is who is going where?"

Leliana cleared her throat. "I would like to travel to Denerim. After those assassins…I want to settle things."

"I'm going with her then." Alim said with a surprising amount of authority in his voice.

"I think…that it would be best for me to stay away from Denerim for awhile." Kallian said.

"Well I want to see that golem as soon as possible. Not too many dwarves have actually seen one before." Natia said almost hoping in excitement.

Leliana, Alim are heading to Denerim. Morrigan and Wynne should stay with me. Perhaps a more experienced rogue should stay with me also. "I have a feeling that retaking the Keep might take some effort on our part, so the larger group should head out with me. Morrigan, Wynne, I want you two to accompany Kalliana, Natia and I to Honnleath. Alistair, I want you to go with Alim towards Denerim. You know the Knights of Redcliffe better than anyone else so you'll be able to talk to them and hopefully find Brother Genitivi easier. Sten, I want you to come with me to Honnleath. Zev, you head out with Alim towards Denerim."

The two groups separated themselves out. In one; Alim, Leliana, Zev, and Alistair stood waiting to head out to Denerim. In the other; Aedan, Kallian, Sten, Morrigan, Wynne, Natia, and Wolf stood side by side.

Deciding that the separation would work out well, Aedan stepped up to Alim and pulled out two small maps of Ferelden, one of which he handed to the mage. He then also pulled out the treaty that dealt with the Dalish and handed it to him. "Alright, Alim you're in charge of this group. This is where we will meet you," he said pointing to the location of the Keep. "If you get there before us, wait. If we get there first, we will wait for you for one week, then we will head out to Orzammar. Be careful out there Alim."

The mage folded up the map and tucked it away. "Yeah, you too Aedan."

The group said their goodbyes to one another before parting. Zev calmly said goodbye to Natia, but the little dwarf reached up and pulled the assassin down by the neck of his armor. "Now you listen here you pointy-eared assassin. You still owe me a night's bar tab, and I intend to collect."

Zev grinned at her. "Not a problem my little friend."

In a move that surprised everyone, Zev brought the dwarf up to his level, leaving her feet to dangle in the air, and soundly kissed the dwarf. At first she resisted, kicking at his shins and punching his shoulders, but soon her attacks stopped and her arms went around him and she stopped protesting altogether. A few chuckles and even one wolf whistle, complements of Alistair he was sure, went around the group. A moment later the elf let the dwarf down to regain her balance. Aedan swore that Natia's face was redder than an apple. A quick right hook from the dwarf sent the elf to the ground.

"Damn you Zev, not in public!" And with that Natia turned tail and walked away.

Zev, rubbing his jaw slightly, got up off the ground with a smile on his face. "Ohh, feisty. Till we meet again my little friend. Consider that a down payment for later. I fully intend to collect once we are together again." Aedan was sure he saw Natia miss a step when the elf said that.

The companions finished saying their temporary goodbyes and went their separate ways one of the pack horses going with Aedan and the other going with Alim. It took a few minutes, but Aedan finally managed to catch up to Natia, who was refusing to even glance in his direction. Not being able to resist he opened his mouth.

"Not a word Aedan. Not one sodding word you got that!"

His smile grew but it was Kallian though who spoke up first. "What are you so mad about Natia. The fact that he kissed you or that you didn't do it first?"

Natia's face just got redder. "Now now, no need to ask Kallian," Aedan said looking back at her. "It is obvious that she's upset because he did it first."

A quick kick to the shin later, and Aedan was holding up the grow nursing his leg. "Damn, for a little thing she sure does back one Fade of a kick."

"And punch, as our dim witted elvish friend found out." Morrigan commented.

Aedan and Kallian stared at the witch in amazement. Morrigan found their attention unnerving very fast. "What?"

Kallian chuckled. "Sorry Morrigan, it's just that. I think that is the first joke you said that didn't involve Alistair."

"You know Kallian," Natia said coming back into the group. "They say that fighting is a form of loving. Think our dark-haired temptress here gets's hot paints at the sight of the Templar?"

Morrigan's eyes narrowed at the dwarf and she leveled her staff. "Never. Joke. About. That. I would rather sleep with a mabari than with him."

Sten shook his head. "Can we move on? Must we be subjugated to these bad jokes?"

"Well Sten," Aedan said giving a slight pull on the pack horse's rain's to get it moving. "Do the qunari have any jokes?"

Sten looked at him for a moment then faced the road. "Perhaps, but why?"

"Well, I think we'd all like to hear one." Kallian said as if it was obvious.

Sten shook his head again. "I am a Sten, not a 'joke-teller'. Let us move on. There are darkspawn to kill."

Aedan chuckled at the big man. "Well Sten, sooner or later I'm sure we'll be able to get one out of you."

Sorry for the long wait in-between chapters. I fell and sprained my wrist a month ago and the swelling was pushing down on a nerve which made it hurt like hell to type anything. But now all the swelling has gone down and I can resume writing. Chapters may not be coming out every week like I was doing for awhile because school is really picking up and I am starting the pain in the ass process of trying to find a job for after college. Another reason is because I am working on playing Dragon Age 2 although I already finished it once, I'm playing it through again at the moment trying to find anything that I might have missed.

I hope you liked this chapter, I know it was really short compared to what I normally put out for this story, but I felt as if the last chapter was really long and plus, this one was just kinda a filler that I needed to put in. I didn't think I would be able to constantly put in all the characters while they were all together. I noticed that most of the characters were being left out at times and not getting much dialogue. Anyway, please review, as always your feed back is really appreciated with this. Which would you guys like to hear from first? Aedan or Alim's group. Whichever group gets the most votes will be the biases of the next chapter that is posted. See y'all in the next chapter.