Chapter Eleven: Road Kill
"The Most Important Thing In Communication Is Hearing What Isn't Said."
His eyes shot open with a start, fingers clinched tightly on the Dark blade in his possession; he was ready for a fight. Desmond slowly, silently pulled the tent flap back, his eyes scanning throughout the wilds around them.
"Bad dreams huh?" Alistair's voice startled him, but not enough to make him jump or lash out with his blade. He looked over to the older Warden, Autumn was sitting beside him; his eyes looked far away. "You'll get used to them."
"What were they? It seemed…so." He started but the Elf finished for him.
"Real…Desmond they were real." His voice was hollow and he didn't move them from the small fire they had made in the center of camp.
"Being part of a Grey Warden is being able to hear the Darkspawn, to sense them as they sense us…that's what you were doing, hearing them." Alistair explained, poking the fire with a stick "The Archdemon…talks to the horde, that is why we know that this is a true Blight."
Autumn seemed to be regaining his composer, as his back was a little straighter and his eyes moved from the flame to the moon. "It was….impossible to understand." He whispered, shutting his eyes "Like trying to listen to the whispers of the mad."
Alistair nodded, standing up from his bedroll and beginning to assemble his armor "It takes a bit, but soon you should be able to block out the dreams. Some of the older Wardens say they can understand the Archdemon a bit, Jaden hated it, he refused to sleep for a week." He shook his head as he tightened his breastplate "When I heard you thrashing, and Autumn fall from the tree, I felt I should warn you both. It was scary my first time as well."
Desmond rubbed the back of his neck, glancing over at Harper's tent, maybe she was the scream he heard earlier. "Is that all that she is hearing? The whispers of that Demon?" He asked in a low voice.
Alistair shrugged "I don't know, Duncan or Grayson might have a clue about what she is going through…Grayson more so, when he lost his arm he was unconscious for days." He tightened his gauntlets.
Desmond shook his head, getting his own gear ready, gazing out towards the still off rising of the sun. "We probably have another hour or so at least before day break, then we'll head towards the Keep of Redcliff." His gear was far less time consuming than Alistair's was.
Autumn who was sipping from a winesack of water, looked towards Harper's tent "I shall check on her, she is most likely still with fever." He paused for a moment "Has anyone checked her? I last checked a few hours ago when it was my shift."
Alistair waved him off "Frank was after you, he checked her and then he told me what to do. She was fine before you two woke up." He explained strapping on his shield.
Autumn nodded before ducking into her tent, and out of sight. Desmond began examining his blade, it was deadly to be sure, but the Darkspawn blade was crude and dull. He could already hear the distinct hammering of an anvil nearby. He glanced at their only Qunari, who was perfectly still in a meditative state.
He stood and silently made his way to the giant, his boots never disobeying the sounds he made "Sten." He spoke casually, smirking when the man opened a startled eye though he didn't jump as most would.
"Katari." He grunted his eye narrowed "Why do you disturb my meditation."
"Come, I need a new blade and you need much more." He held his hand out, not surprised when the man ignored it and stood to his impressive height alone. "If we leave now, we might have something you could call armor by mid-morn."
Sten didn't react his facial muscles didn't seem to twitch as he said that "As you say." He acknowledged, hands clasped behind his back "Lead on."
Desmond glanced over at Ruby, she had exited her tent while he was talking to Sten "I'll be within Lothering for a time, we shall return swiftly. Rust!" He barked at the dozing hound, who jumped up at the sound of his name. "Stay and help Ruby." The dog gave a gruff bark, swiftly moving towards the Warden and promptly went back to sleep. "Dozy mutt." He grumbled and turned to Alistair "Come along, will you?"
The blonde gave him a raised brow glance, but nodded and followed after him as they headed back into the town. "Any reason you wanted me to tag along." He asked simply, his eyes searching.
Desmond gave him a small frown "I wanted to ask you something." He spoke in a very soft tone, almost completely out of character for him, but he placed a strong hand on his shoulder "Do you want to talk about Duncan?"
Alistair almost stopped walking, he took a shuddering breath "You don't have to do that." He shook his head a little "I know you two didn't exactly see, eye to eye."
Desmond tightened his grip "Sten, hold a moment." The giant who had been walking ahead, ignoring their conversation had stopped, hands behind his back and waiting. "Alistair, I might not have liked Duncan that much, but he was like a father to you, trust me, I understand what you're going through." His whispered voice was combined with down eyes.
Alistair choked again, before releasing a bitter laugh "Any of us could die in battle, he said." He brought a hand to cup his eyes for a moment, before sucking in a breath and trying to regain his composer. "I shouldn't have lost it, not when so much is riding us, not with the Blight….Maker I'm sorry."
Desmond lead him to a rock, to sit down for a moment "There's no need. With everything that has been going on, I honestly haven't had much time to mourn as well." His voice wavered for a moment as he finished his sentence.
Alistair looked out towards the rising sun, his hand tightened and released loosely "I'd... like to have a proper funeral for him." He spoke after a moment or two of silence. "Maybe once this is all done, if we're still alive." He added wistfully "I don't think he had any family to speak of."
"He had you." Desmond gave him a light punch on the shoulder.
Alistair shook his head a sad grin across his features "You said that your family…." He trailed off.
"Yeah." Desmond whispered.
"Do you want to talk about them?" Alistair asked trying to push a little of his happy-go-lucky nature into his voice; it didn't work.
Desmond shook his head "There…there isn't much to say….I…I might as well not even be Desmond Cousland anymore…" His voice cracked as he said his name "Anyone it mattered to…are either dead or wish me so."
Alistair glanced back towards the camp "That's not true." He spoke firmly, his eyes shining with determination "To every one of us, you're Desmond Cousland."
Desmond gave a small grin, clasping him on the shoulder once more "Thank you." He confessed, looking out towards the woodlands surrounding Lothering. "Where was Duncan from?"
"Highever, I think….maybe I'll go up there, see about burying him there." Alistair confessed, nodding his head at the thought.
Desmond stood, offering his hand "He can be buried in the Cousland Castle graveyard, along with my family, and those who were of importance to us." He tightened his grip on Alistair's shocked hand "I might not have agreed, but he still saved my life, and a Cousland pays his debts."
Alistair was shocked for a moment, before a smile cracked his face and stubbornly wiped a tear from his eyes "I'm sure he'd approve."
With that, the two Wardens headed back into town, Sten following close behind, it was time to get their arms and armor situation figured out.
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Ruby glanced up from the fire, her simple War-Hammer rested across her lap, the Witch stood in front of her and had her travel cloak and herb bag in hand. "Going somewhere?" She asked, turned her attention back to the fire, her voice probably came out far harsher than she meant.
The Witch raised a brow at her "Does it matter to you? I imagine that the Mongrel and Fool left you in charge as the Dalish is currently keeping the Warden alive." She spoke in a very condescending tone "I shall not be gone long."
Ruby curled up her lip, shaking her head "Mutt, go with the Witch, I'm sure Desmond would be very upset if anything happened to her." She grumbled at the dog, who perked up lazily and yawned before shaking and trotting over to the Witch.
Morrigan looked disdainfully at the dog "You eat any of my herbs, and I shall poison you." She said simply, before raising her chin and turning back towards the woods.
Ruby shook her head, leaning her head on her palm as she relaxed, she should be training or maybe working out; it was a passion of hers from Home. She didn't flinch as Selene plopped down next to her, a book in her hand, the Mage had barely left her presence since the Battle a few days ago; it was actually a comfort.
"How are you feeling?" Selene had asked, tucking a rather stubborn stray lock away from her gaze "Still having a hard time."
Ruby sighed, looking up at the endless sky "Not so much now, but I mean, the fact it doesn't end, doesn't that bother you?" She asked a flash of concern across her pale features.
Selene just kinda smiled "Ruby, we're sort of the same, I grew up in the Circle Tower, I very rarely got to see the sky." She explained, looking up and taking a deep breath, then closing her eyes, looking content "Being outside, being in the sun, and the fresh air, it makes me feel more than myself."
Ruby shrugged a little, tightening her hold on her Hammer "It is very refreshing, sometimes the air back home would get hard to breathe in certain areas….I can only imagine how back Franklin had it." She looked towards the Dwarves tent, who was cursing about a screw.
Selene cracked open her book "I do find it a little odd, that he is by far the most adjusted out of all of us, yet most came from very good backgrounds." She paused, finding her place in her book "What do you think of Desmond?"
Ruby snorted "He's a nug-fucker, but I think he has our best interests in mind, as long as he keeps his rage in check, I think we'll be fine with Alistair and Autumn advising him." She had explained, before smirking "I was the second daughter of the King, he was the second son of a Teryn." She leaned back against the log she was using as a seat. "My brother was always going to be King, but I think he was being groomed to be the heir."
Selene nodded her head in understanding, having read such a thing "So you'd rather be just another Hammer in the fight." She summed up for her new friend.
Ruby gave her a grin "I've always like to get my hands dirty." She stopped, holding up a hand to silence her, then jumped up "Autumn!" She called towards the tent in alarm, the Elf jumped out of the tent, almost tripping himself in doing so.
The Elf was wild eyed, looking around for combat, but he himself had paused and seemed to be listening to something in the distance.
Their new Redhead, Leliana, who had changed from her Chantry robes into a well worn but very well made and tailored red body armor, that seemed to focus on her core, the top of her arms and lower legs. "What is going on?" She whispered, her accent thick around her tongue, but she paused when Autumn held up a hand.
Autumn then narrowed his eyes, his left ear twitched "Get your gear." He spoke quickly, reaching down and grabbing his hunting belt, then his Fire-Star. "Someone is in the middle of combat!"
Ruby, Selene and Leliana all got their weapons ready, Frank didn't even seem to hear them as he worked on his newest creations; no one even thought to look for Jade. The small group rushed forward, following Autumn's quick and silent footsteps as he rushed towards the Imperial Highway. The closer they got, the louder the screaming got, and the cries for help weren't far behind.
Ruby took a deep breath, and charged ahead of Autumn, her Maul ready for blood; the Genlock in front of her didn't stand a chance. Leliana flanking her, deflecting a sword swing that would have hit her shoulder-pauldron; careless of her. One of Autumn's arrows burrowed into a Hurlocks skull, then several similar arrows turned the creature into a pincushion.
"Get back!" Selene had screamed, her eyes closed in concentration, and hand clasped together. Several Darkspawn seemed to try and lunge at her, only for a literal tree of ice get forged from her very being; stabbing through four Darkspawn. The temperature of the bridge seemed to suddenly drop from the swampy heat, to what could be found in the Anderfells.
An Alpha who deflected the magic that Selene had just used, was about to sever her connection to the Fade; permanently. At least until three arrows landed into its chest, followed by a rather large hunting knife and then a very large Maul; needless to say, the creature pretty much went arse-over-teakettle.
Ruby ran forward, lightly setting her index finger onto her friends shoulder, and shuddering at the temperature she was producing. "Selene, it's over, you can stop." She whispered to the young Mage.
Selene slowly seemed to twitch into a nod, her hands crossing over her arms and cupping her elbows; and shuddered "Sorry, sorry…I just…lost control." She whispered, clenching in on herself.
Ruby nodded, looking a little worried "Hey, hey, it's okay…it'll be okay." She pressed on, even though she knew full well that the Mage is defiantly freaking out inside of her mind; Magic was like playing with fire, it was very hard to keep contained.
"Mighty timely arrival there, my friends." A rich voice said breathlessly, Autumn and Leliana seemed to let Ruby handle the slowly de-thawing Selene and so they turned to the light brown haired, fancy bearded dwarf in good quality merchant clothing "I'm much obliged."
Autumn had his hood up still, looking down at the Dwarf and his son? "It was of no consequence, I am happy we were able to help." He explained, arms crossing to his shoulders and bowing to the dwarf.
The man's smile made his beard quirk "The name's Bodahn Freddic, merchant and entrepreneur." He looped an arm about a younger, slower looking Dwarf; like his mind was addled. "This here is my son, Sandal." He looked over at him, voice still light and friendly "Say hello, my boy."
Sandal looked over at Autumn, smiled a little dreamily but his eyes seemed to be completely empty "Hello." His voice was a little strange, a mixture of slowness and happiness. Addled indeed.
"Road's been mighty dangerous these days, mind if I ask what brings you out here? Perhaps we're going the same way." The business man seemed to be completely interested in their little group now, maybe looking for a mix of protection and coin.
Autumn gave the man a tired look, not only had his Nightmares drained him of sleep, but constantly watching out for Harper was starting to drain him. "I'm afraid we aren't leaving just yet, and if we were, I doubt we'd be going the same way, Master Dwarf." He confessed, before turning to head back to camp.
Leliana gave the dwarf a quick smile before following the Elf "Do your ears twitch often when you listen for things?" She asked with a soft giggle.
Autumn raised a brow "My ear twitches?"
The red-head let loose a fit of giggles at his completely honest answer.
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Jade had been wandering Lothering for the last few hours, far before anyone else had been up, Alistair had just told her to be careful. She wasn't exactly itching for a fight or anything, she just really wanted to walk around and stretch her legs out; but her fingers twitched towards her hands every now and then. She had talked to some of the other Elves around the area, hoping to gather some more information; then she overheard something that made her still.
"You hear about that Circle Tower? Something about them being all turned into demons." A man said, before spitting onto the ground.
The other man took a swig from his bottle "That's bullshite, they're always talking about that." He slurred.
"Nah, mate, this time it sounds like to be true." The first man whispered "I hear one of them Templars talking about it, Rite of Annulment he said."
"The fuck that means then."
"It means they're gonna send a whole battalion of Templars and cull the entire lot."
"Well then." He swallowed "Good ridden I say."
Jade who had been listening from the roof top of the build, shook her head and did a flip down, landing much like a cat would and started to walk towards the camp. Selene would have better information about what was going on in the tower itself, but before she could even get close to the campsite; she ran into something.
Falling back onto her back, she looked up at the object and stilled "We done heard what was said." A man whispered through fractured teeth, a kitchen knife held in his hand. "You're a Warden, and so are your little pals." The man was filthy, and his wide hungry eyes spoke to her, she had seen them before.
Before she could argue that she wasn't a Warden, another dirty man stepped around her "I don't know if you killed the King, and Maker forgive me, I don't right care." His voice was darker than the first, he was holding onto a hoe.
An small thin rod girl, whose blonde hair was dark with dirt "But that bounty on your heads…could feed a lot of bellies." She whispered, her voice cracking, a shovel in her hands.
Jade glanced around, several hungry eyes looked at her in desperation, each of them holding crude and dull farm weapons; rakes, picks, sickles and hammers. She didn't even wait for their battle cry, sliding to her feet and striking hard, fast and deadly; she didn't want to kill any of them though.
Pulling out her twin daggers, she used her pommel of one to bash the nose in of the main man who blocked her, sending him crashing to the ground in pain. Ducking a shovel swung at her, which hit a man with a pick trying to stab her; she quickly kicked out once on the ground, twisting the man's knee. The ten or so attackers, were rendered useless rather quickly.
Jade fell back on the ground, breathing heavily, a busted lip and a shoulder wound was all the trouble had given her; fuck humans. Only taking a few seconds to breathe, she rolled up and limped back to camp, she must have pulled something….awesome.
A hand grabbed her on the shoulder, she jabbed her elbow towards the attackers stomach, driving her leg backwards aiming to damage the knee. "Easy!" A deep voice squeaked, grabbing her elbow with his free hand and barely shifting his leg away from the kick "Jade? What happened?"
"Oh nothing unusual, you know, just gathering information about the Circle and getting jumped by a group of hungry refugees." She snarked before wincing in pain "I took a few hits, don't think I killed any of them though."
Alistair nodded "That's good, let's get you back to camp and let Autumn look at you." He helped her get back to camp, ducking another group of bandits and an emaciated lone-wolf on the way.
Autumn and Leliana were sharing a close conversation, seeming to be the only ones in camp; but she could hear Frank cursing from a cut on his hand. "Mind if I get some medical attention?" She asked a little casually, wincing as Alistair set her down on a sitting log.
Autumn glanced over, a brow raised, and quickly moving to look at her "You are like a toddler, I can't let you out of my sight." He scolded, pulling out his herb pouch, and crushing some Elfroot, water and ash-powder. "Hold still, this'll sting."
Jade rolled her eyes at his comments "Sorry, dad." She stressed, and laughed as he pressed the paste a little harder into her wound "Ow! Alright alright!"
Alistair chuckled a little weakly, looking around for the subject of Jade's attention "Where is Selene?" He asked the red-head who was using a damp towel to clean the blood from her armor.
"I imagine still up on the Highway with Ruby, she had a little outbreak of magic." Her accent was hard for him to understand for a moment, then he nodded and got to his feet. The Templar then moved towards the Highway, spotting the two girls, one looking worried over the other.
"Selene, you're fine, it'll be okay."
The girl winced, as if she had been struck and kept her eyes squeezed shut as if trying to keep out the words from her mind. "What happened?" He asked concerned.
The girl's eyes shot open, she ducked behind Ruby so fast that she left snow in her wake "I'm sorry! It won't happen again! It was an accident, I didn't hurt anyone who didn't deserve it! Oh, but I shouldn't have hurt anyone, please, It won't happen-"
Alistair was shocked by her quick and frightened voice, then he remembered "Selene….I'm not a Templar anymore." He spoke loud enough for her to hear him, getting down on a knee "I'm just making sure you're okay."
Selene had stilled, and nodded slowly taking a deep breath as she did "Right, your right, I…I'm sorry, I-" She trailed off "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything is fine, Jade just wanted to ask you a question about the Tower, is all."
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Alistair had wandered off after having his arms and armor looked at by the local smith, after clearing that everything was fit for service; he headed back to camp. Desmond of course wanted to go last, and he wanted to make sure that Sten got quality armor and a decent weapon.
After the Smith had shakily gotten the giant's measurements, he went to the back to put something useable together quickly. Leaving Sten and Desmond alone, Sten sitting in a meditative pose and Desmond leaning against a wall of the shop; the silence lasted between them for several minutes before Desmond spoke up.
"What brought you to Ferelden?" He asked purely curious and tired of the silence.
Sten did not answer for several moments, taking a deep breath and opening his eyes "The Arishok asked "What is the Blight?" By his curiosity, I am here now, I am the eyes of the Antaam." His voice was deep and steady, showing patience and wisdom from his people.
Desmond nodded in understanding "You're acting as a Scout, to gather information for your commander, when do you have to report?" His voice was equally curious and steady. He changed his seating, sliding down the wall and adopting the same pose that Sten was sitting in.
"Relax your shoulders." Sten advised, his keen eyes looking over his form "Hands resting your knees, not gripping. Steady breathing." He waits for Desmond to fix his posture "Passable." He remarked "As to your question, never."
Desmond who was fixing his posture, paused a moment raising a brow in question "Why?"
"I cannot go home."
Desmond nodded slowly "May I ask why that is?"
Sten was silent for another moment "Why does it matter?" He asked, his voice not shifting in tone but his eyes glinting with curiosity.
Desmond shrugged "I'm more or less making sure you're alright, you'll be watching my back in battle, would you trust me to do so without knowing me?" He asked as if talking to an old friend.
Sten was still, nodding after a few minutes of thought "You speak the truth, words of wisdom I do not expect from your people." He spoke deeply, and dark current running through his voice "To your point, I shall watch your back, as I have given my word to do so."
Desmond was about to speak, when the Smith came bustling back with a large steel sword in hands "Here ya are, I fixed one of me older blades up a bit; give er a swing while I finish your armor." The fat man then wadded back towards his workshop after passing the blade to a disinterested Sten.
Desmond's sharp eyes saw his posture, a warrior cared deeply for his weapons, but Sten seemed to regard the glinting steel as if it was a dead fish. As a fellow warrior, his hand drifted to his once proud family blade, now dagger "You had a deep attachment to your last weapon." He spoke less of a question, and more of a statement.
Sten who was looking down at his lap, shot his eyes up quickly and searched for something within Desmond "Katari, I have told you how I ended up in that cage." He spoke slowly "Before that, I was sent to these lands with seven of my brothers- of the Beresaad." He paused for a moment searching for the words "We found nothing until we camped for a night at Lake Calenhad." The warrior drew into himself, his eyes closed and face hardened at the memory "They came from everywhere, the ground, the sky, every shadow- Darkspawn."
Desmond nodded in understanding, staying silent for the man to continue.
"I was struck down….I do not know how long I lay among the dead, nor do I know how those farmers found me." He confessed, a little weak in the voice than normal "I only know that when I woke, I was among your people, my brothers nowhere in sight and my sword missing from my hand."
Desmond closed his eyes "What happened?"
"I left, searching for them, for my blade….I failed to find it." He confessed "I asked my rescuers what had become of it." Sten was silent again, as if lost in the memory "They said they found nothing with me."
"You were afraid, alone." Desmond whispered.
Sten opened his eyes, locking onto Desmond's "I was, I had panicked, unthinking….I slaughtered them." He sighed "What I did was truly terrible, I cannot justify what I have done, as such my honor is forfeit." At Desmond's questioning eyes, he continued "My blade was forged for my hand alone, I have carried it from the day I was set into the Beresaad. I was to die wielding it for my people."
Desmond silently pulled his dagger out, slowly passing it to the warrior "That is the last relic from my family, who were slaughtered days ago by a close friend of my family." He went silent for a moment "I understand some of what you are going through….I cannot return home until the man that did so, has his blood on that blade."
Sten regarded the damaged blade intently, examining it wholly before passing it back "The craftsmanship is beautiful, I imagine when it was originally forged it was a weapon of great power." He nodded his head, standing up as the Smith returned.
"Sten." He made the man pause, though he didn't move from his posture "Don't worry, we'll find your blade."
Sten had stopped, looking down at the now peacefully sitting man "Perhaps those words are empty, but" He gave a small bow of his head "Thank you all the same." With that he vanished into the workshop to don his new armor.
He missed the small smirk that Desmond had on his features "Finding a single lost blade in a country at war….added to my list of impossible things, why not." He muttered to himself, before searching for the peace that one of his old mentors once taught him.
Meditation might be a good habit to pick back up, at least until he could focus on his extreme workouts again.
XX~XX~XX~XX~XX~XX
It took them a few days, and despite their conversation about the Tower, they found that Redcliff would be their first stop. This was for several reasons, one with the support of Arl Eamon they could at least move through the lands quicker, and hopefully get Harper the healing that she so desperately needed; she was getting worse each day, now her breathing was already at slow and shaky, Autumn was driving himself insane trying to do everything he could.
Everyone seemed to be floating into small groups, that Desmond had taken extreme notice of, it was the best way to make sure everyone stayed on their game. Ruby, Selene and Alistair seemed to be one such group, though Ruby would also join in with Frank and Autumn, who were always around Leliana and Harper. Sten was either alone, or with Jade and himself, who was either trading combat tips back and forth or meditating when they had stopped. Morrigan minded herself, though Desmond continued to visit and keep close tabs on her; Rust seemed to have grown rather fond of her too.
If there was a skill he had that he rarely used, it was to search a person for who they were close to, or confided in. Each of them had someone they shared a stray secret or two with, Desmond had Sten and Morrigan, often Alistair as well, though the two were not as close. Alistair was getting rather close to Selene, who often in the past days had expressed her growing concerns of not only her magic but the tower as well.
"Hold a moment." Alistair had said loud enough for Desmond to hear, and he waited for the other Warden to catch up. "I need to tell you something important, something I should have mentioned earlier, at that Hut." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "You remember how I told you that Arl Eamon raised me?" He trailed off, but continued at Desmond's nod "The reason he did that….was because King Maric was my father."
Desmond was silent for a few moments, the rest of the party had gone a little ahead of them by now "I'm sorry?" He spoke bewildered, his mind now bringing up images of Uncle Maric and Calian; he could almost see it now, though Alistair's face was far narrower.
"I'm Calian's half-brother." He said slowly, wondering why this wasn't connecting.
Desmond slowly nodded to himself "So…you're not just a bastard, but a royal bastard then?"
"Ahaha, funny, I'll use that more often." Alistair deadpanned "Look I didn't tell you at first because I didn't know how you would react, I know how close you and Calian were, I didn't want to reopen those fresh wounds."
"Well, thanks for that, but seriously you should have said something." Desmond shook his head "Now I understand why Calian was so adamant about you being on the tower with me, bastard was trying to protect us both." He almost spat, sitting down on a nearby rock head in his hands.
Alistair sucked on his teeth for a moment "I didn't want you to know, I never got special treatment for it anyhow, people either resented me for it or coddled me….I'm surprised that Calian knew…" He shook his head.
Desmond nodded, slowly pulling out the wanted posters that they had found on the Highway; it only showed Alistair and Desmond. "I know now why we're the only one's wanted." He balled them up and tossed them over his shoulder "Loghain doesn't want either of us contending for the throne."
Alistair's eyes widened "What!? No! Makers breath, you're going to give me a heart attack, I'm the son of a commoner, it was always made clear to me, that the Throne was never in my future." He expressed quite quickly.
Desmond looked up with an 'are you retarded' expression "That was before Maric vanished and Calian didn't create an heir, as of this moment, you and I are the only one's close enough to the throne." He shook his head, and groaned "This just made thing far more complicated."
"What of Arl Eamon? He's not of royal blood, but he is Calian's uncle and he is popular with the people!" Alistair spoke quickly, using his hands as he spoke before clenching them into fists.
"You're not understanding, you're of royal blood, by right you can take the throne!" He growled, his eyes narrowing "It doesn't matter who sits upon it, Anora is unimportant to you, I on the other hand would be required to marry Anora as my Noble blood is not quite as good as your Royal, understand? Eamon couldn't take the throne, unless you were dead, I was dead and Anora was dead; and even then I could personally guarantee you that another Civil war will be at hand, each Arl fighting tooth and nail for the throne."
Alistair looked shocked for a few moments, before running his hand through his hair and tugging at his roots "Maker's breath, what are we going to do?" He whispered, looking out to the group, who were chatting among themselves though Morrigan and Selene seemed to be listening intently.
"Well…we've cheated Death once already, right?" Desmond said standing up, holding his hand out for Alistair "Here's hoping we just die after the Blight is finished, not exactly the outcome I want but would probably be the best, aside from running from Ferelden forever and even then…."
Alistair took the offered hand, still looking a little shell shocked "Why couldn't Calian have just made a few feet further, this whole mess could've been avoided."
"That's war, the people we need are often times either dead or completely useless." Desmond stressed "We'll figure this out…but Alistair just keep in mind that…you might have to take the throne."
The other Warden didn't say anything as he numbly went back towards the group, leaving Desmond to tear out his hair again and look up to the sky "I don't believe much for prayer, but Maker give me strength, I'll need all the help I can get."
Morrigan was giving him a side-eye as he wandered back into the group, heading further to Redcliff; he was happy for her support, the light touch on his shoulder, meant the world to him. At least someone noticed that he was slowly starting to subcome to the weight on his shoulders; and he was just getting started.
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