10. But At Least the Flowers Are Nice?

Luka tried to make himself as small and unassuming as possible, but only the four drunkards seemed to care about his existence. The tense silence dissipated in a matter of seconds, the tavern's occupants returning to their conversations as if nothing had happened even as the men pushed through anyone in their way to get to Luka.

"Yeah!" the same man who had recognized him said with a nasty grin. "Boss said one's an elf, right?" He looked around at his companions, and two nodded furiously while the third just frowned.

"Er… it could be another elf, ser," the last man said. "The other two survivors do not appear to be in his company."

"A risk I'm willin' to take!" the first said boisterously. "Not like anyone'll miss an elf either way, eh?" He drew his sword, but a sudden hand on his wrist paused his action.

A young woman wearing Chantry robes was standing at his elbow, a sweet smile on her face. "Must you come to blows, friends?" she asked, a thick Orlesian accent honeying her words. She stepped closer to the man, and Luka noticed how she slowly drew her hand up his arm to rest on his shoulder. The man seemed quite distracted by the woman who was pressing her ample breasts against him in a manner that did not befit a Chantry sister, and his fellows were too busy looking jealous to be paying attention to Luka.

To their credit, the woman was beautiful. Even in modest Chantry attire, she had an enticing softness to her that was simultaneously eye-catching and calming. Where Morrigan was all sharp lines and dark colors and Rabbit all youthful features and boisterous personality, this woman was all curves and smiles. She had bright red hair that fell not quite to her shoulders and twinkling blue eyes that oozed earnest sincerity. Her skin was creamy and unblemished, her nails perfectly manicured, and her fingers long and nimble. She quickly darted those blue eyes to Luka, glancing meaningfully at the door, and he had enough presence of mind to remember his situation and slip quietly out the building.

Breathing deeply to calm his pounding heart, Luka tried not to run as he put as much distance between himself and the tavern as possible. He needed to gather everyone to explain what had just transpired and that they had to leave Lothering immediately. That was easier thought than done, however, as it everyone except Morrigan had disappeared. Luka hurried to Morrigan, who was still standing next to the merchant although she now had a decidedly irritated expression.

"—find somewhere more… private… to show you my goods, hm?" the merchant was saying meaningfully as Luka approached.

"I assure you," Morrigan snapped back without even looking at him, "I will have seen sewing needles larger than your 'goods,' and had I known you would prattle on in such an idiotic manner, I would have aided that pathetic Chantry mother instead."

"That's a real insult coming from her," Luka called as he reached them. The merchant, a portly fellow with a greasy face and greasier mustache, jumped in surprise and glared at Luka, his disdain only increasing when he noticed Luka's ears.

"No one asked you, knife-ear," he snarled, and Luka felt a surge of rage.

After days on the road between here and Ostagar, he had almost forgotten how annoying it was to be an elf. None of his current human companions seemed to care one whit and they all looked at his eyes rather than his ears when they spoke to him. He had been getting used to common courtesy, but now that they were among proper civilized folk, prejudice and racism prospered.

"Would you prefer an icicle instead of your needle?" Morrigan inquired, her eyes narrowed into slits, before Luka could respond.

The merchant finally had the decency to shut up and look scared, flicking his gaze between Luka and Morrigan. Understanding entered his eyes, and Luka was certain he was assuming more than there was, but neither he nor Morrigan felt like correcting him. Luka forced his anger down with difficulty, as he did not want to draw attention to the group.

"Have you seen Rabbit?" Luka asked the significantly more pleased apostate.

Morrigan looked around with a small frown, and then shook her head. " 'Tis strange," she commented. "That small creature is usually quite simple to find. One either follows the sound of incessant chirping or the sight of a veritable rainbow of a skirt." She sniffed delicately. "Or that mangy beast that seems smitten with her." She quirked an eyebrow as Luka nodded. "Speaking of mangy beasts," she said, "where is our other…"—Her face twisted in distaste before she managed to choke out the next word as though it physically pained her—"companion?"

Luka deflated immediately, having been about to ask her where Alistair was. "You don't know?" he grumbled. With a soft sigh, he rubbed his forehead. "Well," he decided eventually, "this is a small village. They'll turn up."

"Until then," Morrigan suggested, "we might restock on supplies." A small smirk on her face, she gestured towards the merchant whom they were both pretending did not exist. "I have acquired a discount from this peddler, yet I have neither the money nor the inclination to take advantage of it."

"Well, I have both," Luka reasoned, wisely deciding not to ask how she had brokered such a deal.

The merchant looked put-out to be dealing with Luka rather than the dazzling woman at his side, but Morrigan gave him one scathing glare and he jumped to offer Luka aid in any way possible. Luka could get used to the women in his life getting them all free or discounted supplies everywhere they went—albeit in less than conventional ways. Luka efficiently stocked up on supplies, understanding what they needed after spending so much time on the road. Alistair had mentioned that the taint in the Wardens caused an increased appetite. He and Rabbit had both noticed how quickly they had been going through their rations, so he packed more food than usually necessary. Otherwise, he stuck to the basics, making sure to grab healing potions since both of their mages were untalented in that regard.

When he finished, he and Morrigan moved farther away from the annoying merchant, standing in awkward silence as they kept an eye out for their other two companions. Luka did not know how to talk to the witch; that task went to Rabbit. To be honest, he did not think they had traded more than a few sentences during the five days of their acquaintance, as Luka was always at the head of their group and Morrigan at the back. Additionally, Morrigan had made it a point to set up her own personal camp away from the rest of theirs, and only Rabbit seemed somewhat welcome to visit yet even she not for long.

Luka decided not to force conversation from an unwilling participant, so he sat down on the grass and pulled out some jarred animal fat to oil his weapons. Morrigan eyed the crumbling grass under her feet, but deigned to join him, retrieving a book out of her pack as she did so. Neither spoke, but the tension eased significantly.

Luka had just finished with his four blades when Kitty bounded up to the pair. Assuming Rabbit was not far behind her loyal shadow, he looked up to instead see a massive man approaching. After a moment, Rabbit stepped out from behind him, jogging to keep up, and Luka realized just how tall this creature was when Rabbit's head just barely made it past his elbow. Luka stood up slowly, one dagger in each hand, but did not outwardly tense. The man was unarmed, wearing nothing but a loose tunic and breeches, but Luka had no doubt the giant would be able to crush his head with one fist.

The man was not human, based on his dark gray skin and blindingly white hair—never mind his seven-foot stature—but Rabbit seemed quite content with her find. She was chattering to him, or, more precisely, at him, as he studiously ignored her. Luka mentally applauded the man for remaining stoic, not one hint of negativity in his face even though his fast stride and complete lack of communication were evidence enough at his displeasure. The man stopped in front of Luka, while Rabbit continued forwards and looped her arm with the elf's.

"This is Stan of the Bear-Sad," she stated. "He's a qunari I found."

Before Luka could ask how one simply finds a qunari, the man himself let out a growl and glared poisonously at Rabbit. "Sten of the Beresaad," the giant corrected in a deep voice that conveyed all the irritation that was free from his expression. "Parshaara basra, why ask for my name if you refuse to use it?"

Rabbit laughed. "Well, you said I could call you Sten, not that I had to."

Sten muttered something in Qunlat under his breath, but Rabbit was unfazed even as he towered above her. She smiled at Luka next.

"He wants to help defeat the blight," she said brightly. "I thought he could join us. He promised he would follow our lead." She turned her grin back to the qunari. "Mr. Sten, this is Luka, another of the Wardens. There's one more, but Alistair's more annoying than even I am, so Luka's the one you'll probably almost maybe tolerate."

With that, she waved cheerily to Morrigan and then trotted off to the merchant nearby. Vaguely, he heard Morrigan unhappily tell Kitty that she did not want the dirty shoe that he found.

"As the small bas said," Sten growled, "I wish to aid you on your mission to stop the blight." His expression was so impassive that Luka could not discern his intentions, but his voice did seem sincere.

Luka sheathed his weapons but didn't move his eyes away from Sten's. "Why?" he asked.

"To atone," Sten replied just as simply.

"For what?"

"Does it matter?" Sten growled, his voice slightly exasperated. Luka supposed it did not, so he shrugged and offered his hand. Sten stared at it oddly for a moment, but eventually did the same, allowing Luka to shake it.

"Welcome aboard, Sten of the Beresaad," Luka said. "I suppose we should get you outfitted with something better to…" He trailed off as Rabbit returned, loudly and with difficulty dragging a large bundle behind her. Out of breath, she dropped the bundle with a sharp nod, and then dashed back from where she came.

With slight trepidation, Luka opened the parcel to find a greatsword so large that it looked more decorative than practical. "I… assume this is for you?" Luka said to Sten.

Sten grunted and lifted the blade as though it weighed no more than a scrap of parchment. He curled his hands around the hilt, tested its balance, and then nodded. "It will do," he stated. The sound of something heavy being dragged again heralded Rabbit's return. She was puffing out breaths by the time she arrived, and happily released her new bundle with a large sigh of relief.

"Mr. Merchant didn't have anything fitted for someone as big as you, but I found a chain link tunic that should help, plus some greaves, bracers, and boots. They were probably made for some fat knight who wanted to look important." She waved towards the discarded heap of armor. "If I guessed right, it should all fit somewhat." She stared critically at the bundle, then snapped up straight. "Oh!" she cried. "And I also grabbed a harness so you can keep the sword on your back."

"…My thanks," Sten murmured, clear hesitation in his voice, but he stepped past Rabbit to inspect his new possessions.

Satisfied that she had remembered all there was to get, she returned to Luka and rested her forehead between his shoulder blades. If Luka stepped forwards, she would fall, as nearly all her weight was pressed against him. His heart warmed slightly at the gesture of trust, and the small smile on his face did not go unnoticed by Morrigan, who quirked an eyebrow and gazed at him knowingly. Luka glared back, and she smirked before returning to berating the dog for eating her herbs and that she still refused to accept a slobbery shoe in recompense.

It was good to see everyone getting along so well.

"I should mention," Luka said, "that we're being hunted and we should leave before we're found." He felt Rabbit tense and stop breathing for a moment. "Does anyone know where Alistair is?"

Rabbit started inhaling air again, but her lighthearted tone was clearly forced. "It's the perfect time to run without him knowing," Rabbit mumbled, though her voice was trembling ever so slightly. "We can save a killing off cheese expenses."

Luka smiled to himself but shook his head. "I like having a meat shield with an actual shield."

"That's a good point," Rabbit agreed after a moment. She puffed out a breath and knocked her forehead against him again. "Who's hunting us?" she asked. There was an unexpected layer of subdued terror in her tone, and the tremors from her voice had spread to her entire body. "It's not… templars, right?" She cleared her throat quietly to steady herself, but it did not seem to help. "There are a lot of templars around here, and…"

"No, of course not!" Luka assured her, lowering his voice when he noticed Morrigan glancing over with some irritation. "It's not about you or Morrigan; it's about Gray Wardens." He felt Rabbit sag against him and breathe a sigh of relief.

"Sweet colossal breasts of Andraste," Rabbit whimpered. "It's not the templars. I know I shouldn't be glad about that, but I'm really, really, really fucking glad about that." She took a deep, shuddering breath and Luka could feel her heart pounding rapidly against his spine.

"It's fine," Luka replied, growing alarmed. He had never seen—or rather heard—Rabbit so fragile. He was not sure what to make of it or how to fix it, but he thankfully did not have to worry since Rabbit took the moment to pull away and flash him a grin, yet this one was more wobbly than her usual.

"Now we just need to wait for the cute dummy to get his shapely ass over here," she said, and the look she gave Luka was positively feral.

Luka shivered slightly, frankly unable to tell if she was joking, but also unwilling to ask. He could not imagine that she was at all interested in Alistair in that way, but he could never tell with Rabbit. Morrigan chuckled lightly, so Luka guessed this was more likely an attempt to discomfort Alistair for the sake of entertainment.

"And speak of the devil," she whispered as Alistair's head appeared, crossing the town's bridge ahead.

Licking her lips in anticipation, Rabbit bounced forwards to meet him who, perhaps not as dumb as Rabbit believed, immediately balked as his expression turned queasy. For some reason, he was carrying a red rose, spinning the stem delicately between the fingers of his left hand.

Alistair was an open book, so Luka could see the conversation even if he could not hear it. From Rabbit's wild gestures and complete disregard for personal space, it was clear that she was leading the conversation as usual, and Alistair barely opened his mouth at all. Instead, his face turned from nauseous to pale to bright red, then back to pale before settling on pink and somewhat frightened. Everyone was watching, even Sten, and Rabbit was terribly smug as she returned. She had taken the flower sometime during their 'talk' and was currently braiding it delicately into her hair. She stuck her tongue out at Luka while Alistair followed at a far more leisurely pace, his expression now returned to one of nausea.

"We have to leave," Luka told him when he approached, and Alistair immediately brightened. "We're being hunted," he finished.

"Oh, that's… actually surprising," he said, his expression mirroring his words perfectly. "Uh, by who?"

Luka shrugged. "I don't know, but we've wasted enough time already, I think. Let's go."

And, without further ado, everyone gathered any loose items and followed Luka out of the little town of Lothering.

"Did you do anything other than pick flowers, Alistair?" Rabbit asked a little too politely. Luka suppressed a sigh at the impending useless bout of antagonism, but Alistair seemed willing to ignore her tone for once.

"A girl asked me to find her sister who went out to fight bears," he replied eagerly.

"Oh, how was the state of the corpse?"

"That's the funny thing," Alistair remarked. "It took a while, but I found three dead bears and a woman's body, but she… wasn't dead."

Rabbit stared at him as though he had gone funny in the head. "You found a live… body?"

"Er, well," Alistair fumbled for a few moments as the rest waited patiently. "She was sleeping," he finally said, his cheeks tinged with red. "Three dead bears and a sleeping lady."

"Unconscious?" Rabbit clarified, but Alistair shook his head.

"Sleeping," he repeated. "Three dead bears, and the woman was just sleeping under a nearby tree with a giant, bloodied axe. I thought she was dead, but then I shook her, and she woke up and just… walked away."

"…Huh," Rabbit said, clearly not convinced that Alistair was telling the truth. "She killed three bears, fell asleep, and then just walked home without a word and no worse for wear?"

"Believe me," Alistair said, "I was more surprised than you are. I went back to the town and the first woman I'd talked to thanked me for waking her sister and gave me some silvers. When I asked where the sister was, she said she was taking a nap because the sun made her sleepy."

"Well, at least you got paid," Rabbit shrugged, and Alistair looked away.

When Alistair did not seem inclined to confirm Rabbit's assessment, Luka prodded a bit but received only a sheepish smile and empty palms in response.

"I… made a few sovereigns," he admitted, "but I donated them to the Chantry to help the people here."

Luka remained silent, irritated by Alistair's thoughtless charity but unwilling to say anything. The others had no such qualms.

"Bloated hog demons," Rabbit snapped in reply. "We need money."

"We got lots of money from the bandits," Alistair said defensively, "and these people need it more than we do!"

"Anyone who could benefit from that coin will shortly be killed by the approaching darkspawn horde," Morrigan added, her expression murderous. "That money now belongs to dead men."

"Hey, you don't know that!" Alistair retorted angrily. "I will not apologize for helping those people, no matter what you callous witches think."

"You are an inept fool."

Alistair huffed, but did not reply. Instead, he turned to Luka. "If it's any consolation, I did get this from the Chantry mother," Alistair said, rummaging through his pack before pulling out a small brass key. "She said I reminded her of the importance of mercy."

Antagonism suddenly gone, Rabbit leaned forward curiously and snatched the key from Alistair with dexterous fingers. "What's it open?" she asked as she inspected it.

"The mother said it opened a cage at the edge of town, and I could do with the contents within as I saw fit," he replied. "A bit cryptic, if I do say so, but worth looking into."

Rabbit gazed at him, her head tilted to the side, and then gestured behind her to Sten. Alistair's eyes widened as though he had only just noticed the giant qunari standing with them. "I think the cage she was talking about was his," Rabbit explained, "so it's useless as a legless ox."

"What," Alistair drawled, having recovered quickly, "do you know some magical lockpicking spell that just opens any door?" He made a wide gesture with his arms. "Wave your hands and 'Poof!' The world has nowhere to hold you."

Rabbit stared at him strangely. "I bashed it with a brick," she stated, and Alistair blushed again.

"A woman of many talents indeed," Alistair muttered before resuming his blatant staring at Sten. Sten ignored him without any obvious effort.

"Well," Luka said slowly in the silence that followed. "We're not getting any less hunted, so maybe we should keep going?" Everyone jumped back into action, following him again with the expectation that he had any clue what he was doing.

The group reached the edge of the village with no trouble but found themselves attacked by another group of bandits just as the little town began to fade into the distance. This group was even easier to kill than the previous one, especially with Sten cutting down enemies in one swing of his greatsword. The battle was over so fast that Rabbit had not even needed to use magic.

Killing this group, apparently, had saved two dwarves with a large caravan of goods. In thanks, the older dwarf, introduced as Bodhan Fedic, and his son Sandal offered to join the group for protection on the road in return for discounted goods. Rabbit eagerly agreed, barely checking if anyone else had an opinion, and immediately stashed her supply pack into the wagon so that she only had to carry her satchel. The others quickly did the same.

Luka used some of the money left to purchase tents for the group, delighted that they would no longer have to sleep in the elements anymore. They had been lucky so far, as it was still spring and they had not had rain since the battle at Ostagar, but summer would bring muggy downpours. With the two dwarves in tow, they would not have to worry about lugging around everything they needed to survive as they traveled all day.

In a far better mood, the group continued north but barely made it a few hundred feet when soft footfalls caused them to halt. Morrigan held up her staff, the flame at the end shining like a torch to help them see in the dimming twilight. Someone was approaching them at a jog, only one person from the sound of it, but everyone drew their weapons just in case.

When their follower finally got into the range of Morrigan's light, Luka recognized her as the Chantry sister who had helped him earlier. Gesturing towards the others to stay back, he whispered, "I know her," and walked over to meet her.

The woman stopped and smiled at him gently. She was no longer wearing her robes but instead had well-fitted leathers, a longbow and quiver, two wickedly-sharp dirks, and a large pack. "Hello," the woman said in that lilting Orlesian accent of hers. "I apologize for my sudden appearance, but you are the Gray Wardens, non?"

Luka did not reply. The drunkard in the tavern had already identified him as such, but he would neither admit to it nor point out his fellow Wardens if they were all being hunted.

The sister was unbothered by Luka's silence and the veritable armory that was pointed at her by the others. "Ah, where are my manners?" she cried, and gave Luka a graceful nod. "My name is Sister Leliana, and I would like to join you against the blight."

"…Why?" Luka asked, having not expected that request.

"The Maker told me to," she replied animatedly. "I had a vision where I saw a great darkness spreading over the land, but—"

"Okay, enough," Luka said before she could continue. "The 'why' doesn't really matter."

And, more importantly, Luka did not want this woman to gain a reputation of insanity if she really was going to join them. He personally could believe in visions, or at least that people took dreams and made them into visions as he suspected this Sister Leliana had, but most people would immediately conclude 'crazy' the moment Maker-given hallucinations were introduced.

"Can you use those weapons?" he asked.

The woman smiled mysteriously and nodded. "I have not felt Andraste's love for the whole of my life," she explained. "Suffice it to say that the Maker has given me a wide range of talents."

Luka turned back to the group expectantly, and though no one looked thrilled at the prospect of letting the sister join, no one openly rejected the idea. "Fine," Luka said to the sister. "So long as you can carry your own weight, we'd be stupid to reject any help offered."

"Maker be praised!" the woman breathed, the smile on her face stretching wider. Luka heard Rabbit sigh deeply.

Rabbit waited for Luka to reach her and leaned to the side to murmur into his ear. "Brilliant job," she grumbled. "Not only is she crazy, she's Maker-obsessed and, most importantly, an Orlesian."

Luka puffed out a laugh as they set out again. He could hear Leliana integrating herself into the group, asking for introductions and only receiving one from Alistair. Morrigan seemed even more disdainful than usual, completely ignoring the sister's presence. When asked for his name, Sten replied with a simple "No," which swiftly ended that conversation. Having no one else to turn to, Leliana took her place by the blushing Alistair.

Perhaps Lothering had been a dismally ordinary town, but they had found some odd volunteers there—from a pair of strangely enigmatic dwarves, to a stoic qunari and a Chantry sister with a vision. And Luka had thought that Rabbit was the strangest creature he had ever met.

With that reminder, Luka gently butted Rabbit on the shoulder, and she grinned at him, happily falling into a story about how she had "turned a mob of villagers with pitchforks into a timid baby nug facing a Great Bear" when they saw she had magic, all the while bouncing on her feet and twirling the rose in her hair that she had stolen from Alistair. Maybe Rabbit was still the strangest creature he had ever met, but Luka admitted to himself that his standards of oddity had changed greatly.