2 months later...
The time since they cured Eamon flew by. They traveled to the Frostback Mountains and added a golem, Shale, to the group. In Orzammar, they picked up a dwarf, Oghren, while putting a new king, Bhelen, on the throne and destroying one of the most legendary dwarven creations, The Anvil of the Void. The werewolves in the Brecilian Forest had been a surprise. They had all been cured though and the elves had been the last of the groups they needed to gather with the treaties. They also returned to Redcliffe and finally retrieved Sten's sword, before letting Eamon know that they were ready to call the Landsmeet.
And they were working together flawlessly. Each group member was becoming more and more confident and skilled as time passed.
All but Sariba.
Everyday seemed to bring a new challenge. First, she noticed that she was tiring much faster than what she was used to. Every part of her felt like it was swollen. Her appetite, already large due to the taint, had grown even more. Yet almost everything she ate made her nauseous.
She was beginning to get scared. There was only one thing she could think of that could affect her so much. One word, repeating over and over in her head.
It's not possible! There's no way that could happen to me so soon!
She tried not to think it, but couldn't stop.
Broodmother.
She had seen in Orzammar what the taint could do to a woman. The broodmother had been horrifying. But there was no other explanation. No, I won't accept that! There has to be a way to stop it!
Everyday she became more and more terrified of what was happening to her. And beyond that, she was afraid to say anything to those around her. What if she was wrong? She would look like a fool. Maybe it was just the stress of the Blight. And what if she was right? What could they do for her?
Nothing.
All they could do would be to kill her before she became a problem.
She couldn't bear to think of it. As long as she was able to function and defend herself and the others, she wasn't going to tell them.
The next morning, Sariba awoke and knew instantly she needed to leave the tent. As quietly as she could, as to not wake Alistair, she crept from the tent and ran into the woods. When she was confident that she was out of earshot, she doubled over and purged everything she had eaten the day before onto a bush. She made her way to the stream they were camped near and cleaned herself up the best that she could, washing her face and rinsing out her mouth. She walked back to the tent and slipped quietly back inside, sure that no one had noticed.
But someone had noticed; Wynne and Morrigan both.
Wynne had been teaching Morrigan healing magic for some time. The elder mage and the apostate were actually starting to grow on each other. They were walking through the woods collecting plants when Sariba ran by.
"Morrigan, have you noticed anything unusual about our fearless leader lately?" Wynne stopped and turned to her.
"You mean beside her love of that idiot? I guess that isn't really a new development. No, Wynne, nothing out of the ordinary. Why do you ask?" Morrigan knew exactly what was affecting Sariba, but she didn't want to appear as if she had any knowledge of the ailment.
"This is not the first time I've seen Sariba sneak off and get sick. I'm starting to suspect..." Wynne trailed off and started walking again while motioning Morrigan toward Sariba and Alistair's tent.
Silently, Wynne raised her hands and closed her eyes. She sent out her magic and probed into Sariba's body. She was already asleep again so she would not know what Wynne was doing. Slowly, her magic crept through the sleeping Warden, spreading into her stomach and down until... Yes! Wynne found exactly what she expected… a tiny heartbeat. No, there were two!
"Well, Morrigan, it would seem that Sariba is carrying twins!" Wynne was practically jumping up and down with excitement. "They will be thrilled! I cannot wait until they wake up so we can share the good news!"
"Twins!" Morrigan was genuinely shocked at that. She had known that her plan would work, just not that well. Bastard Templar!
Morrigan gave a long pause to make Wynne believe she was only now considering this situation. "Wait, Wynne… do you really think that informing them right now is a good idea?" Morrigan knew that Wynne would eventually find out, and she had already come up with an idea to keep this secret. "'Tis true that they would be overjoyed at the news, I've no doubt, but what else would it do to them?"
"They have a duty to fulfill. If Sariba knows she is pregnant, do you really think she is going to focus on the task at hand? Do you think Alistair would let her? He would do everything in his power to keep her from anything that might harm her!" again Morrigan paused, this time to let her words sink in before she made her final argument.
"And think of the upcoming Landsmeet. We already know what Loghain will do to remain in power; what will he do to Sariba if he finds out she is carrying the Theirin heirs?" Morrigan knew Wynne would do anything to protect the Grey Wardens. She thought of them almost like her children, and she is a much better mother than Flemeth ever was, Morrigan laughed to herself.
"You are right, Morrigan. We can't tell her," Wynne's face fell in despair. "But we need to watch out for her and do everything in our combined power to protect her and the children!"
"I agree, Wynne. Which means we need to continue with our lessons!" Morrigan smiled happily to the older mage. Perfect.
Erlina had provided a good distraction and gave them guard uniforms, but the trip to rescue Anora still felt like a trap.
Sariba and Alistair were accompanied by Morrigan, who never seemed to leave Sariba's side anymore, and Zevran, whose stealth could be of use.
Eamon had wanted Alistair to stay behind with the others and let Sariba go without him to find Anora. Even if he would have considered letting her out of his sight before, he most definitely wasn't going to now. She had been acting very strange lately. One moment she was perfectly calm and the next she was practically ripping heads off. He had never seen her behave this way. All he could think was that the stress of the Blight and losing her family was finally getting to her. And he could only imagine what this next mission might do to her.
Anora was being held by Rendon Howe.
Howe… the man that had murdered Sariba's family.
This could get ugly.
They found Anora, but she was trapped inside of her room by a mage's barrier. They needed to take down the mage in order to break the spell.
They made their way to the dungeon.
The smell was awful. Sariba had to physically work to keep from gagging when they entered the dungeon. A guard approached as they turned the corner but he was grabbed by someone inside of a cell and quickly subdued. The figure unlocked the cell and stepped out.
His name was Riordan.
And he was a Grey Warden.
This was the best news Sariba had heard in a long time. Maybe he will have some more information about the taint!
They sent him back the way they had come and proceeded through the dungeon. They came across other nobles that Howe had locked up and set each one free, securing support at the Landsmeet in the process. It was hard to release Vaughn, but they needed the votes, and he could be dealt with later.
It was a good thing that Sariba had nothing left in her stomach or she would have been sick again. To see what he had been doing to these people… She only hoped that it had been quick for her parents. That they hadn't suffered.
Moments later, Sariba was face to face with the man that had started this nightmare. He was just as ugly as she remembered. After a few spiteful comments about her family, she finally got to fight him for the revenge that she had been craving.
But then he was on the floor bitching about how he deserved so much more and Sariba just didn't care anymore. Looking at him there made her realize how unimportant he really was. Killing him wouldn't bring back her family. It wouldn't make her feel any different. It most definitely wouldn't make her feel better.
He wasn't worth the effort it would take to swing.
She resheathed her sword and turned to leave the room. "Sariba? What..." Alistair looked confused.
"I'm done with him. Just... put him out of his misery." She walked out of the room, leaving her companions in stunned silence. She managed a few steps before she sat down on the floor.
Alistair followed and sat down next to her, taking her hand in his. "Sariba, are you okay? The way you have been acting lately… and now this? You have wanted to see that man pay for the last four months and you just walk away? Why?"
Sariba just sat there for a moment, staring at the wall in front of her. "I realized that killing him wasn't going to change anything," she paused, and then burst into tears. "If I killed him out of revenge, I would be no better than he was!"
Alistair grabbed her and pulled her towards him, wrapping her in his arms and stroking her head. "Its okay, Sariba, I understand. But is that what has been affecting you these last few weeks?"
"I don't know, Alistair. I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't think I want to talk about it right now though."
Morrigan came out of the room and into the hall followed by Zevran, who was cleaning one of his daggers. He nodded at Alistair and Sariba to inform them that it had been taken care of. They made their way back to Anora's room.
It was clear to Morrigan that Sariba's little secret wasn't going to stay that way much longer. Her behavior was starting to become suspicious to those around her. It was a good thing that the Landsmeet would be held soon. Morrigan wanted to tell them as close to that time as possible so that it would be fresh in Alistair's mind.
Meeting Riordan had made her goal even more likely.
There was only one way that all of the parties involved were going to get what they wanted, and Morrigan was determined to make that happen.
Anora was also dressed in a guard's uniform when they released her from her room. The group headed back out the way they came, but were stopped by Ser Cauthrien and a large group of her soldiers.
She told Sariba that she would let the others go if Sariba and Alistair would surrender. Morrigan could see by the look on Sariba's face that she was considering the offer.
Morrigan also remembered what Leliana had told her about her time as a prisoner. What the men had done to her. If Sariba were to be taken to Fort Drakon, Morrigan would not be there to protect her. And there was no telling what kind of torture they could inflict on her.
Or what they would do to her unborn children.
Cauthrien and her guards were still waiting for a response from Sariba when Morrigan transformed into a bear and began attacking the men, swatting them with her paws and ripping limbs off with her teeth.
"I guess we're fighting, then," Sariba said as she and Zevran joined in the fight, leaving Alistair to cover Anora and Erlina.
Morrigan transformed back into her normal form once all of the men were down. Sariba walked over and grabbed her arm, forcing her to look her in the eyes. "What was that, Morrigan? You could have gotten someone killed!"
"I wasn't going to let them hurt you the way Leliana was!" Morrigan yelled back. Sariba's face softened, tears starting to form, and it was clear she realized exactly what Morrigan meant. She embraced Morrigan, who was stunned by Sariba's quick change of attitude once again, but returned the hug briefly before remembering where they were and who was watching, and removed herself from Sariba's arms.
They quickly made their way out of the estate with Anora and her maid. Morrigan led the way so the others wouldn't see the tears in her eyes. No one had ever shown her affection like that before.
The rest of the group followed behind her in silence, but she wasn't surprised to hear Zevran ask Alistair, "What happened to Leliana?"