If he thought he'd play the second to Alistair like Gorim was to him, he was wrong. It's been two days and the human never so much as look at the road to watch for danger, still moping about Duncan. Thorin tried asking him more about the Wardens, their headquarters, their outposts, the group structure, how are they supplied, how they communicate, how they deal with the locals and about Lothering, but all he got were mumbling answers. He left him in his moping, instead directing the others to watch for darkspawn, rally the stragglers, set up a perimeter when they had to rest (Neria particularly need that. She had never walked so far before so she had to be carried most of the time by Brosca. So exhausted was she that she looked dead) and draw a watch. Some of them resent him for that, Brosca particularly. The dwarf looked at him insolently, like the casteless he is, but as long as Brosca doesn't act on it, he ignored it. On top of that, he had to deal with possible desertions. Some of them looked ready to bolt, like the aforementioned Brosca and most especially, Elissa. She still thought about searching for her brother in the Wilds, and any cross word would probably push her to it. Mahariel is no better. Easy to tell she wants out, as she kept her distance and glared at anyone trying to approach her.
Thankfully, they were out of the Wilds and on the road to Lothering.
There was a barricade made of broken carts and some men idling about. One of them spotted them and tapped his friend's shoulder. "Wake up, more travelers to attend to. Led by a dwarf, oddly enough," as Thorin came near. More bandits came behind the carts.
One of them looked over the bloodstained armors, the heavy weapons and the wild look that spoke of battle and said "Er…they don't look much like them others, you know. Uh, maybe we should let them these ones pass."
"Nonsense!" his friend replied. At their approach, he said "Greetings, travelers!"
"Highwaymen. Preying on those fleeing darkspawn, I suppose," Alistair whispered as he put a hand on the hilt of his sword.
Finally, the boy's senses came back.
"They are fools to get in our way. I say we teach them a lesson," said Morrigan, her staff raised.
"Now, is that any way to greet someone?" said the bandit, in an insulted tone. "Ten silvers and you're ready to move on."
"You should probably listen to your friend, there. We're not refugees," Tabris replied.
"What did I tell you? No wagons and this one looked armed!" said the observant bandit.
"The toll applies to everyone, Hanric. That's why it's a toll, not a refugee tax."
"Wait, you're toll collectors?" Elissa did not catch what Alistair said.
"Ye-es, we do that. We use what we collect to repair the bridge. "
She looked dubiously at the dilapidated road. "You don't make a good job of it."
The man shrugged. "Everyone's still gotta pay. So ten silvers?"
"I'm sorry. We haven't got the money, have we?" she asked the others.
"You still gotta pay though," he replied, eyeing her figure.
Neria's temper flared. "Do you really want to fight Grey Wardens?"
"Did she say Grey Wardens? Them ones killed the king!" one of the bandits said, a trembling finger pointed at them.
All of them blinked at his words.
The leader looked them over one by one. "Traitors to Ferelden, I hear. Teryn Loghain put a bounty on any who are found. What do you say, gents? With that king of bounty, we can retire. Let's be heroes to our Kingdom!" said the bandit leader, drawing his sword.
Clearly Someone was skimping on the intelligence when He made his creations.
When the last bandit fell, Tabris and Brosca set to work rifling through the bandits' pockets for any valuables. Elissa saw what they were doing, and huffed. "Stealing from the dead? That's not very honorable of you, is it?"
"Well, it's not like they're going to be needing it anymore," Tabris said, as he pulled a pouch of coins from the dead man's pockets.
"That is true. The dead do not concern themselves with material possessions. And besides, we must care for our own," Mahariel said, as she walked past the stunned Elissa and promptly snatched a necklace from the dead bandit's neck.
Meanwhile, Neria was kicking the lead bandit's body, screaming curses.
"You!-"(kick) " worthless!-" (kick) "stupid!-(kick) "idiot!-kick , who (kick) you calling (kick) traitor(kick)?! We didn't (kick) get chased by darkspawn (kick) so idiot scum- like you-(kick) can call us-(kick)- traitor !
"Neria, stop kicking that. You'll break your foot," said Tabris mildly, holding up an amulet to see if the stone is worth anything.
Neria stopped, looked at him for one moment, then started beating the corpse with her staff, still yelling her head off.
Thorin frowned at the whole scene. He didn't approve looting either, but then he have got out of the Deep Roads wearing a dead man's armor. And they're not going to receive any help from Weisshaupt anytime soon, if he understood Alistair's mumbling replies correctly.
"You heard that didn't you? Teryn Lo-well I shouldn't call him that, he doesn't deserve the title- Loghain called us traitor and put a bounty on us!" Elissa said to him.
Amadeus was trying to wrestle the staff from Neria, yelling "Are you mad? That's a magical object, not a stick!" Tabris and Brosca have moved on to the barrels and crates.
"He's clever. Put the blame and a bounty on the witnesses and desperate people would murder them before they can speak in their defense. With a bounty, the whole country will be watching for us without him having to spare men to hunt us down. It's best then we don't go around announcing we're wardens." The dwarf answered Elissa, still frowning at the scene.
Neria was able to wrest her staff and started beating Amadeus instead. He put up a shield, but not before Neria had scored some hits on his head.
Elissa waved her hand in front of her, as if waving away a bad smell. "I don't understand how you can be so calm about all of this. The one who abandoned the battle and left the king to die is calling us a traitor. If there is a traitor, that's him. The nobility won't keep quiet if they knew the truth. We should go to Denerim, clear our names."
Tabris called out to Neria, saying she should check the pocket of the bandit leader. She did as he asked, then with a whoop, she pulled out a heavy money pouch, shaking it. By the sound of the coins clicking together, there must be a hundred silvers in it.
Going to Denerim would be a terrible idea. Might as well surrender now and save the trouble of having to walk there. "Aren't you going to look for you brother?" Thorin asked.
Elissa covered her face with her hand. "Oh dear Fergus. I forgot about him. I thought you'll be looking for him. Well, we should go to Denerim after we find him." She paused, looking around at her companions. "This is so terrible, everyone blaming us for something we didn't do."
Thorin gave a sidelong look at her. You don't say.
"Ah, Lothering, pretty as a picture" Alistair commented, his first cheerful comment of many days, as he gazed at the town below, his companions joining him on the landing beside the old Tevinter Road. Lothering is just like any typical small town, a few huts here and there, fields of crops and pastures and a Chantry far off. Although now, it's full to bursting with an encampment erected by refugees before it, drawn to the town as the Wardens were.
Unfortunately for him, some would rather be the dark clouds on a sunny day. "Ah so you decided to rejoin us, haven't you? Falling on you blade in grief seems too much trouble I take it?" Morrigan jeered at Alistair.
"Is my being upset so hard to understand? Have you never lost someone important to you? Just what would you do if your mother died?" Alistair shot back, angry now.
"Before or after I stopped laughing?"
"Right. Very creepy, forget I asked."
"That's very mean of you Morrigan. Leave him alone," Elissa said to the witch.
"But how can I? He is right there, speaking, eyes wide like a brainless calf."
The brainless calf is definitely bellowing now.
"Oh, so this is the part where we're shocked to discover why you've never had a friend in your entire life."
"I can be friendly when I desire to. Alas, desiring to be more intelligent does not make it so."
"If you two done snarling at each other I suggest both of you think hard about where to go from here," Thorin snapped. He had been dealing with the moping and the snide comments all the way from the Wilds and he's finally had enough.
Alistair recalled himself. "You're right. I've been meaning to ask you about that. These treaties, have you looked at them?"
He had not. During their flight from the Wilds, he had too many things to think about while some people moped. Luckily, they had a pickpocket who was bored during the forced march and decided to amuse himself by stealing from the distracted.
"They say something about some deal the Grey Wardens have with the Circle of Magi, the Dalish, the Arl of Redcliffe and Orzammar," Tabris said, unfurling the treaties, while Thorin searched his pockets and came up empty.
"That's basically it. I think Arl Eamon is our best bet for help. We might want to go to him first," Alistair said, as Thorin snatched the papers out of Tabris' hands and glared at the elf.
"If you say so. Then, lead on." Thorin said, pocketing the treaties, then he stepped aside to make way for him.
The group looked at Alistair, waiting for him to move.
"Why-Why are you looking at me?" Alistair said to them, panic flitting over his face.
"You're Senior Warden," Thorin pressed. He may be younger than him and more inexperienced, but he is still senior in rank.
His answer only moved the ex-templar close to a breakdown. "I-I can't deal with this. I don't want to lead! I don't want the-the-now that Duncan's dead."
"Alistair, I know their deaths were hard for you. But they would want you to continue their mission. You have to stop the Blight and not let their sacrifices be in vain," Thorin said to him, gently but firmly. This is not the time to fall apart now.
"I know. But I can't lead! I don't know how to do that," Alistair replied, visibly shaking. Then he looked at Thorin. "You can, though. You lead."
"Wait a soddin minute. Why're ye leavin it up to him?" Brosca nodded at Thorin, who was looking at Alistair.
"You had a better idea?" Thorin asked Brosca, wearily.
"Yea, I gotta idea. Yer not the boss of us"
"Considering he practically led us in the Wilds, the tower siege and the flight from Ostagar, I think that makes him the leader," Amadeus pointed out. He had no problems about Thorin taking charge, since he knew more about what to do while none of them, including Alistair thought about anything beyond immediate problems.
"Aye he did all that but we've got Senior Warden here, not a recruit same as us." Brosca just didn't like working with nobles, unless he got paid for it.
Alistair held up his hands. "Don't look at me. I don't know where we should go. I'll do whatever he decides."
"Now that is unsurprising," Morrigan sneered.
"Morrigan…" Thorin began, a warning in his voice.
Elissa said quickly, "I think if you've got a problem with him leading, I suggest we take a vote, like in a Landsmeet."
"Yea, let's soddin vote. I say nay to him as boss."
"I vote yes," Elissa said.
"Amen to that." Tabris added.
Neria shrugged. "Don't care, as long as it's not the "brainless calf"."
"Hey!"
"He is competent enough. I shall permit it." Mahariel said, looking at Thorin with those gray-green eyes untroubled like a forest river. She'd still desert given the chance, though.
Morrigan harrumphed. "Oh you and your little trifles. Very well, I shall follow him. At least he doesn't look foolish doing it"
"We're not askin ye."
"Well he did lead us rather well," Amadeus admitted.
"So, Thorin will lead then," Elissa said as Brosca muttered "Son of a nug. Yer all gone soft in the head."
Thorin straigthened the crumpled treaties. "So here's what we're going to do. We'll resupply here then enforce this treaties while making sure Loghain never caught up to us." Instead of questions or protests, they were awfully silent.
He looked up and looked at them all, surprised.
"We don't want you to think we're cowards or anything," began Tabris "but…we're not exactly cut out to stop the Blight. We're just…" he looked at them all and knew that he didn't know much about his companions- "we've just met days ago. You saw what happened to the other Wardens. They were all killed by the darkspawn and we barely got out the tower ourselves."
He turned to Morrigan and said "Morrigan, we appreciate it if you watch for the road to Lothering."
"Why must I be the one to-"the witch stopped as she thought more about it "-if you want me gone while you talk among yourselves, you need only ask, not invent some flimsy excuse."
"Please."
The witch looked at the dwarf for a moment then shrugged. "As you wish." She walked away from them and went to watch on the steps down to Lothering, out of earshot.
"She's no fool, that one" Tabris commented.
They watched her go then Elissa spoke to Tabris. "Are you really saying that? You're going to leave?" She looked at them one by one, disbelief in her face when most of them agreed with Tabris rather than her. "Why are you doing this? You weren't like this when we went to the tower."
"What changed is that Duncan died. Before, we followed because we had someone who knew what they were doing. But Duncan is dead, and…we don't exactly know each other. I mean, we're just recruits days ago. None of us-except you Thorin-has been in real combat before."
Elissa looked at Thorin to see if he will contradict Tabris, but the dwarf stayed silent. So she asked them "Don't you owe something to Duncan at least?"
"Duncan's dead and we might end up the same way if we just go about this without thinking first," Amadeus cut in.
Elissa shook her head at them all. "I can't believe this. I can't believe you're all….cowards."
"Ain't no coward. Is bein smart, that's all."
Mahariel said "I admit it is rather difficult to stop the Blight with no allies, no other warriors and with this shemlen lord hunting us down."
"We can barely kill an ogre. But you think we can fight the Archdemon?" Tabris added.
Elissa pleaded with the dwarf. "Thorin, do something. Anything."
"What? Knock their heads about? Yell myself hoarse?"
"You too?"
Thorin let out a sigh then said. "We're Wardens. There's no taking that back. We vowed to fight the darkspawn, whether it was our choice or not. However, what we can choose is how we go about fulfilling that duty." He looked at them in the eyes, reminding them that they may run now, but they can never outrun the Taint that is in them. "Alistair here said we can stop the Blight ourselves. There is another option. You can cross the border to Orlais, regroup with the Orlesian Wardens. They would know how to stop the Blight and kill the Archdemon."
The others brightened at his suggestion. Elissa, however, stared at him in shock and disbelief, muttering "I can't believe this. You of all people.."
"However, I want you to know what will happen if you leave. All of this-he gestured to the town and surrounding area- "will be overrun by darkspawn, just as it did in Ostagar. Because there are no wardens left here to stop them. You saw how fast the darkspawn troops move. The people left here will die, and this country will turn to rot, because when you arrive with the Orlesians, it will be too late. Now, I'm asking you: can you live with that?"
The others stayed silent as they thought about the fact. Then Tabris spoke softly. "Our choices really suck. All right, we'll fight." He later muttered to himself "Shit, we're going to die."
"Aye." No point for Brosca to go alone. Either they all go or not at all.
"Whatever."
"Fine." Amadeus has a plan for his life and he figured it probably won't work with the Orlesians.
Mahariel just nodded. Thorin left them a moment to feel the enormity of their decision before continuing where he left off. "We will resupply here in Lothering. We'll be splitting up, gather information. Know anything that will help us. Ask the people for news from the battle, which roads are safe, which people can help us and which will likely kill us. I want to know more about this bounty. I don't want surprises like this one," he said, nudging the dead bandit by his boot-"and do that while not giving away that you're wardens. Also, buy some food and see if you can find any armor. Use what you got from the bandits-" a collective groan of dismay went around "-I am serious. Use that to buy supplies. Then we'll meet up here come sundown and then we'll talk about where we're going. "He looked over them all. "Are we all clear?"
The group murmered their assent. "Soddin orders. I hope yall don't regret makin him boss," Brosca muttered.
"Find out some news of my brother for me." Elissa said to Neria and the others.
"And whatever you do, don't start a fight"
