Chapter 13
The next day, they will arrive at Soldier's Peak. Katarina feels a nervous tingle wash over her, an anxiousness she hasn't felt since the company's first night out from Ulstermont. She is less afraid than she was then, but the unknown still worries her. She pushes the intrusive thoughts out of her mind, and focuses on the task at hand.
Sighting her prey, Katarina crouches and unsheathes a small, sharp knife. Placing her basket on the forest floor, she gently severs a stem from an elfroot plant, one of many huddled around an oak tree. She picks leaves from the plants here and there, not wanting to completely strip each one. This find has topped off her load, and she is pleased with what she has found. In addition to elfroot, edible mushrooms, berries, roots, and nuts fill her basket, all safely partitioned from the branch of oily deathroot she happened upon. Hoisting her heavy basket, Katarina started on her way, eager to reach camp before dusk turned into night.
As she moved through the forest, Katarina thought of the pleasant turn of events in the last few days. She had quickly found that she was comfortable around Whil, to some extent, and therefore felt safest when near him. But his duties at camp put her in a quandary: stay alone in her tent for hours as he directed the others, or follow him and mix with the recruits? Boredom eventually won over, and she opted to tag along when he mingled with the others. The first night she opted to stick to his side had proven fortuitous, and she grinned at the memory.
Whil was talking to another Warden about something or another, so Katarina settled herself nearby, on a log near the cooking fire. One of the recruits sent out to hunt and gather for the evening meal had come back with an armful of large mushrooms. As he was slicing them up to cook, Katarina noticed a few of his mushrooms were a strange grey color.
"You shouldn't use those," she pointed.
"Eh? Whyever not? Look, I've got these onions here, they'll be tasty cooked up beside 'em…"
"No, you shouldn't use these ones, the grey ones. You can't eat them."
Alarmed, the recruit sat back from the mushrooms. "They's poison?! Oh, I will have killed everyone!"
"No, they aren't deadly-"
"Well, are they poison or not?" The recruit was growing a bit frustrated. "There's lots to feed and I don't know who you are to be messin' around when there's work to be done."
"They aren't deadly, but anyone who eats them will be…sick, for a day or so."
"Whatya mean, sick? You can't catch a cold from a mushroom!" The recruit waved the mushroom in question.
"She means you'll have the runs, idiot," another recruit chimed in. "Throw those away and leave the girl alone. She's trying to help and you're being a jacka- ahem, excuse me, my lady…you're being a fool."
Katarina allowed herself a small grin, just before Whil, who had overheard a bit of their exchange, burst out into a hearty guffaw. Whil plunked himself down next to her, laughing, as the mushroom-slicer blushed and muttered under his breath while other recruits chuckled. After Whil got ahold of himself, he asked her where she had learned about herbalism, and how much she knew. After a few questions, he excused himself and returned a few minutes later with Horace in tow.
As it turned out, Horace was in need of someone with herbal lore to collect potion ingredients. He was too busy to ever do a thorough search of the areas around camp, and his supplies were diminishing. Katarina felt an unexpected thrill when Horace asked her to aid him by searching out the various components (And anything to add to supper for the others, if you should come across it).
Since then, Katarina had headed out into the forest soon after they stopped to make camp, armed with her large basket and small pruning knife, both supplied by Horace. Whil had come with her the first night, but she had sent him off shortly after they set out, since he was obviously distracted with concern that the recruits were running wild without his supervision. She never ventured too far, and enjoyed the time alone in the trees and meadows.
Upon reaching camp, Katarina made for Horace's tent to hand over tonight's find. As he had every night, Horace praised her for her haul and thanked her profusely for her help.
"I really don't know how I managed without you. Some of the others would bring back this or that, but only a little and usually only because they thought elfroot was rosemary or some such nonsense." Horace's rant earned a small smile from Katarina. "And really, I know we haven't seen any action recently, but you can't imagine the work I do, for people and horses, and not everything can be fixed with magic, much to everyone's surprise. I am sure I will be in even higher demand when we get back to Soldier's Peak tomorrow."
Horace sighed as he sorted and packaged herbs with Katarina's assistance. "There are only two other mages there, and I the only healer. That's why I had to come on this journey before my Joining; I was so desperately needed in case something happened. So, I've been thinking…" Horace's pause caused Katarina to look up from her work.
"In the keep, the other mages and I have a room set aside for us, a stillroom, for making potions and such, and the others occasionally ask for poisons and grenades. We store as much as we can, but I can tell it won't be enough to supply the whole of the Wardens. The mountain cold doesn't allow much to grow, most of the year. I have a plan to make a sort of indoor garden, magically heated, where we could grow what we need and have it year-round."
Horace pointed to Katarina with his shears. "That's where you come in. I've heard that you are planning on staying at Soldier's Peak." He waited for a nod from Katarina before continuing. "You're quite knowledgeable and talented in herbalism, and it would be an asset to us if you'd help manage the stillroom and the garden." He looked up, hopeful. "What do you say?"
To have a purpose felt wonderful, and Katarina smiled. "Of course, Ser Horace, I would be honored."
Horace grinned, happy with their arrangement and set back to work. "You call me 'Ser' one more time, and I'll make sure a very itchy something makes its way into your bedroll."
Whil stretched widely, holding back a massive yawn. He squinted in the dawn's light before hefting his greataxe over one shoulder, rubbing one eye with a fist. The camp was quiet, most still asleep, but Whil had already broken down his tent and prepared his belongings for travel. Whil liked to wake early; it made him feel like he was ahead, like he wasn't going to miss a moment. It was a remnant of his first life, a time when things were so different.
As he had every morning since that time, Whil took advantage of the quiet solitude to remember his past. Finding his horse's tack, he pulled a wooden frame out of a saddlebag. Turning it in his hands, his fingers running over the familiar grooves in the wood, he smiled sadly as he gazed at the drawing held within.
Movement in his periphery captured his attention, and Whil swung his head like a child caught stealing sweets. He wasn't used to having this moment in his day interrupted. He felt his initial surge of frustration decline when he saw that his intruder was Katarina, now petting her horse some distance away, but staring at him with wide, startled eyes. Whil gave a sigh at his silliness, and reluctantly stowed his treasure.
"You didn't do a thing, my lady, just caught me thinking to m'self, is all." He scratched behind his head, reluctant to tell her more.
"I could leave you to it, Ser… I could just take the horses for a drink…"
Whil shook his head. "No never mind that, my lady, I am fine,…besides, camp is up and about now and there's the road to get to."
Katarina nodded, giving Whil a brief smile in that odd way of hers, without really looking at a person. She walked about the horses anyway, gathering reins of half a dozen and leading them toward the nearby stream, knowing they would want a morning drink.
The large man watched her go, and then gave a sigh with a wistful look at his saddlebags. Camp was all but breaking down now, with people all about grabbing breakfast and dismantling tents. Whil picked up his bags and axe, heading toward his horse to saddle up.
Katarina peered at her companion out of the corner of her eye. 'He is unusually quiet today. I wonder if it has something to do with what happened this morning.' She looked back down at the pommel and the reins in her hands.
She found she didn't like that Whil was so quiet. She had gotten accustomed to his stories and their one-sided conversations- he was so very entertaining when he told stories. More than that, she had to admit she was a bit concerned about him. They rode at the back of the group, as was typical, but Katarina couldn't help but think that his lack of attention to the road would have put him there regardless of orders from the Commander. It was nearly midday, and Katarina's worries had grown with each passing hour of silence. She could not remain silent herself any longer, and hesitantly addressed the Warden.
"Ser Whil … are you not well?"
Whil looked up at her abruptly, as though pulled from deep thought. "Hm? Oh, no my lady, I am fine."
Katarina fidgeted with her reins. "Ser… I am sorry about what happened earlier. I know I disturbed you and I did not mean to interrupt your morning custom-"
Whil held up his hand to cut her off. "My lady, you did nothing wrong. I'm just bein' a silly old man, is all."
He did some fidgeting himself before continuing. She might as well know, and she's an understanding sort. Doesn't have anyone of her own anyway, from what the Commander says. He pulled the frame from his saddlebag, thumbing the border.
"I lost my family in the Blight; common enough story, I s'pose. Every morning, I like to look at this, just for a few minutes while I am by m'self." He handed the frame to Katarina.
It was a drawing of three people, one of whom was Whil, his crooked smile copied to perfection. The smile even seemed to reach his eyes, making them gleam in that mischievous way they did in reality. The other two figures where a woman and a female child, both beautiful, both smiling. Katarina realized she was looking at a family portrait. She looked back at Whil, who was watching her study the drawing.
"Your family is beautiful, Ser. And the drawing… it is your likeness exactly." She handed it back to him with a smile. "I am so sorry for your loss, Ser."
Whil grinned back at her, sadness in his eyes. "Ah, thank you, my lady. This is my greatest treasure, now they are gone. We were from Lothering- I was a carpenter, there. Lumberjack too, as I had to get my own wood for orders. When reports of darkspawn came in, a number of us fool men thought to try to defend the town. Thought we were doing a job of it, too, until we heard them comin' in behind. By the time I got back to my house, my two girls were dead."
Studying the drawing again, Whil smiled brightly, much to Katarina's surprise. "My little girl drew this. She was so talented. Just brought it to me at the end of one day, and oh, I was ever so proud. Carved the frame m'self, put it up on the mantle. She called it 'our noble family portrait'. She was a quiet, tame thing, like her mother.
If she were here now, she would have adored you, my lady." Katarina looked up at Whil, questioning. "Oh yes, she would've wanted to hear if you'd met the King, or a prince, and what you'd wear to dances. She'd ask to be allowed to fix up your hair…my little one would spend hours playin' with that mane of yours, if you'd let her. She'd open up to you, because you're kind and gentle, not the type to give yourself airs and whatnot."
Katarina smiled. Whil always did focus on the positive, whenever possible. She could hear the love for his daughter in his voice as he spoke of her, the memories being more important than the fact that she was gone.
"I think I would have liked her, too. But I fear I wouldn't be able to impress her with stories of court- I never had an audience with any kings or princes."
Whil grinned at her again, happier, this time, and turned to tuck away the frame. "Ha! She would've pouted some and switched to askin' for fairy tales. Aye, she was my sweetheart. Always will be. I fought through the whole Blight, with whoever would take me on, just tryin' to protect who I could. When we got the news it was over, and that Ferelden had a new Warden-Commander, I came up north straightaway. Knew I was a bit old to be joining up, but I've always been pretty good with my axe, and well…now I have purpose again."
They shared a smile, and then Whil leaned over in his saddle some, and lowered his voice in a conspiratorial way. "When I first met the Commander, I realized I'd seen him in Lothering, once. By the Maker, he was such a boy then," Whil chuckles, recalling the memory.
"I remember thinkin' to m'self, 'that one won't last long, for all his armor and sword, if he don' stop lookin' at his boots!" Whil gave a great guffaw, slapping his leg, and several riders ahead of them turned their heads at the source of the loud noise.
"Ah, well, he has certainly come along, didn' he? I wouldn' have followed him to the bar for a drink, before, but now I'll gladly give him everything I've got. Good man; honorable sort, and just. Not afraid to get his hands dirty- work alongside his lessers. That's what makes up a leader worth following."
Katarina had listened attentively to all of Whil's tale, but his talk of the Warden-Commander made her unsettled. She was happy that Whil was no longer in poor spirits, and glad he had been able to find a home in the Wardens after the loss of his family, but she could not appreciate Whil's description of the Commander.
Somehow, she had marked the Commander as duplicitous, hiding his true nature until the proper moment arrived, when he could take whatever he desired from his compatriots- specifically, her. She knew she had no evidence to the contrary, yet what kind of man chooses to draft an unskilled, orphaned lady of noble blood into his company? He said had no intention of her becoming a Warden, but then what was his intention? Horace's offer of a position with him was moot; while she was glad to have a role to play, any number of commoners or others in the Warden's employ could help garden and organize a stillroom.
Nothing fit; it just didn't seem to make sense. Katarina refused to believe that the Commander had taken her away from Ulstermont simply to free her from the Bann; it only made more sense that he would take her because she was some kind of useful tool, in some way. Was it her noble blood? Perhaps he wanted to use her to form an alliance, force her to marry someone. Or use the Bann's anger over losing her to gain something from him. Was that he assumed she knew Ferelden politics, had contacts? Or, fear of fears, had he taken her thinking she would ornament his keep nicely, perhaps thinking to pick up the Bann's former role in her life. From what she had seen and heard, there were far fewer female Wardens than males.
Whil now whistled a cheery tune, sitting tall on his horse, a complete reversal of his behavior even a half an hour before. Katarina tried to push these harrowing thoughts from her mind, giving Whil a smile and focusing on the landscape instead. These thoughts about the Commander and her place had cropped up frequently over the course of their journey, but she had tried hard to ignore them. Instead, she tried to live in the moment, listen to Whil's stories, and enjoy the journey for the little adventure it was. She had been quite successful, but the promise of arriving at Soldier's Peak this very day had riddled her shield with holes.