Sorry for the delay! I find myself planning too far ahead instead of focusing on what's in front of me, and "splitting the party" as it were slowed this chapter down immensely. With this, though, we're finally out of Lothering and on the road to the meat of the story.

Leliana

It was Ellie who brought up the obvious issue. "What do we do with them?"

A fair question. I pointedly ignored the feeling that killing them was the safest option. That is no longer me. "You could just send them on their way. I get the impression that you do not mean to linger in Lothering. Whatever they told Loghain would be of no harm."

She considered it. I was surprised that she, as opposed to Alistair, seemed to be speaking for the trio. She may have worn the armor of a warrior, but she still looked shockingly young. The hound, for his part, had decided to use one of the soldiers still on the ground as a cushion. The unfortunate man had tried to extricate himself before a growl convinced him that slowly suffocating was preferable to getting his throat torn out.

Her face lit up. "Better idea." She said, more to herself than us. She whistled to Garahel, who reluctantly abandoned his cushion and trotted to her side. She doesn't need the protection now. A peace offering? The former cushion's desperate gasps for air suggested that she'd saved him, at any rate. She pointed to the leader before pausing, and turning to Alistair. "They tried to kill us. Does sparing them mean we get to tell them what to do?"

Alistair gave her a bewildered look. "Er, yes! Maybe? Sometimes, I guess."

"Sometimes?"

"I haven't exactly been in this situation before, alright? Darkspawn aren't good with the whole 'surrendering' thing!"

She frowned, contemplating, her gaze intent on the floor. A couple of the soldiers saw this as an opportunity to start inching back into the crowd, before stopping dead as she addressed their leader. "You tried to kill us, when all we're trying to do is protect people from darkspawn!"

He gulped and took a half step back. "W-we were just following orders!"

She nodded. "Well, your new orders are to stay here and protect these people from darkspawn in our absence."

I couldn't help smiling. You are worthy of His Gaze.

They, of course, had other ideas. "We can't just desert the Regent! That's treason!" The leader sputtered, gesturing wildly.

Alistair's face flushed. "Loghain's a traitor!" He spat. "He got the King and the Grey Wardens killed! And you're just going to defend him?!"

Ellie flinched and backed away from the two of them. Curiously, it was Alistair she seemed more nervous about.

"He saved us!" Their leader countered. "If it wasn't for him, we'd be rotting in some darkspawn's belly!"

"Better that than leaving us all to die!"

One of the others spoke up. "If that's the case, how'd you get away, eh? You say Loghain's lying, but if you didn't kill the King, then why are you here? If we abandoned him, you did too!"

Alistair looked murderous. Merde. It looks like things might turn ugly again. I shifted behind the leader again and kept my dagger in hand. They'd been forced to drop their weapons the first time around, but it always pays to be careful.

The dull sound of wood scraping on wood cut through the tension. Every head in the room turned to see a wiry man wearing rough hide armor stand up from his table and make his way through the crowd. His unkempt black hair was matched by a shaggy beard, both streaked with grey. His hand rested loosely on the axe hanging at his side. The entire length was covered in small notches, the point that they had begun to overlap.

He reached the leader and looked up to him, dark eyes glittering with contempt. "You'll do as she says." He said, his accent a thick burr.

The leader, not yet accepting defeat, looked down his nose at the newcomer and scoffed. "Who in the Maker's name are you supposed to be?"

The wiry man frowned slightly. "You're a shit officer if you don't know that."

Ellie cocked her head to the side, trying to get a better look. Her eyes widened in recognition when she saw his axe. "An Ash Warrior."

A smile appeared on the wiry man's face, and he gave a little bow. "I am glad that one of the Grey Wardens recognizes us, at least. I am Captain Arratay. Well met" He turned back to the officer, who had grown rather pale. "As for why you'll listen to her, you shouldn't give a thin sliver of a damn what I say about that. Humans are terrible judges of character. Mabari, on the other hand, are peerless." He gestured towards Garahel, who sat up straight at the attention and managed to look dignified and regal enough to pose for a portrait. "A Mabari of his caliber would never imprint on someone who killed their King."

"Er…"

The Ash Warrior's hand snapped out and latched onto the officer's collar, dragging him down to look him in the eye. "As for why you'll listen to me, I'll split your skull in two if you don't do your duty and help these people. I'll be damned if some coddled bootlicker gets to walk away from trying to kill Grey Wardens after I lose half my men and my Mabari to the darkspawn because you and your lot are too cowardly to fight them." He didn't raise his voice, but his words sends a chill down my spine. It wasn't a threat. It was spoken as if it was a fact, like telling a child that they'll get wet if they go out in the rain.

He held his gaze for a moment before shoving him roughly towards the door. "You and your men will camp by the refugees near the western gate. One of my men will deliver the watch rotations by sundown." When they stood there stunned, his expression hardened. His first step galvanized them into action. They collected their weapons and bolted for the door, tripping over each other in their haste. It would've been comical if it wasn't for the corpses still pooling blood on the floor.

Ellie gave him a cautious look. "Er… thank you?"

Arratay smiled and inclined his head. "No, thank you. I've been wondering how in the Maker's name I'll be able to justify leaving. With his soldiers here, we won't have a gap in the guard schedule."

Alistair spoke up. "You're leaving? Why? These people need help!"

Arratay grunted his assent. "That they do. Lothering is just one village, however, and I was at Ostagar. Someone needs to gather the rest of the Ash Warriors, and I'm one of two officers left with the authority to do that. My colleague will have to stay here with the rest of the lads and do what he can."

Ellie frowned. "I thought you were all at Ostagar."

Arratay shook his head. "The King was eager to take the fight to the darkspawn. Only those who were easily mobilized joined the army. The rest are scattered around Ferelden." He glanced around at the patrons, many of whom were leaning in to catch more of the conversation. "We should talk somewhere private. Do you know a place?"

Ellie shook her head. "Not in Lothering."

Arratay grunted again. This one seemed to translate to "of course there's no good place to talk". "In that case, I hope you won't mind camping by the pond to the North. I'll gather the lads I'm bringing with me and meet you there."

Ellie glanced at Alistair, saw no disagreement, and nodded. "We'll be there until dawn."

Arratay waved it off. "We won't dawdle, Warden. Stay safe."

Aegnor

I missed Ellie on my first pass through town. Slightly annoyed, I left Morrigan to keep watch in her crow form while I spoke to the Chanter (a concept that baffles me to this day) and collected all of the bounties. Apparently, they were so impressed with the work I'd done that they thought me deserving of a blade normally reserved for the Chantry's greatest defenders by the name of Oathkeeper. The thought amused me more than it should have. A sword and a bulging coinpurse later and I was in a rather good mood, all things considered. It was at this point that, seeing as Morrigan had yet to find Ellie, I decided to be proactive about the food shortage and recruited some enterprising youngsters from outside the Chantry.

The aforementioned greedy merchant was one who'd bribed me with a sovereign to drive off everyone complaining about his prices. Thankfully, I'd done it after Alistair and Ellie had gone to the tavern, otherwise they might've mutinied. This time, I put his discount to good use, buying useful items in a haphazard manner, inquiring as to his policy regarding slightly used equipment, asking where one could reliably offload such cargo, and forcing him to try and fit me into a suit of armor from his stock before we were forced to concede that I wasn't nearly broad enough in the chest and shoulder. The exchange had been profitable enough for him despite that particular mishap, and he bid me good day in a cheery mood on my way out.

I sincerely hoped that we were out of town when he realized that most of his food stores had "mysteriously" made their way over to the Chantry.

Morrigan found me afterwards. It would have been far more dramatic for her to fly from the tallest rooftop and change shape before my very eyes, but in reality she flew into a discrete alley and poked me to get my attention. "Are you quite finished haggling with him? It is difficult to approach you while you're convincing fools to steal things."

I snorted. "I'm about as fond of these shems as you are, but they don't deserve to be eaten by darkspawn. Hopefully they'll be able to make their way North now that they won't starve on the way."

She sniffed. "And if they mill about like sheep as they have been?"

"Then they die with full stomachs." I frowned, uncomfortable with the mental image. You've done what you can. They have everything they need to save themselves. It was a better chance than Tamlen had.

I shook myself out of my reverie. "Did you find Ellie?"

She nodded, a faint sneer of disdain crossing her face. "I did. She followed a Chantry Sister back to the Chantry, along with Alistair and that hound of hers. They were speaking rather intently with each other."

My brow furrowed as I chewed over this development. A Chantry Sister? What would that accomplish? Did they get roped into speaking with the Revered Mother? Not relishing a spirited debate regarding unsanctioned magic and my own heretical tendencies, I could only hope I could find them before she did. "I'm guessing you have no desire to follow them into the Chantry."

She laughed. "I'm as fond of the Chantry as you are." She said, mocking my earlier words.

I raised an eyebrow. "Then you won't mind waiting for us outside? Excellent."

She crossed her arms and huffed. "That wasn't what I meant, and you well know it. I'll find my own way to pass the time and find you later."

There are many things a woman can do to influence a young man, and with Morrigan's choice of dress, crossing her arms underneath her chest was as effective as one can get. I had no desire to continue the conversation and thoroughly embarrass myself, so I waved her off. "Fine. We'll be out of Lothering before nightfall."

She smirked. "How gracious, oh fearless leader." I didn't bother responding, and started back towards the Chantry, pointedly ignoring how hot my ears had gotten.

Getting into the Chantry wasn't as easy as I expected, what with the crazy Chasind fellow ranting outside of it, but after a few minutes talking him down I managed to be turned away from the building by the Templars who were supposed to be the real doormen in the first place. At the sight of me, the pair of them drew their swords and crossed them theatrically in front of the door. "Hold! This is a place of prayer and salvation for the faithful."

I grunted, trying to keep my mounting annoyance from coming to the forefront. "I can see that. I just need to meet with someone who's inside."

I could hear the sneer in his voice, even muffled by his bucket helm. "And who might that be?"

I gave him a flat look. "That's my business. Now open the door so I can be out of your hair." I waited. Neither of them made any move to do so. Any amusement I may have derived by imaging how tired their arms were getting dried up in the face of getting delayed by two zealots in skirts while country was being assaulted by the literal embodiment of evil. With an irritated sigh, I moved to brush aside their swords and push the doors open myself.

Needless to say, they took exception.

Leliana

My room at the Chantry was plain, even spartan by some standards. A bed, more of a cot, lay in the corner with a chest at the end, crammed alongside the beds of the other lay sisters. It may seem odd, especially now, but that bed was more a home to me than any since.

I sat down and gave the Wardens following a charming smile. "This is better. A talk like this should be private." Ellie's eyes wandered to the Sister's walking in and out, many of them visibly curious. I waved my hand dismissively. "More private than a crowded tavern, at any rate."

Ellie's features tightened, her posture tense. Alistair, not noticing, shrugged and strode off, returning with two chairs. Both sank into them with groans of appreciation, though Alistair's chair groaned in return, having been designed for Chantry Sisters instead of tall, armored warriors.

He smiled, happy to be off his feet. "So who are you, anyway? I've met a lot of Chantry Sisters, and none of them carried daggers! Did they start teaching that after I left?"

I laughed, glad that the man who had spat such venom at the soldier had a sense of humor. I'd half expected him to remain angry for a while yet, but there was no trace of it. "My name is Leliana, and no, I did not learn to carry daggers from the Chantry. Call it a relic of my misspent youth. Many of those who become Lay Sisters have had interesting pasts."

His eyebrows flew up. "Really? Huh. And I always thought that it'd be the Templars with the best stories."

"Oh, some do. People don't expect Lay Sisters to have had their own adventures, however, and it makes the tale much more exciting when you aren't picturing a grim man in full armor." I turned to Ellie, who seemed to be growing more tense by the second. "Is something the matter? I doubt those soldiers will trouble us again, if that is your worry."

She shook her head and took a breath. "I… it's nothing." She was a horrible liar. She breathed in, deeper this time, and let it out in a rush before meeting my gaze. "What do you want, if I may ask? The Chantry doesn't like Wardens, from what I've seen."

I cocked my head. Personal experience, maybe? It might be why she's nervous in a Chantry. "I wasn't aware the two didn't get along. I know the Wardens allow some… unconventional methods, but only a fool ignores the good they can do."

I thought I caught a flash of surprise in her eyes. "You haven't answered my question."

Sharp little thing. I nodded approvingly. "So I haven't. I don't think either of you want to stay longer than necessary, so I'll simply say that I want to help, and after Ostagar you need help."

Alistair's mood darkened after at "Ostagar", and Ellie frowned. "Why would you want to help? Darkspawn are…" She shuddered and clenched her fists, her knuckles whitening at whatever memory she was experiencing. "Darkspawn are not drunk soldiers." She finished, the implication clear.

"I know. I can't say I look forward to seeing them. But when the Maker asks, how can I refuse?"

"What?"

I smiled, though inwardly I was nervous as a new whore, as the saying goes. You should have known they wouldn't just accept, I chided myself. What happened at Ostagar would make anyone wary. "He has shown me my path, and that I must share it with you, Ellerina Amell."

Ellie's chair toppled over as she leaped from it and took several steps back. Alistair rose more slowly. While Ellie's expression was one of shock and fear, his was of suspicion. "How do you know her name? You just met her!"

"I told you, did I not? The Maker would not give one of His children a purpose, only to leave them searching blindly."

"You're saying that the Maker told you my name?"

I sighed. "It's… difficult to explain. It was… I will need to find words for it." I gave a reassuring smile in response to their expressions, one bemused, the other shocked. "It is not faith offer, but more tangible aid, in any event."

Alistair cocked his head. "And if you change your mind?"

I shrugged. "It is easy enough to leave, no?"

He thought about it, then smiled and extended a hand. "Welcome to our rag-tag group of Wardens, then. Sanity is optional-"

Ellie piped up. "Though recommended-"

"-So long as you don't tell Aegnor about the 'vision from the Maker' thing." Alistair finished.

I raised an eyebrow. "Aegnor? Is that a Dalish name?"

Ellie nodded. "He's our… leader?" She finished as if asking a question.

Alistair shrugged. "Close enough. He's not fond of Templars, or the Chantry in general. Many Dalish still haven't forgiven them for the whole 'Exalted March' thing, I guess."

"I can avoid spouting scripture at him, if needs must." Laughing, I stood up and went to the foot of the bed, opening my trunk.

Alistair eyed it dubiously. "Are you going to carry that with you?" I saw his point. While small, it was sturdily constructed and would make for an awkward load.

I shook my head and, with the quick turn of a key, opened it and pulled out the bundle inside. "If he's not fond of the Chantry, then I shouldn't be dressed as a priest, no?" I stood, and suppressed a shiver as I remembered the last time I'd worn it. This will be different. "Give me a moment to get changed, and I'll be with you."

It took longer than I'd thought, my clever fingers used to little more than lute strings now struggling with the myriad buckles and straps needed to keep such a suit functional and in place. I was pleased with the result though, and I walked back to the waiting pai-sorry, trio, I stood taller than I had in years.

Ellie's eyes widened as she saw me before, seeing that I'd noticed, blushing and averting her gaze. What in… oh. I'd forgotten what I was wearing before. A chantry robe, while functional in day to day life, is far baggier than combat apparel. I frowned inwardly. She's wearing a similar set, though… she can't have been a Warden long if this embarrasses her. I pressed on. "Are we ready to leave?"

Alistair, distracted by a conversation with one of the Templars, belatedly turned his head. "What? Yes! We can leave." He addressed the Templar. "Good luck, Ser Bryant."

"You as well, Warden Alistair. I wish I could do more to help."

Before we reached the doors, a muffled thud accompanied by a metallic scrape could be heard, even through the thick wooden planks. I frowned and quickened my step, Alistair and Ellie just behind me, and pushed the doors open.

I wasn't quite prepared for what I saw.

One Templar was already on the ground, his sword some distance away. The other door-guard was swinging wildly at a tattooed elf covered in blood with a shocking mane of red hair, his own sword still in its scabbard. As I watched, he ducked underneath one swing, seized the man by his throat, and slammed him into the flagstones with the loud shriek of metal on stone.

Maker's Breath, what have I gotten myself into?

And there we have it! Leliana's first impression of Aegnor. I'll probably come back at some point and tweak the end to this chapter, but I'm honestly sick of Lothering and glad to leave it behind.

Arratay was borne of my frustration with either killing or releasing Loghain's soldiers, neither of which Ellie or Alistair would do; the former on account of being immoral, the latter on account of being pointless at best and foolish at worst. Both Ellie and Alistair lack the intimidation factor needed to make them stay and help out, and so Arratay came to be. His name and appearance I borrowed from a moderately successful series of novels, and I hope at least one of you recognizes him.

Third, while I'm curious to see how it would turn out, a Dragon Age 2 story to complement this one is unlikely. I might start a drabbles collection to answer some questions, I'm not sure. For those wondering, my Hawke for this story is a Male Warrior who had no romances, dueled the Arishok after Isabela ran off, and sided with the Mages. Both Carver and Bethany survived the Blight, with Carver joining the Templars and Bethany becoming a Warden. And, surprise surprise, Hawke survived his encounter with Aegnor, so no worries about him being dead before Adamant. Poor Varric's been through enough by this stage.

Finally, if you liked it or saw something that could use improvement, leave a review and let me know!