Slowly, Arissa and Alistair moved across the clearing. Morrigan still held Kieran tightly, and she looked across her son's shoulder, thanking Arissa silently with shining eyes. As she recognised the man next to her, however, her eyes narrowed. Morrigan drew herself up, still holding Kieran protectively, and her eyes hardened. 'Ser Alistair,' she said coolly. 'Tis a pleasure, I'm sure.' Alistair looked at her, his gaze sharpening at the protective way she grasped Kieran's shoulders. 'Morrigan.' He gestured to the boy. 'He's missed you a lot.' The Witch's eyes softened as she looked back down at her son. Kieran gazed at her adoringly in return. Arissa sensed the impending discussion, and quietly moved away to let the two talk.
The two spoke quietly and at length, and Arissa had started to think she had been forgotten about when Morrigan called her name. 'Inquisitor Lavellan! Please, join us.' Arissa walked over, and Kieran took her hand. She squeezed it gently and Morrigan smiled. 'I have agreed on a safe haven for Alistair and Kieran to reside. Once my duty to Moth – to Mythal is done here, I will join them. We'll make our plans from there,' she informed the elf. Alistair nodded in agreement. Arissa tilted her head at him, ears twitching. 'What about Aurelie?'
'I will find a way to let her know,' he answered firmly. 'Anora still owes me a favour from back in the day – I'll make sure a message gets sent.' Arissa smiled. 'Well, if she crosses my path, I'll be sure to send her your way,' she promised in return. The Grey Warden grinned, and proffered his hand to Kieran. The boy took it happily, and the two walked away to play in the grass, leaving Morrigan and Arissa alone. The two women watched them, a proud smile playing upon the Witch's lips.
'He is more like Alistair than I would care to admit,' she said softly. Arissa smiled. 'Alistair has been a good father to him, Morrigan. More than you would have given him credit for.' Morrigan nodded slowly. 'Perhaps I misjudged him,' she said. Then her eyes cleared, and she looked sharply at Arissa. 'So. You have fulfilled your end of the bargain. I suppose 'tis my turn now.'
She took a breath, and Arissa shivered slightly with anticipation. 'The elf you know as Solas has been busy indeed, in his time away from the Inquisition. I could not tell you his current whereabouts, but aside from his spell in Skyhold, he spent much time within the depths of the Brecilian Forest. What for, I could not say.' She thought for a moment. 'I visited there, when I fought during the Blight. There was a pack of lycanthropes – we cured them, and they chose to remain with the Dalish camp there.' She smiled knowingly. 'Perhaps he wished to visit them. At any rate, that is where I would suggest you begin your search.'
Arissa nodded, then stopped, a question in her eyes. 'You said last time that you knew about his actions in Skyhold.' She hesitated. 'Please…tell me what happened. I barely remember anything.' Morrigan looked at her, then raised her eyes to the heavens. A muscle twitched in her jaw and she shook her head violently. Arissa watched her. It seemed like Mythal was trying to override her decision. 'I promised!' Morrigan spat, and her mind seemed to calm. She refocused on Arissa. 'You tried to jump,' she said sharply. 'Solas had been watching through an eluvian. Somehow, he managed to break through. He was the one who saved you from falling. Not Cole.' The revelation sent Arissa reeling backwards. She struggled to remain standing, and Morrigan placed a hand on her shoulder, firmly, keeping her upright.
'He was there…' Arissa whispered. 'Why did he leave me?' Morrigan shrugged. 'I could not say. Perhaps the time was not right. At any rate, Solas attempted to leave by the eluvian I left in Skyhold, and Leliana was unfortunately in the wrong place at the wrong time. You were quite right, Inquisitor; the spell used was beyond Solas' power.'
Morrigan suddenly stepped back, her eyes sad. 'I wish I could tell you more, Inquisitor, but I'm afraid that is all I know. Indeed, 'tis all I can say.' As if sensing his impending departure, Kieran ran back to his mother, hugging her tightly around the waist. 'We will come back soon,' he promised to her, and Arissa was touched at the conviction in his voice. Morrigan hugged her son to her, before looking at Alistair. As if reading her mind, Alistair joined in, his enmity with Morrigan put aside for the sake of his son. Arissa stepped back, letting them say goodbye.
Finally, Morrigan broke away from the hug. 'Alistair, it's time Kieran had something to eat.' Her voice was muted, and it wasn't hard to see she was struggling to hold back tears. Kieran looked at her, but did not protest. He knew enough. Gently, Alistair took his hand. 'Come on, son,' he said, and led him away. Arissa stayed a moment more. 'Thank you, Morrigan,' she said softly, and the witch nodded. 'I just hope that fate will play kindly upon us all.'
Back at the new campsite, Arissa related news of Solas's journey to the Brecilian Forest to her friends. They looked crestfallen. 'The Brecilian Forest is literally on the other side of Fereldan!' Sera complained, and for once Seeker Pentaghast agreed with her. 'It is an absurd distance to travel,' she said, and Arissa flushed. 'I'm aware of the distance,' she replied harshly. 'But it's the first solid lead we've had on Solas for six months.' She was still shaken by the truths Morrigan had revealed. It had been Solas who saved her. Something niggled at the back of her mind. A whispering. 'All that time ago…' It was as if Solas was right there, whispering in her ear. She shivered, but a tiny smile traced her face. He had saved her. He still cared for her. She turned back to her friends, certain this was the right decision.
'We go back to Skyhold.' Everyone froze. 'Well, I don't. I will go to the Brecilian Forest on my own.' Cassandra's jaw dropped. 'Arissa, are you totally, completely insane?' Varric asked, incredulous. 'You are not going anywhere without us.' Arissa looked at them all. 'You don't want to go all the way there, and I do understand that. This is my mission, not yours. You all have lives to get back to,' she replied, and no one could deny the truth in that. Sera broke the awkward silence. 'You're the flaming Inquisitor, Quizzy, so you can't use that trick on us. I don't know about you lot, but I'm up for a bit of 'Dalish Living'.' She made quotation marks in the air as she said it, and Arissa grinned. Varric nodded. 'Tough love, Tiny. You're stuck with us.' Arissa turned to Cassandra. She alone still looked doubtful. 'If you want to go back to Skyhold, Cassandra, you know that you are always allowed to.' Cassandra shifted from foot to foot. 'I don't want to go back,' she admitted, 'But I am worried about the Inquisition. I am worried about Leliana, and Josephine and Cullen as well.' Arissa moved to stand in front of the woman, her eyes dark with concern. 'Cassandra,' she said softly, 'I understand. It's really, truly okay.' Cassandra looked at her, gleamings of hope in her eyes. 'Are you sure, my friend?' Arissa nodded, and hugged her tightly. 'Totally sure. Please, please, look after yourself.'
She released Cassandra, and the Seeker gathered her items. The party watched as she mounted her horse, and she looked one last time back at Arissa. The Inquisitor waved. 'Give my love to all of them,' she called, 'And the best of luck to you,' Cassandra called back. Then she kicked her horse into a canter, and began her long trek back to Skyhold.
It was just the three of them left, then. Sera, Varric and Arissa. She mentally began to strategise – they'd have to avoid outright confrontation. Stealth it was. She surpressed a sigh. Stealth wasn't Sera or Varric's strong point. There was a cough from behind her and Arissa turned to see Alistair standing awkwardly. 'Kieran wanted to speak to you.' Arissa dropped to her knees to address the boy. 'What is it, Kieran?' The child took a deep breath. 'I want to go with you.' Arissa's eyes widened. She looked up at Alistair, who seemed equally concerned. 'Kieran…' she began gently, and he stamped his foot in response. 'I won't be any trouble! I'm the son of the Witch of the Wilds! And a Grey Warden! I can help!' His voice rose to a shriek and Alistair shushed him. 'Kieran, enough. Go and find some food in my satchel.' Son glared at father, before storming off. Arissa rose, looking at Alistair. He sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.
'I completely understand that you can't join me,' she said, and Alistair held up a hand, thinking. Arissa frowned. Surely he wasn't considering Kieran's proposal? She voiced as much to him. 'I'm not…entirely…sure that he doesn't have the right idea. I mean, yes, he's a child, but he's Morrigan's child. He's different from the start. That's got to count for something – it isn't as if he hadn't been on the run his whole life. And I'm a Warden. A fighter. I could help you, too.' Alistair explained, and nodded several times. 'Yes, I think that would work.' Arissa's stomach dropped. 'No,' she replied firmly. 'You can't come with me! Kieran is a child – what would happen if there was a fight? He would be in danger every single step of the way. Morrigan would have both our hides.' Even as she spoke, she knew he wouldn't be convinced. Alistair smiled cheekily, and Arissa threw her hands up in defeat.
'Fenedhis!' She looked at Kieran, then back at Alistair, seething. 'Fine. If you really feel this is in Kieran's best interest, then fine. Just make sure he is safe beyond all else. He is your priority.' She spun on her heel and walked away, calling to Varric and Sera about dinner. Alistair's hands twitched with excitement. Back on the road. Oh yes.