This is the penultimate chapter of Soup. Feels like this has been such a long time, hasn't it? I'll be going away for the next two weeks as of May 18. See you in June!
BioWare designed, built and sold the pond. I am only a fish swimming in said pond.
Yellow
Yuriah
"Are you sure?" she breathed in his ear.
"Why wouldn't I be?" he countered in the same hushed tone.
She shrugged, the movement brushing his chest. "Amaranthine is very far…"
He sighed. "I know. But I need the coin. And I'll be coming back."
She returned the sigh. "I guess so."
"You know you can come, there'll be enough room at Vigils Keep," he suggested hopefully.
"You know I can't leave Father alone. And he would never manage the journey from the Bannorn. Not in his condition." Ah, yes. Old man Shelton's condition. Always a different answer as to what that entailed. One day it might be a fever or joint pain and the next day it could be his left side wasn't working properly.
"All right, you can't come. I'll miss you every day though," he conceded.
She stretched up to plant a kiss on his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow before you leave, right?"
"Of course, I couldn't leave without saying goodbye," he replied with a grin.
She walked back to her house with a grin tossed over her shoulder.
He sighed. He would definitely miss her. But once he came back, they would have the coin to marry. He turned back to his own home to finish preparations.
Y
He woke in the middle of the night after the first scream. Bolt upright in bed, he heard the sound of steel on steel and shuffling feet.
He hesitated for a second to be certain something was indeed going on. Then he leaped into his clothes. He grabbed his hunting knife and peeked out the window of his small, one-room house.
It was still dark. It took a heartbeat to figure that out because the village was burning. Everything outside his window was engulfed in flames. He sprang out the gap in the wall, shouldering the pack filled with his things. He sprinted to the stable. As he pulled open the door, he muttered a quick thanks to the Maker it wasn't a smoldering pile of ash. And that it didn't look to become one. Yet.
He tried to block out the yells of pain as he swiftly threw a saddle on his horse. He thanked the Maker again that he lived far from the main village as he swung up on Dusk. Then he pushed the dappled grey mare into a gallop. They rode over the hill which met the road on the far side. He rode for a day west away from the skeleton of his home village.
Smoke plumed from the south and back the way he had come. Whatever was happening, it was spreading fast.
He rode until the moon rose well into the sky at a more reasonable trot. When he brought Dusk to a halt he slid off her back and rummaged through his pack with numb fingers. He pulled out a small amount of salted meat and bread. He ate while watching his mare graze nearby. He thought they would arrive in Amaranthine late the next day. Where would he go though? He wasn't supposed to even be there for three more days. Well, he'd just figure it out when he got there.
He stumbled into a close by stand of oak trees, leading Dusk. He hitched the mare to a sturdy looking tree and apologized for not removing her tack or rubbing her down. He lay at her hooves and since he was exhausted, fell asleep immediately.
He dreamt of his friends that night. He dreamed that he returned and found their bodies piled high, stretching into the sky. They all babbled about how he ran while they died. The girl he loved watched him with glossed-over grey eyes, unseeing.
When he woke, the sun was barely above the horizon. Dusk was dozing quietly. He ate more bread and let her sleep a bit longer. When the mare woke, he fed her some apples and led her to a stream. He clambered back into the saddle as she drank. When she was finished he pointed her in the direction of the arling and sat back.
He was sore from yesterday's ride and wasn't looking forward to today's. He was also very nervous. Every sound made him start, as though it was those things that attacked his village, come to kill him.
He was relieved when he at last saw Amaranthine as the last rays of sun bled from the sky. He asked Dusk to pick up the pace a little. Soon they were stopped at the gates of the city.
"Where're ya from ser?" the guard asked.
"Village two and a half, three days' ride east along the Imperial Highway," he answered. "We were attacked two days ago now. Woke up and the whole village was alight."
The guard nodded. "Darkspawn're spreadin'. Most're in Denerim now. Don't panic overmuch, Grey Wardens'll clean 'em up. Arl Eamon 'n them're there now." The guard scratched his chin thoughtfully. "What's yer business here then…?"
"I'm supposed to be outfitting the soldiers at the Keep, ser."
"When're ya s'posed to start?"
"Three days from now."
The guard nodded. "An' you'll be stayin'?"
"The Keep ser."
"All right then. Tell ya what. I'll let ya in. You go on up to Vigils an' ya tell 'em whatcha tell me. They'll straighten it all out." The guard stepped to the side.
Dusk pranced forward, dragging him along as he tried to keep a grip on her lead. After he got the mare under control, he led her through the city and up to the double doors that opened to the pathway up to Vigils Keep. There he climbed back into his saddle. The sun was beginning to sink low behind the trees when he arrived in the city, now it pushed the last fingers of light above the horizon. By the time Dusk was turned out with the other horses, the moon had peeked over the land.
At the oaken doors of the Keep, he recounted his story to the soldier there who let him in. "Go in and speak with Seneschal Varel in the main hall," she said.
Varel was a tall and imposing figure in his shining silverite plate. Varel had been rubbing his temples under his messy grey hair when he was escorted in. Now the seneschal was listening intently to the third retelling of the tale. "We would be more than happy to have you start immediately," Seneschal Varel announced afterward.
So he did.
Y
He was promised there would be no more darkspawn when the death of the archdemon was proclaimed. Despite the Grey Wardens who had trickled in since then, that promise was broken. He hid in the dungeon with the Howe prisoner – the pariah – until the Commander of Grey came down the stairs. She smiled politely as he introduced himself. Then he made the appropriate excuses and returned to the main hall to recover his wares.
Y
As the weeks passed, the hall grew crowded. The dwarf from Orzammar who'd arrived a month ago was joined by the apostate, the Dalish mage, Legionnaire dwarf woman, Nathaniel Howe and the spirit-possessed body of Kristoff, whom he had encountered before. He got to know them all in his dealings with them and the Warden Commander.
And then darkspawn attacked again. For five days he feared he would die. He loathed that every promise made to him counted for nothing. The Grey Wardens killed every last one. Again.
Y
A year later, he got the chance to travel back to the site of his home. When he and Dusk crested the hill, he wasn't prepared for the heaps of ash and charred wood that was left.
He wandered, silently weeping for everything lost, through the empty bones of his home for a long time.
As he turned to leave, he spotted a small, yellow flower blooming in her house. "Oh, Susan," he breathed painfully at the sight of the black-eyed susans growing in her room. He sobbed in earnest then and for a long time after departing the shell of life left of his village.
He was told someone was waiting for him when he made his slow way into the Keep. He was tired and just wanted to sleep, but instead of shearing off left to his quarters, he kept on straight to the main hall.
In the time that had passed, Anders and Justice had left. No one had gone after them on the Commander's orders. Velanna – who had disappeared for several months and returned a more peaceful elf for it – and Sigrun were out in the Wending Wood together looking for sylvan bark. Oghren was in Orzammar to see the Shaper and Nathaniel, the Commander and Alistair Theirin were in Denerim for a meeting with Queen Anora. He had the place entirely to himself.
He opened the door. He heard a squeal and felt someone grab him tightly. "Yuriah, you're alive!"
"Susan, I thought you were dead," he laughed in response.
They sat together by the fire and explained how they each survived the darkspawn attack. Susan had gone out for herbs to help her father sleep and had seen the monsters set fire to the village. She had gone to Denerim and arrived after the Grey Wardens and their army.
After that, they went to Yuriah's rooms and spent many long days together. Yuriah was happy for the first time in a long time.
~Yuriah