"I just didn't sleep well," she sat up, rubbing her eyes.
"Are you sure? You looked a little flushed yesterday," he asked.
"Oh, that," Temene grinned slightly. "Apparently everyone at camp can, um, hear us when we are intimate. For their sake, we might want to keep it down."
"Oh," Alistair blushed. "I guess I haven't been paying attention to that. Do you think we should, um, announce our relationship?"
"Let's keep them guessing for a while longer," she smiled.
"Like right now?" he asked deviously, kissing the side of her neck.
"Not now," she giggled loudly as his lips tickled her.
Morrigan could be heard groaning outside, which only caused Temene to laugh more as Alistair licked her neck. "I think we've annoyed Morrigan enough," she added. "Now let me get dressed. They'll be more time for that when we aren't hunting werewolves."
She shooed him out with a kiss and dressed quickly. She climbed out of her tent and saw her companions waiting for her. "Um, I've found a way past the barrier," Temene announced, trying to move attention for their late start. "I ran into, er, stepped on a talking tree. Some hermit stole his acorn and if we get it back, we can get past the barrier."
Even as it came out of Temene's mouth it sounded ridiculous. Her companions looked on her with confusion and slight concern for her mental condition. "I swear I haven't gone mad, the talking tree was here somewhere," she added in a defensive tone. "It was somewhere around camp. Elder Tree, where are you?"
"I didn't think elves really talked to trees," Sten grumbled.
"No, it's here, I stepped on one of its root," Temene looked around, but saw that most of the trees in the area had gnarled roots. "Hello?" she called out.
The Elder Tree eventually stirred, shaking leaves onto Temene. "Have you yet returned with my precious acorn?" the tree asked.
"Not yet, I just wanted to make sure um," Temene replied. "Where is the man who stole the acorn?"
"I know not where the thief has camped, but search the trail well tramped."
"A talking, rhyming tree?" Morrigan interjected. "Now I have seen everything."
"We'll be back with your acorn then," Temene replied.
They left the camp intact, not knowing how long it would take to find the tree's acorn. They followed the trail that split into many paths. One was more trodden than the others so they followed it until the found the hermit's hidden camp. It was clear the hermit was a mage gone mad and he didn't relinquish the acorn without a fight.
They returned back to the Grand Oak and presented him with the seemingly harmless acorn. As the acorn dropped into the small notch on the tree's trunk, its bark grew more vibrant and its leaves flourished. The Oak thanked them and welcomed them to stay at camp for another night, quickly bearing sweet fruit for them to share. The party had already wasted half a day searching for the acorn, so they took the rest of the day to relax.
They left at first light the next morning and continued on through the forest, following the foul path of the werewolves. They were savage hunters and left the half-eated carcasses of their prey torn to shreds. The Wardens eventually stumbled onto a large ruin that looked to be the lair of the werewolves. They made camp for the night, setting someone to keep watch at all times, as they slept in shifts. The werewolves didn't dare attack, but they prowled around the edge of camp, searching for trouble.
The old ruins looked to be Tevinter in origin but it was clear that elves had once taken residence inside. There was also evidence of magic in the ruins, as they came across many walking corpses and spirits. Temene found a case of phylacteries and stopped to examine them out of curiosity. The blood inside had all but dried besides one that looked as if it had been recently filled. She picked up the vial and felt the immediate sense of a spirit inside.
She could sense no evil in the spirt but instead desperation and fear. It spoke to her in the lost elven language that she didn't even know but could somehow understand. The spirit was also a mage, but from a lost order of elven Arcane Warriors. The spirit had been trapped in the phylactery by a blood mage many ages ago and longed to be at peace. As Temene smashed the phylactery, the spirit shared all of it knowledge with her. It was so much information at once, Temene's head began to ache and she cried out in pain.
"Are you alright?" Alistair asked, running to her side.
"Yes, I just feel, my head," she mumbled and then collapsed.
Alistair carried Temene back outside to where they'd made camp and laid her down on her bedroll. She appeared only to be dreaming heavily but he could not wake her. He stayed at her side as they made up camp again for the night, delayed once again. It rained through the night, soaking the ground and casting a eerie fog as the Wardens rose in the morning.