Chapter 2

After some quick packing, and some guarantees from everyone else that no one is going to do anything dumb while I am gone and that everyone will take a break to come up with better ideas, Avernus, Barkspawn, and myself head for the surface. I have to remind myself that magic is something that I'm glad I don't have to live without. A trip that would've taken a normal group several weeks to see Soldier's Peak, let alone the sun, took us only a week and a half. We are almost in a more active area of roads so we slow ourselves down to a reasonable speed. It might take us the rest of the day to reach the mountain fortress but it's better than running head first into a farmer's wagon.

As we approach the gates, we are hailed by the poor soul who has guard duty at this time of night. The best part about being the commander is I never have to do this. Upon seeing me, she quickly lets us in. The old man and I quickly agree nothing is getting done tonight and go our separate ways. I pray for blissful sleep but know that probably won't happen. Barkspawn knows it'll be a hard night for me and climbs right into my bed and cuddles real close to me. I wrap my arms around him and prepare myself to confront the dreams.

I had a rather decent night of sleep. Only woke up 3 times because of nightmares and kicked Barkspawn off once. Is it the bed helping? Oh well I can see the sunrise starting so I might as well get up and get some work done while I am at the fort. As I walk to my office, I pass by several other wardens who are shocked to see me back so soon and snap to a salute. I give a half-hearted reply and continue on my way.

The door is open. I expected as much I left Nate in charge and he's such a stickler for this kind of stuff. I jokingly knock on the door, "Mornin Acting-Commander. How goes your job?" When he sees me, he leaps to his feet.

"Commander," He states in alarm, "I wasn't aware you arrived."

"That's fair," I say as I take one of the guest seats for my own, "I got in late last night and was too tired to do much of anything else."

"Is there any specific reason for your visit sir? I thought you'd be down in the Deep until a decision was made. Even then I was expecting a messenger before you'd even return."

"No the meeting, conference, whatever you want to call it, has produced less than stellar results so far. We have called for a break to let cooler heads prevail and more research to be done. I have obviously become rather antsy and since I have yet to apply my own vision of a step forward I am trying to get some inspiration."

"You're packing for a serious fighting trip into the Deep Roads?" he deduces quickly.

"Well… yes," I admit, "Old Blood has volunteered to be the scribe for the trip and is collecting what he needs now. I plan to swing by everywhere else to get the necessary supplies."

"Ah that makes sense. Will you need more soldiers for the venture?"

A child could hear the hesitation with which he asks that question, "I take it recruitment hasn't gotten any better than?"

"No sir. The recruits we get are few and far between. We are still well under 500 soldiers. The war between mages and templars helped with those who want a safe haven from the fighting and while being able to say that you are technically our commander helps, the lack of your presence doesn't inspire much recruitment. Though conversely we are well funded and all non-warden staff is at an appropriate level."

"Well than," I say standing up, "that's at least one problem we can mark off our list. Do your best to make sure we are ready for a sudden burst in recruitment if it happens. I need to take the rest of today to get ready. We will take our leave sometime tomorrow at the latest."

"Before you go Commander, a letter arrived for you from the Inquisition."

"What is the Inquisition?"

"A group founded under the Chantry's banner to stop the war between mages and templars. They want your help with the issue as there might be bigger forces at play."

"Of course they do. We seem to have bigger fish to fry at this point."

"They say that they will gladly help with any issues we might have," I wave in a rather dismissive manner towards him not really feeling dealing with more shem religious nut jobs, "Also the letter is from your sister."

My eyes are wide with interest and a little bit of fear. I take the letter and read through it. My thoughts start moving, 'Hmm, this is a weird time to have a big problem with all this. That massive explosion does pose the idea of a bigger threat. No this weird Calling feeling has to be dealt with first.'

"No I won't be able to help them. I'll send them a letter with my regrets that I am too busy. Send them some useful item with my response though. Once I fix the problem that is taking all of my attention I can personally lend assistance. If anything with Darkspawn happens offer immediate assistance," I tell him handing my hastily written response to him. I'm hoping that the hasty look to the letter will add to my busy nature.

"Of course. I will be here if you need me, Commander," he says returning to his work. I make my way out of my taken office and move to get the things we will need.

My thoughts are rolling with hatred, 'Fuck. The. Rain. Traveling in this will be so much harder.' My boot gets stuck in mud again and at the speed we are going, I fall face first into the mud. I scream bloody murder into the impromptu mud pie. I am reminded of every time I had to do something in the rain something always goes wrong. As a child? A limb breaking and me falling from a tree. As a teenager? Ostagar. I get back up and think about just freezing all the water and just dealing with snow or hail at worst. An idea suddenly strikes me, and my faces breaks into a muddy grin.

With this first attempt is brilliant, insane, and wickedly fun. I rush past Avernus and my dog by creating a perfectly slick patch of ice for me to slide on and using fire magic to accelerate myself forward. With this first bit of innovation, I can feel this trip being a very positive one.