Hey, been a while huh?
This story lived on in my heart, but life took away my time to write. I had mentally buried this story in the graveyard of WIPs from 2016, until Purplefairy121 commented -four years later- on it in August. I decided to put together another chapter just for them, and if its received well I may continue for good :) Sorry its a bit late, but here it is.
Tabris POV
The Hawke household was nice. Compared to the houses in the alienage it felt like an upgrade. There was no mold on the walls, fire in the fireplace, and a worn but clean rug on the floor. After my limited time in Highever Castle, I bet this feels claustrophobic to Rosa. I have a feeling she has never seen the likes of my home in the alienage. I almost want to show her one day, but at the same time, that feels shameful. 'Remember your luxurious castle? Here's my mold shack.' Plus, I don't know if I want to go back. They'll be better off without me there anyways.
Speaking of, Rosa and Alistair walked back into the house and sat where they were before.
I nodded at them before I spoke, "Okay guys, I know this is rough and all, but we need a plan. We're like, the only Grey Wardens in Ferelden and there's a Blight, I guess? And Loghain wants us all dead. We need some positives to work with here." My hands gently tapped together in a tent shape as I spoke.
Rosa reached into her bag as she replied, "Alistair, Morrigan and I already spoke about this; we planned to go to Arl Eamon and ask for support against Loghain. But to end the Blight, we need to build an army to fight the Archdemon." Placing three scrolls in front of her, she continued, "We have the treaties from Flemeth for that. We can get help from the elves, mages, and dwarves. That should be a big enough army to fight back the Darkspawn... If we can deal with Loghain."
"Oh, okay. Problem solved then, I guess we're good to go. We can leave anytime. We just have to gather an army, easy-peasy elfroot-squeezy." I stood and made my way over to the door. Thank the Maker Rosa had a plan ready to go. I was not prepared to make one.
Zoey chipped in before I could reach the threshold, "We can't just leave the people here, they'll be slaughtered by the horde. We have to warn them and help however we can." The Wardens present considered Zoey's protest, Short-stack spoke first.
"Kaylee, Kenai and I already took most of the bounties from the board by the big loud place, thought we could get some quick cash but I mean it'd probably help out the people here." Zoey looked towards Daya with furrowed brows. "What? We need money too."
"No, no, do you mean the Chantry?"
"Yeah, whatever." There was a brief moment of silence between the Wardens who were Andrastian and the ones who weren't, I don't even know where I am but I'm somewhere in the middle? As the middle man, I suppose I will break the silence.
"Okay, Zoey, what do you think we should do here then?" She looked pensive for a moment before turning to Daya and answering.
"Daya, may I please see those bounties?" After a quick shuffle in her bag, Daya her a slightly crumpled stack of papers. "Thank you, let's see here. I have heard of most of these from word of mouth around town, let me think of how we should approach these..." The mage started pacing, her hand stroking her chin like what I imagine a smart thinking person would do to get the thinking juices moving. "Well, there's a bounty for some wolves outside of town, nearly ate the Anderson's new boy. There are also some people who need help; one lady needs help with traps, the merchant is selling overpriced supplies, and another needed some healing poultices, I helped her as much as I could already. Maybe Kenai could help them with the traps?" Kenai nodded and she continued. "Also, there's a Qunari in a cage outside of town. He's said to have killed a family but he may be able to help us, he just seems misunderstood. We'd just need the key. The revered mother has a key to the Qunari cage; Leliana and I could ask her for it, I think she has a soft spot for us, well as long as she doesn't know I'm a mage." Zoey let out a dry chuckle.
Alistair leaned forward slightly. "I will go with you too; I might know some of the templars there."
"I can take care of the merchant and get us some supplies while I'm there." Rosa added.
This is perfect, Zoey had it all figured out and I don't have to do anything. I am not really one for plans or doing the 'right' thing, or so I've been told. I don't see a problem with making a few sacrifices here and there, not my fault they can't run faster than darkspawn. Our job is to end the Blight, not be personally responsible for every poor sod affected by it. No human has ever cared if I died, so I stopped caring about them; at least until I met these stupidly righteous Warden recruits.
Might as well do what I do best.
"Alright, then Daya an' I can go kill the wolves. We all know what to do, let's get to it." With that we all got up and walked out, thanking the Hawke's as we left. Leandra was all but rushing us out the door. I don't blame her; we are a rather noticeable group, and wanted on top of that. Zoey lingered back and I heard Leandra address her as 'Zorana' just as I stepped outside.
Ooooo secret names! Do nicknames count as secret names? I think they do. I wonder how many of us outside of Zoey and Rosa have secret names or big secrets like that. I wish I had a secret like that... Oh I can make one!
I was pulled out of my mind as we passed Morrigan outside. She offered a snarky quip to Alistair before opting to help Kenai with the traps. I wonder what their secrets are.
As usual, Duke was stuck to Rosa's hip, while Barkspawn stared blankly at me from the yard as I called his name.
"Barkspawn! Here Barky Barky Barky, c'mere! C'mere boy! C'mon!" The damn dog audibly sighed from where it was laying with the Hawke's hound, Madam Woofington, and bounded over.
Rosa chuckled, "How on Thedas did you come across a Mabari?"
"Well, it all started at my wedding- eh it's a long story, short version is I found it and its mine now. It chose me." I patted the dogs head and slipped it a slice of dried meat I took from inside, that he gobbled down, barely chewing.
"You need to elaborate on the wedding part- you don't seem like the type to be... tied down."
I let out a hearty chuckle, "Ha, yeah I'm not. To either. Have fun with the shop keeper!" I bounded off towards the edge of town where Daya was waiting, leaving Rosa shaking her head, the hound barreling along beside me. Finally, a secret of my own.
We set off past a wheat field and it didn't take long for the wolves to be found. There was a large pack of them to the north behind a large tree on a hill.
They charged towards Barkspawn and Daya, howling as they ran. We made quick work of them; Daya got three using her dual axes, Barkspawn biting the neck of another, and my daggers ripped through the last two.
I gestured my bloody dagger lazily towards Daya's weapons, "That was pretty cool, I like that spin-y thing you do with the ax." Her eyebrows raised at the comment.
"Oh thanks, its good crowd control," She smirked "Keeps them distanced or dead."
"I gotta learn how to do that."
She smiled as she spoke, crinkling the tattoos on her cheek and above her eye, "I can teach ya, you have a good balance and speed with those daggers. It's like an extension of your body."
"We're a good team." We clanked weapons together in a battlefield high-five and began skinning the wolves using the techniques Kenai showed us while we were lost in the wilds. It wasn't a perfect job, but not bad for a solo attempt. We can probably get a good price for the hides. Daya's voice pulled my attention from the corpses.
"Hey, come look at this," I turned back towards Daya, who was crouched over one of the dead wolves, "Check out the blood around its mouth, it looks fresh, eh? I wonder what they were eating..."
"Let's look around... It's probably just a cat or something but maybe someone's missing little Whiskers and won't leave until they know he was eaten by wolves." Daya snorted and we began looking around the bushes. Barkspawn sniffed around the area and started chewing on one of the wolves exposed bones.
I pulled back a thistle bush slightly, scanning the ground for any drops of blood that may lead to a corpse when my eyes were drawn towards a pile of... fingers.
Oh.
Human fingers...
Thats not ideal.
"Uhhh, hey Daya, get over here." I didn't take my eyes off them, more specifically the band around them; flies were swarming around a small copper ring that was just barely holding onto the flesh. Could have been eaten, right? "Let's find the body, must be around here somewhere." She started poking around the bushes, keeping her eyes on the ground.
Yeah, I'm going to do it. I pick up the disconnected finger with the ring on it, and slide it off the finger and into my pocket. I began sweeping the area for the rest of the remains, pulling back bushes until the body was found.
Leaning near the back of the tree was the bloated body of a young woman who appeared to have been used as a chew toy for the pack of wolves; as parts of her arm were missing- including a hand, and her insides were outside.
"Yikes, sucks to be her." Looking closer at the body, I noticed above the chewed chunks where the stomach used to be, that there were cuts that could only have come from blades. "Hey Daya, does that look like a sword wound?"
"Uhh yeah I guess, why does it matter? She's dead."
"I know I know, but maybe the wolves didn't kill her. Maybe this was a murder! Or, there was a bounty for like, bandits, right?"
Daya nodded, "Oh yeah, maybe she was jumped by the bandits. I don't think I got that bounty back from Zoey, so I'm not sure where they're supposed to be."
"They gotta be around here somewhere, right? Let's go find 'em, it's more fun killing things than talking to dumb stupid Shems."
"Yeah, you got a point. I'm so tired of them whining about their Maker. Let's look for those bandits and send them back to the stone, they can't be far."
Wolf pelts tied onto Barkspawn, we started walking down towards the edge of the river when we heard distant voices. Daya and I shared a look and nodded, drawing our weapons and creeping towards the source.
Crouching behind a short bush, we could see the camp behind a hill near the river. I whispered to Daya, "Hey, I'll go behind and you get their attention. There's only about six of them, I can take out half without the rest noticing. Step out in 10 seconds." She nodded and I sidestepped out, moving like a shadow towards the back of the camp, getting into position behind the heavily armored guy with three seconds to spare.
"Hey, nughumpers! Come get a piece of this!" Daya flourished the axes and stepped into view with Barkspawn towering beside her, his growl could be felt from here.
The bandits immediately turned towards her and rushed, bellowing war cries. Stepping out of the shadows behind them, I grasped the large armored leader and plunging my dagger into his throat before he could draw his weapon, then turned and did in the archer closest to him. Slicing their throat while spinning and throwing my dagger into the eye of the other one.
Barkspawn was on top of one, blood spurting from the bandit's throat as he thrashed about. Daya parried a blow and followed through with an ax into the crotch of the first bandit at her, then her second ax into the neck of the next.
"We really are a good team." Breathing heavily, she smiled and we clinked weapons again. "Let's get looting! We don't have to share if it's cool!" She chuckled and we started filtering through their pockets and items left behind. I came upon a chest with a large lock on the clasp. Rubbing my hands together, I pulled out my pick and with a quick flick, popped the lock off to reveal the treasure inside.
I grasped a small sack that jingled with promise, opening it to reveal five whole sovereigns. I've never seen this much money in my life. I quickly pocketed it and looked through the rest of the items, taking a helmet with matching gauntlets, and nifty looking dagger. Daya walked up with her arms full of items from the bodies, most strikingly the heavy armor the leader was wearing- which she was carrying with ease. Lots of muscle on that tiny body.
As we walked back into town, one meat sack in each hand and the fresh pelts draped over Daya, we saw a caged man and we whispered to ourselves about how sketchy he looked. We headed to the merchant cart that Rosa was at, pointing at the merchant's wares while he was scurried around his cart. The wind carried her voice to us as we approached.
"We'll need at least six blankets, and four two-person tents. Also, how many packs do you have?" The merchant grumbled and glared at the intimidating woman and she glared right back, causing him to falter.
"Hey Arrows! We killed those wolves, there's enough to sell some to this guy and still have enough food for everyone." I dropped the bag, which was now dripping some blood, on the ground in front of the squabbling man. Daya flipped the pelts onto the side of the merchant's cart, startling him. Rosa looked between the bags and the man before pulling the bloody meat bags to her.
She gestured to the pelts, "How much'll you give us for these?" The greasy looking merchant looked over the pelts with a snarl.
"These are poor quality; it won't be easy to sell them. 25 silver for the lot of them." Rosa narrowed her eyes at him.
"Those are worth at least nine silvers each and you're in a town of refugees. 40 and this journal." She picked up a book from a box, and put it on the pile of tents and blankets she had made. The man grumbled and reluctantly agreed. He looked over all the supplies Rosa had picked out and the pelts we were trading and tallied up the price.
"You still owe me two sovereigns, 35 silver and 10 copper for all of this." He gestured to the pile while I pulled my dagger out of its spot at my hip and twirled it in my fingers.
"I think you meant to say two sovereigns." Rosa gave me an inquisitive look and the merchant man was furious, but he looked between my blade and my face and agreed through clenched teeth.
Rosa tossed two gold coins his way just as the other group came out of the Chantry. Zoey was clutching a key and approached us with a smile. I noticed Alistair come out shortly after but linger in the court yard.
"Got the key! Did you solve the problem with the merchant? Is this for us?" She looked over the wares and nodded at the blankets.
Rosa nodded, "Yes. We're ready to go now, I think everyone will have to carry something." She handed me both meat bags.
"Wait why didn't we sell this one? There's enough to sell at least half." She picked up a tent and carefully slipped the journal into her bag before answering me.
"We're going to give one bag to the people here, we're not selling it to a weasel like him." The rest of the group had picked up the rest of the wares and already started walking across the bridge.
"But why? We could make money from it."
She looked across the town sadly, her striking blue eyes landing on a pair of refugees eating moldy bread. "These people are scared, hungry and probably hate the Grey Wardens for allegedly killing the king. We need to show them that we aren't bad people if we want any allies for the Blight. We'll make better money elsewhere; they need it just as much, if not more than we do."
"I guess..." Damn, why did she have to make sense?
We quickly entered the tavern and gave the innkeeper the bag, telling him it was a gift from the Grey Wardens and should be distributed to the hungry for free. We then left to pick up her mabari and find our group. Barkspawn and Duke sniffed each other and gently wagged their stubs, as they do when they greet each other. I snorted to myself when I saw how 'dwarfed' Daya was beside the two war dogs, but I couldn't help but notice the uncomfortable look on her face and how she tried to distance herself further from them as we walked.
"Wait, before we leave, another bounty was placed on the board while you were out of the town. One to find the mother of the boy, the little red-haired boy. I... I would very much like to help if I can." My heart sunk slightly from the connection to the body in the woods.
"Oh... I see. I think we found her." Rosa's eyes widened slightly, "There was a corpse in the woods, a red-haired woman. Bandits killed her and wolves ate her after." The secret-nobles face fell at the news.
"I see... was there anything identifying on the body? Anything that may bring closure for the boy?" I could feel the ring burning a hole in my pocket... But what will that do for him? Give him something to cry at?
"No, not much was left of her." Rosa nodded solemnly and looked away.
"I will inform the chantry and bring the boy to them. Then pray to the maker they can keep him safe from what's to come." She walked over to the chantry, where a man in a robe was standing with a bell. I could tell the moment she broke the news because the chantry man's face fell too, and she pointed to the boy who was sitting with his head resting on his knees by the bridge.
When I looked to Daya I noticed what may have been a pang of regret across her normally stoic face. Whatever. I found it.
Rosa made her way back and watched the robed man approach and console the child, who started crying anew. I could see she was holding back emotions, but I won't push, won't feel right.
Silently, Rosa continued walking to the edge of town where we were to meet with the group.
We found them talking to the Qunari on the outskirts of town. They must have gathered Morrigan and Kenai since they were also there.
I could almost feel the voice before I could hear it, the low and emotionless drawl of the nameless man in the cage, "I will follow you into battle. In doing so I will find my atonement." Zoey was standing in front of him with a large smile on her face.
"Thank you, Sten. Glad to have you with us. We can get you some armor and a weapon when we're in Redcliff, if that's alright with you." The Qunari looked at the growing group and town with unease.
"May we proceed? I am eager to be elsewhere." Zoey nodded at him then at us.
"Not quite, but almost! I just want to say thank you and... goodbye to the Hawkes." Zoey frowned solemnly and Leliana stepped beside her, placing her hand on her shoulder.
"Let's go see Leandra, I'll come with you." Zoey softly smiled and placed her hand atop Leliana's before heading back into town. "We won't be long, one moment please."
As they walked towards the Hawke house, I noticed a tall figure leaning on the fence as they went by. She nodded to Leliana and appeared to share some words before turning towards our rag-tag group. Kicking off the fence, I watched the eldest Hawke child approach Rosa and I as we were the last two standing. The others were drifting away from the town slowly, trying to stay inconspicuous but mostly just anxious to leave.
"It seems you all are heading off to save the world now, please be careful with it. We only have the one." She winked at me, if I had been younger it may have crippled me for the week.
In my smoothest voice I replied, "Sometimes you gotta break something before you can fix it." She smirked at me, eyebrow raising slightly and lingering a second longer than necessary.
"We will do our best. Please, keep your family safe. I recommend heading north as soon as you can."
Astrid opened her mouth as if to speak, the words halting in her throat she looked to the ground and offered a curt nod. "We'll try. I should get back to the family hug I'm missing out on, it's not every day you get to see your long-lost circle mage cousin." She turned towards the house before pausing and looking back, "I'm not one to tell you how to do your job, but please keep her alive. It would break my mother's heart." With another wink she turned and headed back to the town, leaving us waiting for our party members.
They took a long time. I won't say I know how to handle long lost family members but I'm sure they're not all they're cracked out to be.
We sat in the shade of a large rock while we waited, I could hear a conversation between Rosa and Alistair but I tuned it out to focus on a neat little bug on a rock.
I looked up to the sounds of footsteps on dirt and saw Zoey and Leliana return, the mages eyes were puffy and red. I noticed how much more sunken they looked since Ostagar. Glancing around, I noticed everyone's eyes were a shade darker. I wonder if I look the same.
I stood as they arrived and spoke, "We are ready to leave Lothering now, I've said all my goodbyes to my... family." A shadow seemed to pass over her face as she said that before turning to a smile "Shall we?" With a collective nod, we set off for Redcliffe.
I turned first, leading the group in- What I think- is the correct direction. No one has stopped me yet so it must be alright. Barkspawn trotted close on my left; I checked over my shoulder, to see Rosa walking close to Alistair- Duke at her side, Leliana and Zoey close behind, Daya behind them- carrying a large sack with the armor in it- followed by Morrigan and Kenai at a healthy distance, and Sten pulling the rear.
As we got near a ramp to the highway, Rosa strode beside me and nudged my elbow, giving me a smirk. "I didn't know you could be so persuasive."
"Oh, that wasn't persuasion. That was a threat; works better than words." She chuckled softly, before she could respond a piercing cry cracked through the air. Immediately, we all reached for our weapons and rushed towards the ramp.
As I got closer, I could feel a tingling start in the back of my skull- starting at the bottom and working its way behind my eyes the close we got. Bounding up the ramp, I saw a group of Darkspawn descending upon two dwarves and a broken cart.
Springing into action, arrows flew, and steel clashed as we countered the Darkspawn attack.
A Hurlock froze before it could connect with the bearded dwarf, then shattered by a shield bash from Alistair.
Slicing my daggers through a genlocks chest, I looked over to see the large Qunari- with no weapon or armor- grab a Genlock by its head, lift it and crush the enemies head before throwing its corpse at a charging Hurlock, knocking it and another over like dominos.
Note to self- do NOT mess with the ox man. He can- and probably would- explode my head.
In a flurry of steel and blood, the final darkspawn fell. The timid dwarf slowly walked out from behind the cart where he had been hiding, and graciously thanked the closest wardens. I looked at the mess of bodies and rubbed my hands together. Looting time.
On my right, Daya was already pillaging. The large bag she carried was already half her size, and yet she just kept filling it. Despite it appearing to weight more than me, she walked as if it wasn't there. She is a surprisingly sturdy dwarf.
Note to self- do NOT mess with the dwarf either. She can definitely throw me.
While shuffling through the corpses I found a couple bronze coins, but nothing very useful. Their weapons were weak and their armor cracked. Nothing worth a damn on them, so I made my way back to the group.
The bearded dwarf seemed to be in conversation with Zoey, "Thank you for the offer, but there may be more excitement on your path than is good for my boy and me. Allow me to bid you farewell and good fortune."
"Goodbye!" The strange doe-eyed kid was staring weirdly, something seems off about him.
Our resident mage gave a curt bow and bid them farewell and safe travels before turning back to the group.
"Alright! Now I think we've seen as much action as we can in this little town, shall we leave for real now?"
With a mumbled agreement, we set off along the highway. Our boots marching loudly across the tile and quiet voices could be heard from members the group.
I don't know what to expect, or what is expected of us, being the last Grey Wardens in Fereldan... This is a daunting task for the newest recruits, one that has already taken the lives of people much better than myself.
I look down to my feet as I walk, watching the lines in the bricks pass and purposely stepping in the middle of the stone.
I don't really want to continue down this path... saving a world that has never cared about me. Becoming a Grey Warden and the duty that comes with it wasn't a choice, it was an easy way out. I suppose it's a bit late to run away, after Ostagar would have been the perfect opportunity.
Ostagar. It already feels like a distant memory, and yet the smell of blood and fire brings me back instantly. I wonder how many people died there because they had no other choice.
I look back at the group of warriors, mages, and pretty rogues behind me, who seem to be laughing at a joke from Alistair. A small smile forms on my face as I turn ahead again.
It's very rare for someone to be relieved to see me alive. I think I lucked out with this fresh start, at least the people in it. Let's see how long it stays that way. I could always get away if I need to, I have more money than I've ever had and the sharpest sword yet.
I chuckle under my breath to myself.
But we'll see where the road takes us.
It only took 4 years, but they're finally out of Lothering!
I hope you enjoyed, I really struggled with writing this chapter (Just a little rusty), so I apologize for any errors within.
Thank you so much for reading! If you'd like me to continue, please leave a comment/kudos. I would love to get back into this world.