"What are you shemlens doing in our forest?" The man asks, his bow trained on Duncan. "Who are you?"
"We are not enemies." Duncan carefully says. "We're just passing through."
The woman says something in Dalish that neither of the two humans can understand. The man watches Duncan with a thoughtful expression before lowering his bow. "Very well. We're taking you to speak with our Keeper."
"Now?" Ana asks, hugging the blanket protectively. "We're not dressed!"
The man shoots her a glare. "You may dress first but I recommend you hurry, Shem."
The man and woman walk off to the side, speaking once more in their tongue while Ana rounds to look at Duncan. "Now what?" She hisses, her eyes wide with panic.
"We go with them." Walking to the edge of the pool, he points towards the horse. "In the right saddlebag, there are clothes you may change into."
She turns to look where he's pointing, frowning. "But—" She starts to argue. She turns back to him just as he's tying the blanket around his waist.
"Go." He says, firmly. "As he said, we must hurry."
Placing a hand on her bare shoulder, he leads her towards the horse. Feeling the elves' gaze, Ana shivers as she waits for Duncan to retrieve the clothing. He hands it to her and motions towards the horse's opposite side. "You may change over there for some privacy."
Ana wrinkles her nose as she looks down at the dull tan, brown and grey clothing in her arms before letting out a defeated sigh. With the elves watching him, Duncan quickly dresses and straps his armor on, as he's done so many times before. "How is it, My Lady?" He calls over the horse. "I had to guess on your size."
She moves out from behind the horse, clad in a simple tan tunic, brown trousers and boots. She pulls and shifts the dark grey corset over the tunic which, given the loose lacing over the shirt, gives a glimpse at the tops of her ample breasts. "Aside from being ugly as sin and the corset a little tight around my chest, it's good enough, I guess." She mutters with a grimace.
He frowns. "Do you need me to loosen the laces a little?" He offers. "While it is only temporary, we still have a while to go before we get to Ostagar."
"Are you two ready yet?" The man calls, his hand visibly clenching around his bow stave with impatience.
Duncan calls to him that they're almost ready before turning back to Ana. He raises a brow. She draws a breath before shaking her head. "There are no laces. Only buckles which I already have loosened as it is." She draws and releases another breath before shaking her head again. "It's fine. It'll have to work… for now."
Duncan nods and they quickly gather their things. Ana puts her cloak back on, eyeing the Dalish watching them nervously.
With Duncan leading the horse with its reins, they follow the elves. They glance back every so often to ensure they're still following before looking forward and talking to one another. Walking alongside Duncan, she leans toward him. "Duncan." She whispers. He looks over at her. "Have we done something wrong?" She asks, her eyes wide.
He motions to the elves ahead of them. "The Dalish typically travel and camp through the Brecillian Forest." He explains. "They do not like having humans wandering around."
The elves stop ahead of them and Ana's heart begins to pound. "What's happening?" She whispers as they turn to them.
"We need to blindfold you." The man says, flatly.
"Why?"
"They don't like having humans know where their camp is located." Duncan explains. The woman steps forward with a couple scraps of cloth and hands it to them. Duncan obeys while Ana looks between the three of them like they're mad.
"How will we watch where we're going?" Ana says, cantankerous.
They look at one another before the man points to the horse. "You can both ride and we'll lead."
Ana begins to argue but Duncan speaks before she has a chance. "We understand." He lifts his blindfold enough to get into the saddle and holds his hand out to her. She lets out an annoyed huff but takes his hand. Once they are sitting and blindfolded, Duncan holds the reins. They start moving and Ana leans close to Duncan's neck, misjudging the distance, her lips brush against it. Her face flushes as she apologizes. Thank the Maker he can't see me right now.
Duncan's body tenses momentarily as he feels her soft lips on his neck. The image of her beautifully naked body in the water resurfaced in his mind and he quickly pushes it from his mind. Now is not the time to be fantasizing about his new recruit. He turns his head slightly so he can hear her. "Are they going to kill us?" She whispers. "We weren't doing anything wrong!"
"Just remain calm." He says. "Don't argue with them. We don't want to come off as a threat."
"Us come off as a threat?" She hisses critically. "They're the ones taking us captive!"
Duncan hushes her and faces forward again as she sulks. When they finally stop, they hear the man talking to another man in Dalish. The woman watches them as the man returns and tells them to get down from their mount. Duncan nods and cranes his neck. "Ana, you need to get off first."
"Can I at least take the bloody blindfold off first?" She sneers. "It'd be nice to see what I'm doing." Duncan sighs in response before the man says they can.
Removing their makeshift blindfolds, Ana begins to complain about their treatment but stops short, gaping at the sight of the Dalish camp. Situated within a narrow valley, the path through the hills is lit up with torches. Two elven guards, both unfriendly and armed, stand at the entrance. They watch her with distaste as she slips down from the saddle, followed by Duncan. The man motions for them to follow and they pass between the guards. Ana and Duncan begin to follow before they are stopped by one of the guards. Their captors turn to watch the altercation while the guards stare them down.
"We'll need to have you relinquish your weapons before you enter."
Duncan nods and begins to hand over his weapons while the guards ready their own as Ana's brows furrow. "Why?" She asks before quickly shaking her head. "I'm sorry but I can't do that."
Duncan shoots her a scornful look. "Ana…" He warns. "Do as you're asked."
She shakes her head defiantly. "No. This is all I have left of my family!" She exclaims. She clenches her fists at her sides and raises her chin, her lower lip trembling as she tries to sound strong. "Let me in and I promise I will not do anything. After all, I'm only here by their request." She points to the man and woman standing behind them.
"Like we're going to take the word of a Shem." The guard sneers.
"You'll be able to have it back once you leave." The other guard, who turns out is a woman, says. "All we ask is that to ensure our people's safety, you go in unarmed."
Ana opens her mouth to protest once more but Duncan let's out an annoyed sigh as he rounds on her. He grabs her sword belt and works to untie it while Ana squirms and voices her objections to no avail. He removes the belt and, shooting her another reproachful look, hands it off to the female guard. "My apologies." He mutters, before turning to the others behind them. "Please continue."
The guards glare at her as she follows the others into the camp. As they pass through the camp, men, women and children alike stop what they're doing to gawk at the humans that now trail after their own, some spitting in their direction. A couple times, Ana looks over at the strange boat like carriages as they pass them. Following her gaze, Duncan leans toward her. "Those are aravels." He says quietly. "It's how the Dalish travel around." He motions toward the nearest one with his chin. "You see the sails?"
Ana looks at it, the olive-green sails with a large halla head on it rustles in the breeze. She nods.
"That is how you can identify which group they are." He explains. "It's very much like the banners of noble houses."
Their captors come to a halt before a small caravan and turn to face them. "Stay here." The man says flatly. "I will tell our Keeper that you're here." He leaves them with the woman who glares at Ana, as if expecting her to attack them.
"Nevan!"
They turn as a woman quickly rushes toward a young elven boy, who sits a couple yards away. She shoots them a distrustful glance before leading him away. Feeling self-conscious with all the hateful looks, Ana wraps her arms around herself as though they can shield her. Within moments, the man returns with an older woman, her silvery-white hair pulled back into a braided bun at the back of her head and her face tattooed with gold. Unlike the rest of her clan, she looks over at them, her gaze and demeanor friendly and inviting.
"These are the shems we found wandering the forest, Keeper." The man says, sneering at Ana. "What do you wish to do with them?"
She holds up her hand to signal for peace. "Atisha, Tamlen." She offers them a warm smile. "Forgive us, Duncan. It's good to see you again."
Both Tamlen and Ana look between them, perplexed. "You know this shem?" Tamlen asks.
"Tamlen, please show some courtesy." She says, gently. "You are standing in the presence of the Warden-Commander of the Grey himself."
Coming to his realization, Tamlen quickly kneels before them, his head bent. "Ir abelas, Ser." He says. "I did not know it was you."
Reaching out to touch the young man's shoulder, Duncan smiles. "No harm done, lad. You did what you had to protect your people. I can respect that."
Tamlen rises once more and Duncan moves aside slightly and nudges Ana forward. "Forgive us for intruding, Keeper Marethari. When your hunters found us, we were taking refuge in your forest for the night." He motions to Ana. "This young woman is my newest recruit, Analise Cousland. She's the daughter of Bryce Cousland, Teyrn of Highever up north."
Marethari nods, offering Ana a warm smile. "Andaran atish'an, Lady Ana." She greets, bowing her head. "I've heard of your father."
"Unfortunately, the reason for our intrusion is because her home was overtaken recently by Arl Howe and her parents were killed." He explains. Tamlen looks over at her, shooting her a sympathetic glance which Ana tries to ignore. "I am taking her to Ostagar to become a Grey Warden and reporting to the king of Howe's betrayal."
The Keeper frowns. "Ir abelas, my dear. I am very sorry to hear about your loss."
Fearing to say anything for fear of crying, she gives a meek nod. Her face burns as she feels Tamlen's sympathetic gaze still trained on her. The Keeper notices and turns to the young man. "Tamlen, go with Lia and see if Maren needs any help finding those herbs she spoke of."
Hesitantly, he nods before he and the woman that found them head off to do as their Keeper says. As they leave, Marethari sighs. "I wish I could offer you a place to stay here for the night but many of my people are wary of humans."
"I understand." Duncan nods. "Seeing that you at least know the area fairly well, perchance there's a small clearing we can camp the night nearby? As I'm sure you understand, somewhere concealed would be preferable."
Looking back towards where they entered, her brows furrow in concentration. "Following the path away from here, there's a weald west of here."
Duncan nods. "Thank you, Keeper. Once again, sorry for the intrusion."
"Safe travels to the both of you." She says before turning away from them.
They set off back towards the entrance and Ana practically needs to jog to keep up with Duncan's quick pace. They retrieve their weapons from the two guards and once more climb atop their horse.