Arl Leonas Bryland sat at his desk in his study, looking over the correspondences from his daughter, Habren. "Maker's Breath," He mutters under his breath. "I swear… we'll need a whole new estate to house all the "little trinkets" that that girl keeps buying."
There's a sharp rap on the door before a soldier enters the study. Leonas looks up as the soldier salutes him. "Sorry to interrupt, My Lord."
Setting his daughter's letter down, he leans back. "What is it?"
"Arl Rendon Howe's men are here and requesting an audience."
Leonas wrinkles his nose. "Why?" He asks, sourly.
The soldier shrugs and his master sighs. "Fine." He says, rising from his seat. "Tell them I'll be there in a moment."
When the Arl enters the room, he finds two soldiers with Howe's bear crest standing near the head of the long table of his dining hall. He rolls his eyes before approaching them. "What can I do for you, gentlemen?" He asks, his annoyance coming through in his tone. "If your master is requesting I send men to aid him whatever ridiculous cause he's supporting, you should remind him that I have already told him that I have no men to spare. I already sent a bulk towards Ostagar to help the king."
"Forgive us, Arl Bryland." One of the soldiers says with a bow. "We have been sent here to ask if you know the whereabouts of a certain noblewoman."
"And which woman do you speak of?" Leonas asks, his brow raising with interest. After his wife's death after the birth of his daughter, he was known to court young and beautiful noblewomen but he couldn't for the life of him figure out why Howe would care. Usually it was the husbands or fiancés that came to ask them about his flirtations with their women.
"The Lady Analise Cousland." The other, a waspish looking man, asks.
Leonas raises a brow. While Bryce and Eleanor's daughter was quite the beauty, out of respect for his former comrade, he stayed far away from her as far as flirtations go. Luckily for him, her haughty attitude reminded him far too much of his own daughter who's set to turn fifteen this year. "Bryce's daughter?" He asks, his voice clipped. "Why in the world would I know of her location? Surely if you wish to know about her, you can ask Bryce or Eleanor. I don't have time to keep track of other's people's children."
"Can't ask people who are dead." The other one says with a conniving smirk, earning a glare from his companion.
Leonas' face falls. "Dead? Both the Teyrn and Teyrna? How? When?"
"Those are things that you can ask your bother-in-law about." The waspish man sneers. "Otherwise we would greatly appreciate knowing if you see or hear anything about Lady Ana."
Without awaiting a dismissal, the men turn on their heel and leave, leaving the Arl to watch after them. Bryce and Eleanor are dead? He stumbles backwards and raises a hand to stable himself on the nearby table. One of the guards standing nearby starts toward him but he absently waves them away. It feels as though he's been punched in the gut and then doused in ice water. How could this have happened? Glancing off towards the doors the men exited, his gaze darkens. Rendon has always been a jealous and ambitious man. He recalls. I would bet every sovereign I have that Howe was involved in the death of the Teyrn and his wife. Straightening, he makes a beeline toward the doors, barely waiting for the guardsmen to open them before heading to is study. I must inform the King! May the Maker watch over Ana and Fergus.
It took a little less than half a day to reach South Reach. Unlike before changing her appearance, the people who look up from their work didn't gawk at them as they usually did but instead immediately turned their attentions back to what they were doing. Ana leans forward. "Nobody is looking at us!" She says.
"Good. That's the point." Duncan says with a nod. "The less attention we draw, the better."
Trotting through the town, she looks up at the castle set a bit higher on the hill as it overlooks the buildings containing shops and houses huddled together around a marketplace. Frowning, she leans her face toward his neck, this time keeping a bit of a distance. "Do you really think the Arl will help us?" She asks for the third time since they set out that morning. Each time, Duncan managed to keep his tone even and try to be patient. He knew that she was just nervous and had every right to be so. After all, for the longest time, she was under the impression that Howe and her father were close friends until his betrayal. How could she know if Howe's brother-in-law wouldn't suddenly align himself with his supposed enemy? "I cannot promise anything, my lady." Duncan replies. "At the very least, we can at least ask him to deter Howe's men if they come by." If he'll even do that. When we get in, I'll be able to look him in the eyes and determine whether or not Ana is safe in his home.
Riding through the streets, Duncan notices as the traffic of people in the streets becomes smaller as they head toward the castle. They ride down a street completely void of people with the only sound they hear is the loud clomping of the horse's hooves on the cobblestone. He didn't like the feeling he was getting as they drew closer to the small bridge that connected the castle to the other side of the hill. His eyes scan the area for any sign of danger as the feeling in his gut intensified. Ana could sense it in him as he felt her grip tighten around him.
A crow caws overhead and Duncan looks up. He had heard a saying about crows once when he was travelling with a young mage who had been curious about the rumors she heard of the Riviani. What was that saying… He narrows his eyes as he gazes up at it, as though he could make the saying appear in the sky by pure will. It takes him a couple seconds before it comes it him and he grimaces. When you hear a lone crow caw and the sky is open, turn away from the impending misery that awaits at the sight of this bad omen.
As the phrase comes to him, his eyes fall on the soldiers that round the corner towards them. Reaching for his daggers, he turns his head slightly. "Ana," He mutters. "When I say go, take the reins and ride as swiftly as you can back towards the market place. Do you understand?"
Ana's eyes widen. "What?"
He has no chance to repeat himself as the soldiers take notice of his armor and yell to him. In moments, he shifts his legs to one side and, with surprising agility for a man of his age, flips backwards off the horse and unsheathes his twin daggers. "Go!" He calls to her before running towards the soldiers. Panicked, she fumbles for the reins as a small explosion sets off in front of her and smoke rises up, spooking the horse. It whinnies and bucks up before she has a chance to grab the reins, sending her toppling to the ground.
The smoke parts and Ana's eyes widen as she sees the soldier charge toward her, the Amaranthine crest gleaming brightly in the light. Scrambling to her feet, she struggles to remove her family shield from the pack as the horse continues to buck. "Come on you bloody shield!" She mutters, pulling and wiggling it before it finally gives way, hitting the oncoming soldier right in the face. There's a loud metallic clang as the metal strikes the man's helmet, making him stagger back slightly holding his head. In the sudden release, the shield flies out of her hands and lands a couple feet away. The soldier and her look at the shield, exchanging a glance before she makes a break for it. As she lunges for it, her fingers barely make contact before she's tackled to the ground. Wind rushes out her lungs as the man straddles her. "You're coming with me." He growls.
"Like hell I am." She gasps, squirming. She tries to hit him but he pins her arms down. She tries to yell for Duncan but struggles to draw each breath before a sword pierces through the man's stomach moments before it disappears. The man's eyes bug out as he coughs, blood spurting out his mouth and landing on a wide-eyed Ana. The man is kicked to the side and Duncan appears from behind him, his cheek smeared with fresh blood.
"Are you alright?" He asks.
She manages to draw a shaky breath before nodding. He quickly wipes the blood from his silverite sword on his sleeve and sheathes it before holding a hand out to her. She takes it and is almost instantly hoisted onto her feet before she loses balance from the sudden rush of blood and falls forward onto his chest. He holds her, listening to the ragged breaths. "You probably got the wind knocked out of you when he tackled you." He says quietly, surveying the area to ensure no other enemies lay waiting to attack. "Take a moment to catch your breath."
Carefully he removes himself and walks over to the shield which now lies on the cobblestone. He picks it up and looks at it before turning to her. "I was worried he was going to kill you."
"You and me both." She mutters, doubling over as she finally is able to fill her lungs with a full breath. She straightens and brings her sleeve up to her face. Grimacing at the cheap fabric, she wipes of the man's blood from her face. "If they're here, they must have already been speaking to Arl Bryland."
Duncan nods solemnly. "Seems so." He looks off towards the castle with the battlements raised high above the roofs of the surrounding buildings. "We have no way of knowing if there any men waiting inside either." He says, more to himself than to her. He glances around in search for their horse which bolted mid-fight. "We'll just have to carry on to Ostagar." Spotting it at an abandoned stall around the corner, he hands her the shield before going to retrieve their horse.
The next five days, they continue southeast, only stopping to water the horse or sleep for a few hours before they wake up and do it all over again. Ana, whom is unused to the constant travel and excitement that had been happening recently, slumped against Duncan's back. Once the high arches and matching columns of the Tevinter ruins of Ostagar began to emerge from the fog that had been surrounding them for the past couple hours, Duncan turns his head to the side. "Ana." He calls over his shoulder.
"Hm?" She mutters with a yawn. "Is it time to stop?"
"We're here."
Straightening, she rubs her eyes before peering around Duncan's broad pauldron. Her eyes widened as the ruins became clearer; the large structures looming overhead like giant white sentinels like ghosts from a time long passed. Coming near the entrance, Ana watches in confusion as Duncan climbs down from the saddle before turning to offer her a hand. "Welcome to Ostagar, my lady." He says.
She looks out across the long bridge leading into the heart of the ruins. From where she stands, she can just barely make out the two armed guards standing at the entryway.
"Since Fergus left Highever before the siege, do you think he could be here?" She asks hopefully.
Duncan frowns. "It's hard to say." He admits. "We have no idea which route he took, what he's faced or anything." He motions off towards the bridge with his head. "You will have to look for him inside."
Taking his offered hand, she dismounts and looks up at him, puzzled. "Me? You're leaving me?"
He grabs the reins and nods. Pausing as he sees her alarmed expression, he places a hand on her shoulder. "There is nothing you need to worry about now. Howe won't be able to get to you here."
She glances anxiously at the entrance at the far end of the bridge. "But…what am I supposed to do?"
He offers her a half smile. "Feel free to explore the camp, if you wish. I only ask that you do not leave it for the time being." As he looked at her, he thought about whether he should suggest looking for her mabari and lover, Ser Gilmore, but thought against it. I don't want to get her hopes up in case they're not around. Together they begin walking alongside one another as they cross the bridge which, given its approximate age, is fairly well in tact along with most of the buildings ahead. "Somewhere in the camp, there's another Grey Warden by the name of Alistair. He's a fairly new recruit himself but I recommend seeking him out. He will be your guide before you and the other recruits go through your Joining."
"So, there's other recruits? Will I meet them as well?" She asks.
He nods. "Yes. I'm sure they're scattered around camp if you want to speak with them. Later, I will summon all of you for a special task."
Her brow furrows. "Wait, what about Ser Gilmore? Will we not be waiting for him? I thought he was also being recruited?"
"He is." Duncan says carefully.
Just by the tone of his voice, she knew what he was thinking. "You don't think he made it… do you?" She says, her face falling. Her eyes move downward and Duncan feels guilt grip at his heart. How he wished he could tell her that he's fine. He could be sitting in the camp at this very moment but it was impossible to know. He shrugs.
"Much like with Fergus, it's hard to say." He watches as her shoulders droop slightly. Pausing she stops to look up at him and he places a finger under her chin, offering her a smile. "You'll just have to check camp. If he's not around, we'll wait a couple days but no more."
This seemed to cheer her up a little as she returns his smile. "Thank you."
He turns away from her and begins walking with the horse when Ana calls out to him. "Wait!" He pauses. "Where will I find you if I need you?"
He points toward the entrance. "On the other side of this bridge, behind that tower, there's a tent with the Warden crest hanging above the canvas." He says. "I'll be most likely in there conducting business after I check in with the King." He waits for a moment to see if she has anything else before he continues on his way.