Alistair returns shortly with the thief toddling along beside him.

"Bit impatient." The thief sneers. "I was just asking the Maker for some protection."

"He was trying to rob the donations box." Alistair counters, coming to stand beside his mentor.

Daveth shrugs nonchalantly. "Ay, and what if I was? It's only logical, ay? Once this war is over, I'll need money if I want to survive."

"What would that do?" Ana asks. "When you're a Warden, you're a Warden for life. And who's to say you'll survive the war."

"You're just ray of sunshine, aren't ye?" Daveth shoots her a glare. "Maybe you should get back to what you're good at, sweetheart." He sneers. "Being quiet and looking pretty."

"Enough." Duncan bellows before Gilmore has a chance to react. He turns to nod to the guard next to the gate. "You will not be returning until all your required tasks are done." He states. "Once out in the field, Alistair will give you your vials. Do not lose them or let them get broken. You each only have one."

The gate opens and the recruits glance out at the worn path leading away from the camp and into the dark recesses of the Korcari Wilds. As she looked out, Ana recalled the stories that Nan used to tell her about witches that lurked about with their strange creatures they kept as pets.

Duncan wishes them luck and Alistair heads out the gate with Ser Jory and Daveth in tow. Before Gilmore can follow, Ana grips his arm. Her eyes widen and he sees the worry that is etched there.

"Please come back to me." She whispers. "I will die if you don't."

Leaning down, he touches her cheek with a gauntleted hand and pulls her lips to his in a tender kiss. Pulling away, he rests his forehead against hers. "I will. I promise."

A hollow feeling overcomes her as he pulls away from her and starts out the gate. He stops once out and gives her a wave as she watches him disappear when the gate is shut. She feels like there's a vice around her heart and she absently reaches up to touch the rings on her necklace. "I love you." She whispers.

As Ana disappeared from his view, Gilmore's smile falls. Turning around, he jogs after the others and siddles up alongside Alistair where they are grouped together on the path near a rocky outcrop. Alistair glances over at him before nodding. "Alright, since you're now all here-"

Daveth looks around before he scowls. "Ay, where's that girl? Shouldn't she be out here with us? She's a recruit as well."

Alistair sighs. "She's a recruit but she already was able to collect the blood she needed on her way here." He lies. "Since she has already proved herself, she will remain in camp with the Warden-Commander."

Daveth rolls his shoulders. "Sounds like favoritism to me." He mutters. "All's well, I guess. Can't have a woman slowing us down; They are the weaker sex after all."

Gilmore and Jory glare at him and it takes all Gilmore's restraint not to run the thief through. No matter how entitled Ana acted or her station, he was raised never to insult a woman in such a manner.

"That's not necessary." Alistair replies. "She has done her task and now it is your turn."

Gilmore nods. "Of course. Lead the way, Warden."

Alistair's brows raise slightly. He's so nice. Aside from her obvious beauty, what else could he possibly see in Ana? He thought to himself. The sex must be pretty damn mind-blowing .

He feels a sudden pang of envy and quickly pushes it away as he addresses the group.

"Admittedly, collecting the blood isn't our only task. There is an old Warden archive in the Wilds which are now overgrown ruins. Duncan has asked that we recover some scrolls that were left behind."

"You want us to go into some old ruins for papers?" Daveth sneers, crossing his arms over his chest. "Are you mad? Who knows what's inside?"

Alistair opens his mouth to speak but Jory speaks first. "What if the scrolls aren't there? You said it's an overgrown ruin now. Perhaps they're gone by now."

"You have a point which I have brought up to Duncan. He has reassured me that the scrolls are sealed with magic that can only be broken by a Grey Warden." The lad shrugs. "It was assumed that we would return to the archive at some point but life has had other plans." Reaching into his pack, retrieves the small vials and hands one to each other recruits and keeps one for himself. While Ana was not able to join them, Duncan asked that he collect the blood on her behalf in case she still went through the joining. Not that she'll appreciate me for doing this .

A wolf howls in the forest nearby and Daveth pulls out his twin blades, dropping his vial onto the sparse grass. Sighing, Alistair stoops down and hands it back to the man. "Once more, this is the only vial you have. Don't lose or break it." He turns to look at the others. "Be wary. Many creatures lurk in these Wilds but don't let it shake you too much. Remember we have a mission to complete."

Putting Ana's vial in his pack, he waits as the recruits put theirs away before he urges them onwards. More wolf howls sound from the trees and he notices the tension growing among Daveth and Jory. He stops every so often to allow his senses to probe around for darkspawn before continuing once more. As he stops once more, Gilmore points out toward edge of the dirty path leading into the swamp filled with overgrown ruins and fallen tree trunks to a gruesome scene. Bloodied and festering bodies lie scattered about the remains of a destroyed caravan, the supplies it was once carrying lying in the mud as it spills out of the broken barrels.

"Maker's breath!" Jory exclaims, covering his nose and mouth with his arm. Alistair winces while Gilmore looks sadly at the carnage. Daveth, on the other hand, points a finger at it and shoots Alistair an accusing look. "Look! That's the group of soldier's I heard about! They went in and now look at them! They're dead!"

"Help!"

They all turn as one of the bloodied bodies moves and raises their hand.

"Well… he's not half as dead as he looks, is he?" Alistair quips, glancing at Daveth. Daveth scowls at him and Gilmore quickly jogs over to wounded man.

The man looks up at him, his face almost fully covered in dried blood. "Who...who are you?" He asks.

"Easy, my good man." Gilmore says. "We're Grey Warden recruits. What happened?"

The man clutches the wound on his stomach. "A band of darkspawn ambushed my scouting party." He frowns. "They...came out of the ground."

"Fuck that." Daveth mutters under his breath, his eyes furtively glancing around.

"Please…" The man begs. "Please help me. I need to get back to camp!"

"I don't know if we'll be able to save him." Jory frowns. "He looks pretty bad."

Alistair kneels down beside Gilmore. "How badly are you hurt? I have some bandages in my pack."

With some effort, the man groans as he rolls onto his back to expose the the deep gash across his abdomen. "Please." He begs, his lower lips trembling as he looks up at Alistair. "I don't want to die. Bandage me up and I should be able to make it back into camp to the infirmary."

Alistair looks at him for a moment before nodding. Reaching into his pack, he rifles around until he pulls a few rolled up bandages.

"Here." Gilmore says, holding out a gauntleted hand. "You hold him up and I will bandage him. I've done it many times on the battlefield."

Alistair hands the bandages to him and he and Jory lift up the man, wincing as he cries out in pain. Gilmore is surprisingly fast as he manages to secure both bandages before sitting back on his heels. "There. That should hopefully help you."

They help the man to his feet while Daveth shifts uneasily from one foot to the other.

"Thank you." The man breathes, looking at them. "Maker bless you." He takes a step and stumbles slightly. "I need to get out of here!"

"So do we." Daveth comments, stepping forward. "I'll take him."

Gilmore narrows his eyes. "You don't want to help. You just want to desert us like a coward."

Pulling out one of his knives Daveth holds it out at Gilmore's chest. "What did you just call me?" He hisses. "I dare you to say that again."

"That's enough!" Alistair bellows, handing the injured man to Jory before walking over. "Daveth, put the knife away."

The men stare each other down before Daveth scoffs and puts his knife back on his belt. "Whatever."

Turning from his fellow recruit, Gilmore walks over to the man being held up by Jory. "Do you think you can make it back on your own?"

The man glances between Gilmore, Alistair and Jory before finally nodding. "Yeah. I think so."

With some help from Jory, the man takes a few shaky steps before nodding for him to let go. Thanking the men once more, the man starts back up the trail which they came from.

Adjusting his pack, Alistair gives an acknowledging nod to both Jory and Gilmore before urging them onwards once more.