Ignoring the various looks he received from onlookers, Alistair quickly shuffles past and enters the small tavern near the bridge. The inside is about half full of people, primarily refugees. A loud pair of soldiers in gleaming plate metal let out a roar of laughter nearby. Alistair glances over and, noticing the Mac Tir dragon emblem on their armor, immediately looks away. Unfortunately for him, their laughter quickly dies down as they take notice of the newcomer.
"Well, well. What do we have here?" One of them says, his voice booming as the tavern goes quiet. The lad pretends not to notice him as he looks around in search of Morrigan.
Seeing no sign of her, he turns on his heel and almost bumps into one of the men who placed himself between him and the door. Shit.
"It's funny." The first one begins, casually walking through the parting crowd toward him. "We came here in search of a man with your description who was said to be dressed as a Grey Warden and in the company of a young woman who was also a Warden." He stops before him. "Yet, when we asked if anybody had seen you, they said they hadn't."
"Seems we were lied to." His companion sneers before spitting on the floor nearby.
As Alistair tries to think up an excuse, a young woman with short red hair and chantry robes steps up. "Now, gentlemen." She says, her Orlesian accent curling around her words as she smiled at the two men. "Surely there is no need for trouble. Surely he and his companion you spoke of are simply more poor souls seeking refuge."
"She's right." Alistair began only to be cut off by one of the soldiers as they step toward the woman. She doesn't flinch or step away as he glares down at her.
"They're much more than that. General Loghain's announcement was clear: Any surviving Grey Wardens are traitors to the crown and shall be punished for their plot against our late king, Cailan Theirin."
Alistair's brows furrow. "We had nothing to do with that! Loghain-"
Once more his words are ignored.
"Stay out of our way, sister. Part of the chantry or no, you will be declared a traitor and punished as well if you protect these Wardens." As he says this, the other soldier's begin unsheathing their weapons.
"This is all a huge misunderstanding!" Alistair exclaims, unsheathing his own blade as he looks around to find himself and the chantry sister surrounded. "Loghain is lying! He's the traitor!"
"It doesn't matter what you say." The sister says, coolly. "These men will blindly follow their master's commander even unto death."
The first man, who seems to be the leader of the group sneers at this. "Watch your tongue, woman! I'm not the blind one! I served at Ostagar, where the teyrn saved us from the Grey Wardens' treachery! I serve him gladly!"
"Clearly you weren't present in the actual battle then." Alistair shoots back. "Your commander and your fellow soldiers quit the field while the Wardens and your king were slaughtered! The Wardens stood by and defended their king while you ran away like a beaten hound with its tail between its legs!"
"Enough!" The leader bellows, before addressing his men. "Take this Warden into custody and search the town for the girl. As for the sister," He says, motioning to her with his chin. "Kill her and anybody else that gets in your way."
Immediately, a sword swings through the air at Alistair and he barely manages to deflect it as the chantry sister beside him pulls two daggers from somewhere inside her robe.
As the fight breaks out, Alistair and the sister fight against the handful of armed men with some help from a couple men from the loft. Within moments, Nate and Carver burst through the door of the tavern.
"Shit." Nate mutters, looking around for something to use as a weapon. He notices another armored man stationed behind a small table, watching the action with horrified curiosity. Striding over, he grabs the pommel of the man's sword hanging off his side. "Hi. I need to borrow this."
He earns a surprised shout as he removes the sword and moves into the fray. A blade barely misses his nose and he quickly elbows the man square in the face before burying the blade in a nearby soldier. "Sorry, mate." He mutters, pushing him off.
Another soldier swings his sword down on a preoccupied Alistair but is quickly taken out by Carver as he hits the man in the head with a barstool.
They manage to take down all but the leader. Wiping the sword clean on one of the fallen soldiers' pants, Nate returns the sword to its shocked owner as Alistair points the tip of his blade at the leader's neck.
"What are you waiting for?" The man spits. "Kill me. You Wardens should be used to killing innocent people by now."
"We didn't do anything that Loghain says!" Alistair hisses.
"Perhaps you could demonstrate your mercy." The sister suggests beside him. "You could allow him to live and send a message to this Loghain."
"Like what?" He asks, his gaze never leaving the man.
Nate walks over and picks the man up by the back of his armor and heaves him up. "How about, 'Dead men tell no tales, but survivors know the truth.'" He suggests, with a snarl.
"Fine." The leader spits. "I'll deliver your message, no matter how false it is."
As Alistair sheaths his sword, he glares at the man as he quickly steps over his fallen comrades and leaves the tavern.
"Can I not leave you alone for five minutes without getting into fights?" Nate comments with a smirk. Alistair's cheeks burn as the sister hides her daggers away once more.
"I apologize for interfering." She says. "I couldn't just sit by and not help."
"I saw you fighting." Carver says, his eyes wide. "How did somebody from the chantry learn to fight like that?"
The woman chuckles. "I wasn't born in the chantry, you know. Many of us had more...colorful lives before we joined."
"I'd love to hear about yours." Carver breathes, making the sister smile.
"Later, Carver." Nate interjects.
The sister curtsies. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Leliana. One of the lay sisters of the chantry here in Lothering."
"Alistair." The lad says, holding out his hand. Smiling, Leliana shakes it.
"I'm Carver." Carver interjects, motioning vaguely beside him. "This is my brother, Nate. We live here in Lothering."
"Outside of Lothering, technically." Nate mutters, "Which we should be getting back to…"
Leliana nods in acknowledgement of the two before turning her attention back to Alistair.
"Before you go, those men said you were a Grey Warden. You are battling the darkspawn, yes? That is what Grey Wardens do?"
"It is." Alistair replies, cautiously. "And I am. Why?"
"I can see that your status draws trouble. You'll need some help. I'm coming with you."
The lad's brows furrow. "Um...why?"
She shrugs. "The Maker told me so." She says simply.
The three men exchange glances. Finally, Nate lays a hand on Alistair's shoulder.
"I think there has been enough excitement today." Nate smiles. "I imagine my friend here needs some time to consider your offer. You said you're a lay sister here in Lothering. Perhaps they can seek you out tomorrow once he has rested and thought it over?"
Leliana smiles, bowing her head. "Of course. I shall be at the chantry more most of the day. You may give me your reply tomorrow."
Leading Alistair back to the door, Nate pauses as he feels the barkeep's stare burning into his back. He looks down at the mess of bodies lying around. "Sorry about that." He mutters. "I'll send somebody to clean that up. Again… sorry."
Pushing Alistair along, they exit the tavern and head back to Hawke's home.
Sitting on a small mound of hay, Ana idly scratches Much's ears as she stares off at the road where Nate and Carver went. She could only imagine the stupidity of her brother-warden and what could have happened to him in town.
"Hello?"
Jumping slightly, she turns toward the young woman with medium length black hair and dark blue eyes standing a few feet away. Noticing the basket hanging on her arm, Ana smiles.
"You must be Bethany, Nate and Carver's sister."
"I am…" She says carefully, narrowing her eyes as she notices the griffin emblem on her armor. "And you are?"
"I'm Ana. I'm a friend of Nate's."
Bethany's eyes widen with recognition. "You're Ana! You survived!" She breathes. "Nate and Carver speak of you all the time!"
"They do?" Ana asks, her cheeks burning.
Bethany nods, her smile fading slightly. "Of course! I'm very sorry about your husband, Ser Gilmore. Nate told me he was a good man."
At the mention of him, Ana feels the tears start to prick the back of her eyes but she manages to hold them at bay. "Thank you. He was." Subconsciously, Ana touches her stomach, remembering the pain as Bethany looks around.
"I wonder where they went… Does Nate know you survived?"
Taken from her thoughts, Ana nods. "Yes. My brother-warden, Alistair, and I saw him in town and he invited us here. Alistair went back into town and your brothers went to retrieve him."
"And found him, we did."
Both women turn to see the three men entering the gate. Fresh blood is spotted on each man's clothing as they approach.
"Maker's breath!" Ana exclaims, rushing up to them. She stops before Nate, her eyes sweeping over him for wounds and finding none. "What happened?" As she asks this, she shoots a glare at Alistair.
"Don't worry." Nate says, more directed at his sister's accusatory glance. "We're fine. There was a bit of a scuffle in the tavern."
"Loghain's men." Alistair says grimly.
Ana's eyes widen. "They're here in Lothering? Why aren't they with the Teyrn?"
"To arrest us." Alistair replies. "Apparently Loghain has been telling everybody that we, the Wardens, killed the King. Right now, we're accused of being traitors to the crown."
"But we didn't!"
"I know." Alistair frowns. "But it's his word against ours. As the two surviving Wardens in Ferelden, we're suspects."
"You see, this is the danger I was trying to warn you both against." Nate says, his gaze shifting between them. "You noticed people whispering about you when you arrive, yes? The Grey Warden insignia on your shield and armor is well known and is now a beacon for people to find you to claim the bounty on your heads."
"So nowhere is safe!" Ana frowns. "That's it! It's over."
"Not entirely."
Both Wardens look at Nate expectantly.
"The bounty is on any surviving Wardens. If you weren't Wardens, you'll be able to travel around safer than as Wardens."
"That's your solution?" Carver sneers. "Don't be Wardens? Brilliant."
Alistair nods. "I think he means we need to disguise ourselves."
"But how?" Ana pouts. "These are the only clothes and armor we had. The camp was destroyed."
"I can see if we have some extra clothing here for you." Bethany pipes in. "Nate or Carver should have something suitable for him." She motions to Alistair.
Nate nods. "We should. Extra armor may be a bit difficult though. Carver and I still have our armor from Ostagar but whether or not it'll fit is another issue."
"Not to mention in times like these, you may need it." Ana mutters.
Silence falls over the group moments before Leandra opens the door, her brows jumping up as she sees them. "Nathan!" She exclaims, her eyes moving over the three men. "What happened?"
"Nothing to worry about." Nate reassures her. "We had a bit of a scrap in the tavern. Everything is fine now."
His mother's eyes betrayed her worry but she says nothing further. "Dinner is about ready. Go clean yourselves up."
As Bethany follows Leandra inside, Carver and Alistair leave to get cleaned up.
"She doesn't like us being here, does she?" Ana frowns.
Nate sighs. "Not entirely. She worries about Bethany and I."
Ana's brows draw together a moment before she realizes what he means. "Bethany is a mage." She says, keeping her voice low.
"Just like our father."Nate nods. "As you can expect, the fact that we're living outside the circle makes us apostates."
"And having us here puts you at risk." She frowns. "Then we should leave. I'm sorry, Nate. When I saw you…"
Nate puts his hand up to stop her. "There's nothing to apologize for." He says, offering her a smile. "I brought you here because I wanted to help you." He shrugs. "After everything you've been through, I figured you could use a bit of kindness."
Ana returns his smile as somebody calls her name from inside. Nate motions toward the door. "Go ahead and head inside. We'll be in soon." He reaches out and touches her arm. "We'll figure something out, I promise."