Chapter 7: Adaptation
The smells of herbs and the feeling of warm steam washed over Gwen's face. She crushed her eyes together, blocking the incoming light that lit up her eyelids. She brought her hand up to her head, hoping to stop the dull ache there.
"You awake?" A feminine voice with a country accent said her.
"Hmmghmm," Gwen groaned.
"You were close to death, you're lucky my husband found yah when he did." The woman came closer, placing a wet cloth on Gwen's forehead.
"Yes...lucky," Gwen said sarcastically.
"Better that than dead."
"Very true," Gwen let out a sigh. She sat up, holding the cloth in place, and forced her eyes open.
The room was small. There was a fire place in the corner, that had been the source of invading light, and a stove in the other corner.
These people were definitely peasants. Not that Gwen had any room to judge. They had saved her life after all.
"Gill said you're down from Ostagar. Lot of smoke comin' from that direction...my son...he was a soldier there. You bring news?" The woman asked hopefully.
Gwen shook her head, unsure of what to say to the woman. She decided the partial truth might be best, "Ostagar has fallen. The darkspawn defeated our forces...the king...is dead. I have a good reason to believe it was the Teryn of Gwaren that betrayed him. Last night, before my commander fell to the horrid beasts, he ordered me to escape to Denerim to inform the capital." Gwen had added in the last part in hopes that the couple would help her get to the capital.
"My son...is dead?" She said it disbelieving and full of sadness.
"Unless he escaped...then yes...he is dead." Gwen gave her a few moments to mourn, but she had her own agenda to attend to, "Please if you could help me get to the nearest town, I could help prevent the grief for other mothers that you are feeling now."
The woman had started crying, but nodded her head in agreement,
"Yes, no one should have to lose a child...there's a town north of here. Only an half a day's journey. Lothering, it's called. You should be able to find a caravan heading to Denerim from there."
"Thank you for this," Gwen rose from bed dressed in the under clothes of her armor. She felt vulnerable, being without a defense. Her wound had been wrapped tightly around her, and no longer hurt. Probably due to the herbs.
"I must leave for Lothering as soon as possible. Where is my armor?" Gwen looked about the room in a vain attempt to locate her armor.
"They were soaked in blood when we found yah, I took it out to wash this mornin'. Should be dry by now. I'll go get it now."
"And my weapons?"
"In that chest there," The woman pointed to a chest at the far end of the room that Gwen had previously missed.
Gwen kneeled by the chest, as soon as the woman left the room, Gwen threw the latch off and blindly took out the chest's contents.
She had been worried that the couple had taken her precious weapons to sell off at the market. But, relieving Gwen of her fears, the couple remained honest peasants.
They had not taken her new friend.
She held up her poisoned dagger, unsheathed it, and admired how the flames of the fire reflected in it.
Then, she checked to make sure she still had the antidote. The bottle was nestled comfortably in her small deep purple pouch. She drew the golden strings to a close, and nearly organized the rest of her weapons on the floor.
Not too long after the woman returned with Gwen's leather armor. It still looked rough around the edges...but clean.
Gwen dressed quickly and without words. She armed herself, feeling safe under her armor and weapons. She didn't feel as vulnerable and weak.
Gwen hated feeling weak.
"Before yah leave, take this," The woman handed her a parcel of bread and cheese.
"You are very kind," Gwen accepted the gift, "but I must be off now."
Before leaving the little farm house for good, Gwen had a pang of guilt. She hadn't really told these people what they were up against.
For some reason Gwen felt the need to warn them, even if she didn't know them. She wrote it off as her paying them back for her life.
"The darkspawn are coming north. There's no telling exactly when or how many...but...they will destroy everything in their wake. For your own safety, flee this farm. Continue your life somewhere far away from here. The Blight is here. And right now, we have no way to stop it."
"Thank you for the warnin' dear and I understand the danger. But...we won't leave our home. It's all we have left, and I've no wish to leave it."
Foolish. Gwen thought, dissipating any feeling of guilt. They rather die stubborn than live. She had tried to warn them. If they died it would not be on her conscious.
She left the farm on a steady but fast walk. She spied Gill, the woman's husband, working in the fields.
Gwen shook her head, not able to comprehend why the couple would want to stay.
People were confusing. They had honor and loyalty, yet were also stubborn and blind. All of those qualities can lead to an early death.
In some small way, Gwen understood why people die for their country; for many other people. But for each other? One person sacrificing themselves for another? The thought seemed ridiculous to her.
Sure, she had the capability to respect people. But not to die for them.
On the battlefield, it had been about killing the darkspawn not necessarily saving everyone around her.
Yes, she had told the farm woman about saving people's lives, but that was mainly for sympathy's effect to get the woman to help her.
Gwen continued her ponderings all the way to Lothering.
She was stopped abruptly by the sight of a group of well armed bandits. They were blocking the bridge to Lothering!
She pondered the thought of avoiding them, but she calculated it would add an extra hour to her journey. The sun was already starting to fall; she could not afford that delay.
She approached the bandits with confidence. They would either think she's crazy...or very very dangerous.
She was small and thin. A fragile looking creature. But the way she strode up to them denied that fact. It was a new and bewildering sight to the bandits.
"I would suggest you let me pass," Gwen rose her voice to give her a more full presence.
In reality, she was terrified, her insides felt as though they were held together by thin threads, and they were ready to snap.
The bandits laughed in Gwen's face, "You? We should let you pass?" A man approached from the back of the group, revealing himself to be the leader, "Either you're stupid or blind. It's five against one, little girl."
Images of darkspawn filled her mind reminding her if what she was running from, "I've faced danger that you couldn't even imagine...and survived," Gwen held her ground.
Again he laughed incredulously, "I doubt you could even kill a rabbit, let alone a man."
At this Gwen burst out laughing. Oh how little he knows.
Her laughter seemed to unnerve the bandits. How could a little girl like her be laughing in the face of men who could kill her if they wanted?
"What was your plan? Hmm? Kill me and loot my body? All that innocent blood on your hands… I wonder how you've been able to live with it." Gwen taunted them.
"We've had people pay a toll to get across the bridge, as you'll be paying. No toll, no pass. We have to reinforce that sometimes. I don't regret any blood that I've shed." The bandit leader stood taller than her, trying to scare her into submission.
She had allowed him to slowly get closer and closer to her. And now, was her chance.
Without the bandits realizing it, she had drawn her dagger and hid it up her sleeve.
"Now, little girl, what are you going to give to us?" The underlying meaning made Gwen snarl in disgust.
She dashed forward, taking her dagger to his throat. She whirled him around to face his cretin friends, her dagger pressed against his skin.
"Your death," she whispered in his ear, "If you don't allow me to pass right now."
The bandits had been so shocked that they scarcely believed what was happening.
Their leader taken down by a...girl.
She knew that she wouldn't have much time before the rest of the bandits lost respect for their leader.
She had to act quickly.
"The rest of you! Drop your weapons...or else," She growled.
The bandits compiled in a haze, staring with wide eyes back at her.
"Move!" She commanded them.
She pushed the leader forward and the men split to let her pass. She hurried through the vulnerable situation.
This all happened in a matter of seconds. But to Gwen and the bandits it could have been a whole day.
The leader had whimpered and gasped, but said nothing, for the pressure of her dagger was great.
Gwen had taken notice that none of the bandits had bows, so if she tried to run they couldn't attack her from afar.
She had reached the end of the bridge, and by this point the bandits had gathered together and started talking.
Gwen knew her time was up, bandits didn't have loyalty like soldiers did.
"You know you can't go back there. They'll kill you if you do," Gwen stated to the ex-leader.
His face revealed that he did know the consequences of losing. He would have to run just as she would have to.
They continued walking forward with Gwen's dagger at his throat. The bandits had not gone after them. As Gwen predicted, they lost interest in their leader's life.
They had gone far past the bridge. But Gwen hadn't thought of a plan to prevent the ex-leader from attacking her the moment she let him go.
She didn't necessarily want to kill him, but she would if she had to.
"My name is Lieth, not that that will matter for much longer."
Gwen was confused and curious at the same time. His tone and countenance had changed completely from the man he had been just a few minutes prior.
He had been a confident strong, yet criminally disgusting man. Now he was submissive and weak, and still somehow more open and accepting.
He needed humility. He had been so used to being the top dog, that he had grown arrogant and stupid.
She had reminded him of human folly and mortality.
People adapt so quickly to their situation. Other people...our experiences. It has such an immediate effect on us.
"Why were you there?" Gwen asked Leith.
"To take advantage of the Blight of course. Best looting time I'm told," His deflection with sarcasm surprised Gwen. He didn't seem the witty type.
Gwen wasn't satisfied with his answer, "Why were you there?"
Leith sighed and let himself delay what he thought would be death, "The town that I came from… there was a group- a gang really. My father was the leader. When he died it was left to me...I never wanted it...but I had to act strong for my mother and sister. I had to keep them safe. And being the "Tainted" leader was the best way to do that...until the Blight came. The village blamed us, because of our name. They came in the night with fire and pitchforks, a real mob, and killed my mother...my sister escaped but...I haven't seen her since. They drove us out of town, only five of us survived this far. We...they...were angry with me. I managed to convince them they needed me. But… I'm not like them,"
Gwen listened to his tale, but kept in mind he could be lying to her to garner sympathy. His story did make her want to spare him...but that could be exactly what he was intending.
She kept her body very still, not letting herself become vulnerable to attack, "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I'm glad I didn't kill you." She let him think that she believed his story...for now.
"I don't want to kill you, you don't want to kill me. Why not let me go?" Leith tried to persuade her.
"No." Gwen firmly said, "I don't trust you."
Suddenly Gwen had an idea. She could take him to Lothering. There, he wouldn't be able to betray her because of guards.
"We're going to Lothering like this. I'll let you go there. Besides, it can't be far now." She could see thin trails of smoke coming from the near distance. Smoke that was unmistakable for chimneys.
"Lothering? No, no, no. You can't take me there!" Leith protested.
"What? Why not?
"The people that came through the bridge, the ones we made pay the toll. They were on their way to Lothering. If I go there they'll arrest me!"
Gwen realized that Leith would fight her if she tried to make him to to Lothering. She had to think of something else.
For the first time, she let go of him, her arm felt an enormous relief; it had started to cramp up for being help up for so long.
He didn't jump back and try to run. He didn't scream, or try and steal her weapon. Instead, he did nothing. He trusted her to not kill him.
This surprised Gwen. How could a total stranger trust her? Especially one she had threatened to kill several times.
She looked at him cautiously, for she didn't not trust him, "Here take this," She threw at him a large piece of dark green cloth, " Use it as a hood to cover your face."
"Why are you helping me?" Leith took the hood unwarily.
"Would you rather me kill you?" Gwen evaded the question.
Leith was silent for a moment, then he said, "I'm sorry for earlier...about what you could do for us...I didn't mean it. I just said it to look tough in front of them."
Gwen remembered his lewd suggestion. It was a reassuring thought that he wouldn't have gone through with it, if things had turned badly for her.
Leith didn't seem like a bad person and everything he said matched up with his actions. But still…
"I could also ask you...why didn't you try and run when I let you go?" Gwen asked.
He laughed, "I believe that wouldn't have ended very well for me. I plan on living, or at least I hope to."
"I also plan on living, so excuse me if I seem...distrustful," Gwen was passive aggressive, but she didn't trust people easily.
"You're a lot smarter than I am then, I'm pretty trusting...maybe too much for my own good..." Leith frowned, recalling a memory.
Gwen stopped, bringing Leith out of his own thoughts, "We're here."
Leith had put on the hood, and pulled it over his head. Although a bit ominous, you couldn't see his distinct features.
"Where do you plan on going?" Gwen suddenly didn't want him to leave. Then she'd be alone.
The hood turned to her, "I'm not completely sure actually," he chuckled.
Gwen hesitated, and bit her lip in contemplation, soon she tasted blood. He seems honest...but that's just the problem, he seems! She weighed the pros and cons of asking him to stay with her.
Leith broke her train of thought, and surprised her once again, "You seem like an alright person, and if it's okay I'd like to stay with you for a while. Seems like the safest option," He smirked and scratched his neck nervously, turning it red.
He had practically made her decision for her, and she was okay with it.
She pretended she was thinking about his offer, rubbing her chin and narrowing her eyes, "Fine. But I still don't trust you."
He bowed low, barely containing his light-hearted laughter, "I shall follow you to the ends of Thedas and back. I will fight by your si-"
Gwen scoffed, "Oh shut up," she pulled Leith to his feet; his snickering became louder, "Let's go to the tavern," she said.
She didn't wait for him to compose himself. She knew he would follow.
"Not a humor girl are you? Well I amuse myself," He yelled after her, trailing behind her.
