Chapter 2: Grim

The clothes smelled off. Like they'd been left in a trunk for a few years. They were unfamiliar and constricting and Bull had shoved them at her and told her to get changed. She wasn't quite sure why, but she trusted him, for a given amount of trust. Bull radiated confidence and had a startling amount of intelligence for a Qunari who, by his own admission, charged horns first into every fight.

He'd taken up space in the new tavern that had immediately sprang up and was waiting in his usual spot for her. He grunted as his one good eye looked her up and down. A hand reached out and mussed her hair to give it a rougher look. 'Looking good, Boss. Let's get going.'

She tried to straighten her hair out and replied 'Why am I dressed like this?'

'You'll see. It'll be worth your time, I promise.'

She trusted him, but she hated that as a Ben Hassrath, he was good at being vague. Still, he wouldn't have asked her to do this if it wasn't important. He'd said so himself. They left the tavern and turned almost immediately to go down the stairs, to the larger courtyard that led to the stables. Here, there were makeshift camps for refugees and soldiers from Haven as they found habitable rooms for everyone. She looked around and noted a few more tents had sprung up in the time since she'd last visited - but that had been as the Herald of Andraste. With Vivienne's shiny, impressive clothes. These were a far cry from Vivienne's tastes.

Bull finally spotted something he'd evidently been looking for and approached a pair of people sitting at a makeshift table, playing cards. 'Evening. Iron Bull. My Merc band just joined up.' The two figures cast a wary glance at them as Bull sat down heavily and motioned for Liethe to sit, too.

'Tanner. I'm from Jader. Well, near Jader.' The first to speak nodded carefully. Wary of revealing too much, maybe?

'Mira.' His associate nodded at them. 'I was guard-captain to Lady Pendell. Signed on after shit blew up at the conclave.' Liethe felt her heart clench. The conclave. Creators, it still hurt to think about. All those deaths, all that mess. And she'd somehow survived. She was the only survivor.

'Share a drink?' Mira asked. 'Who is your friend?'

Liethe froze.

'This is Grim.' Bull lied easily. 'She doesn't talk much.' The fact that Bull could lie so quickly and so easily was almost disconcerting. In response, Liethe summed a grunt. Bull smoothed it over by once again, diving right in. 'So, you ready to kill some demons or Venatori...or whatever that Corypheus asshole is?'

'This isn't just about killing.' Mira responded. 'We're helping The Inquisitor save the world and build the next empire.'

Thank the creators for her brilliant poker-face or Liethe would have spluttered. Empire? She'd never had dreams of an empire. The furthest to the future she had ever thought of was surviving long enough to kick Corypheus' ass. On the slow days she'd barely thought about what to have for dinner. Building an empire was laughable.

She could do it, though. With the power she was gaining - and so quickly, too, faithful flocked even as far as Skyhold to help her - she could take over Thedas. But then, what would she do on the weekends?

She managed to summon a grunt and looked at Bull quizzically. He ignored her and smiled. 'Well, long as I get paid, I'm happy. That's why I signed up.'

Tanner chose this moment to explain his reasons for joining. 'I just couldn't spend my whole life on a farm. Needed to live a little, you know?' She made a mental note to keep Tanner well away from any action that may happen. The kid looked young. Younger than she felt comfortable having in a dangerous battle. He had to be - what? Seventeen? Leliana was going to get a missive about it in the next hour if she had any say.

'What about you, Mira? Why'd you join up? I thought you were serving some noble.' Bull prodded.

'I saw what happened at Haven.' Mira replied pensively. 'The Inquisitor staring down that monster and his archdemon.' Ha. She had to be kidding, right? Liethe hadn't been staring him down. She'd been shitting her pants. Throughout the entire thing. Who, in their right mind, wouldn't have been?! 'I don't sing the Chant of Light as much as I should, but you can't see something like that and not believe.'

In the privacy of her own mind, Liethe was gently reminded that she had lived it and still didn't quite believe. But she did sometimes wake up in the middle of the night screaming about fangs. Bull pulled her out of her reverie as he straightened up. 'Well, Grim and I should find our tents. Thanks for the drink.' She followed him, still completely confused, away from the two recruits they'd been talking to but had the presence of mind to keep her questions to herself until they were out of earshot.

Bull glanced around and then turned to face her. 'I know every soldier under my command.' He mused. 'You don't have that option… but a few faces might help.'

'You sounded like you didn't like the inquisition.' She mused as she turned over his point.

'People don't always tell the truth when you're polite. You gotta poke them a bit.' He smirked.

Somehow, she felt he was including her in that. 'I suppose it was good to get their perspective.'

'Sounds like we could use an easy win for boys like Tanner. And vets like Mira have seen enough to be wary.' That reminded her, she had to send a note to Leliana about keeping Tanner on the easy jobs. She wasn't going to let a boy like him get killed fighting her war. He had mentioned wanting to live a little. She wanted him to live a lot. For her sake.

'You've got a good army coming along.' Bull agreed. 'Remember that, whatever comes next.'