Dragon Age Origins: A Grey Wardens Tale.

Chapter 9: Into The Wilds.

"Good to finally meet your acquaintance Ser Alistar" Aeden gave a respectful bow to his senior Warden; tipping his head slightly forward though Alistair spotted the Cousland Family Crest forged into the hilt of Aeden's blade.

"I have not earned such knightly titles yet; I have only recently undertaken The Joining so I am not much different from you" Alistair raised his hands to his chest as Aeden rose back up from his bow; revealing his own recent Joining with The Wardens though his own rites were only a few weeks ago.

Aeden felt the corners of his lips twitch into a smile; he found Alistair to be humorous and somewhat charming and assumed that by his Grey Iron Splintmail Armour, Sword and Shield that he must have been trained as a Templar prior to his Joining.

"We should re-join your fellow Recruits; I hear we have quite a number this time, its rare to receive more than five recruits at a time, during my Joining there was only myself and one other: a disgraced Chantry Sister found stealing donations for herself"

"What happened to her?" Aeden asked; raising an eyebrow at the sheer nerve of a Chantry Sister and what she would have done with the gold she'd stolen, was she giving the money to the poor and downtrodden? Aiding escaping Mages? Supporting underpaid Elves? There possibilities were countless yet The Sister was punished with exile and Conscription.

"She's… no longer here" Alistair spoke with a far-away look in his eyes; like he was remembering a friend who'd been absent for a long period of time.

"Is she out of a scouting mission or assisting the war effort elsewhere" Aeden questioned; his curiosity piqued upon noticing the far-away lime in Alistair's eyes.

"No; she died" Alistair muttered; only realising what he said after he'd said it.

"But you said you were only recently made a Grey Warden" Aeden commented; reminding Alistair of the very words he'd spoken only moments ago.

"Did I?! well… its not something you need to worry about" Alistair stammered briefly as he felt nervous; nearly giving away the true cost of The Joining to a Recruit and that that something that he would likely be punished with reduced rations and solitary confinement for at least.

Aeden and Alistair walked in silence as they passed through The Templar's Training Drills; many Knights glanced in Alistair's direction as he passed appearing to have either known his name or know who he is, Alistair barely noticed as the pair came to a large unlit bonfire where Jory and Daveth stood in wait with Neria in tow but no sign of their other female elf friend in sight.

"You managed to find him then Aeden! I was looking in the makeshift Church they have over there" Daveth shouting as Aeden and Alistair came into view after walking past a statue of a Tevinter Mage whose features and name had been carved out.

"I was searching the… umm… I'd rather not say" Jory spoke as if embarrassed, having spent his time searching in the latrine.

"Its nice to meet you Alistair; I'm Neria! I was recruited from The Circle of Mages" Neria stepped towards Alistair with her introduction; smiling happily at the prospect of making a new friend.

"Nice to meet you Neria; I'm glad to tell you that if you successfully become a Warden then you won't be as pressured by Templars but there are still rules regarding what Magic you can use" Alistair spoke gently; his training as a Templar taught him that Mages were always bad but his personal experience with Mages within The Grey Wardens had shown him otherwise, taking Neria's hand and shaking it in greeting.

"Alistair… it occurs to me that you bear a resemblance akin to King Cailan" Neria tilted her head as she spoke; spying a vague resemblance between The King and Alistair now that she'd met them both.

"What? That's silly… how can I; a mere Grey Warden be connected to The King of Ferelden, that's preposterous" Alistair suspiciously stuttered as he spoke; waving his hands in dismissal of the claim of his resemblance to The King of Ferelden.

Aeden narrowed his eyes as he gazed upon Alistair and Neria did have a point; for Alistair did share an identical jawline, a summer hair colour and had the same eyes as The King, in the courts of Nobles there had long been whispers of King Maric siring a bastard child with a mere servant but there had never been any sort of proof to the hearsay and yet there stood Alistair who undeniable resemblance the only son of King Maric: Cailan.

"We should hurry; Duncan may be a patient man but Ser Claude and Ser Dalila are not ones to be kept waiting" Alistair spoke firmly; dropping the subject of his resemblance to The King and speaking of his superior's short fuses when it came to keeping them waiting and leading the group into another courtyard where only a few but large tents had been set up likely as a camp for those of exceedingly high standing such a King Cailan, Teryn Loghain and The Senior Wardens.

Standing under a crumbled statue whose features and plaque had long since faded due to exposure to the elements of weather stood Duncan, Claude and Dalila along with Kallian, her new equipment and gear a vast improvement after her sorry excuse for an outfit during their long journey.

"Ah; you finally arrive, and sooner than expected" Duncan spoke first; with Claude and Dalila by his left and right sides, each armed with their weapons: Duncan with a Sword and Dagger; each forged with a waving blade and tempered patterns in the steel, Claude with his heavy Axe; the thick blade and gleaming edge that could split apart of whole human in one blow, and Dalila with her Staff; the wooden shaft fitted with a blade at the hilt for stabbing as well as Spellcasting.

"Thank you, Ser; I bring with me The Recruits as wished" Alistair stepped forward; giving a brief salute to her superiors before stepping to one side but not before noticing that the entryway to Teryn Loghain's tent flapped in the breeze as if somebody within had been watching and had turned away before being seen.

"Very well Alistair; good job… you have two tasks, each one of you recruits must slay a Darkspawn and fill one of these vials with the creature's blood, and second is to reach the ruined towers at the end of The Wilds and recover some documents" Claude spoke first; giving Alistair remarks for his guidance as he ushered Kallian to stand amongst her fellow Recruits though she stood as far away from the men as she could.

"You mean to tell me that a scouting party just acquire these documents? Doesn't seem like a task for Warden Recruits… nor is it very glorious" Jory complained; crossing his arms in distaste for his trials to even be recruited by The Grey Wardens but to be tested again before being allowed to undertake The Joining.

"Glory will have to wait Jory; you are not Wardens yet as this is a test that you must overcome in the path that you may become a Grey Warden" Dalila spoke quietly and calmly though her eyes betrayed her words as she stared at the man with a look of dissatisfaction in the glory-seeking Jory.

"Tests…" Jory shook his head as he spoke; he desired his glory as soon as possible so he might return to his wife and new-born child with gold and accolades so he might lead the good life once The Blight was over.

"We'll find them; you can count on all of us to succeed" Alistair spoke; giving a salute to his Senior Wardens.

"Nice to see somebody has confidence" Jory woefully muttered under his breath but was still overheard by Kallian who gave him a disgusted look.

"Where do we need to go" Daveth spoke up; ignoring his fellow recruit's act of woeful discontent with their first assignment before they could become Wardens.

"You must leave Ostagar through the East Gate; worry not for Alistair will join you on your quest" Duncan spoke in his old and wise voice; his words spoken with a wisdom beyond his years but he appeared to be looking at the group as if he wouldn't see any of them alive again.

"They'll be fine as long as they have me; now let us not waste any more sunlight" Alistair spoke firmly; giving a gesture for the group to move out as he began to walk, marching through the encampment as Templars, Kings Guard Knights, Mages and even Chantry Sisters stood to one side to allow them through as they marched for The East Gate.

At the opposite end of Ostagar; The East Gate stood open awaiting them leading out into a trail lined with dark dead trees and a dried mud path leading down a long slope, the group of Warden Recruits led by Alistair, the dense cover of dead trees and the dried earth beneath boots crunched with each step.

After several minutes of silent walking through the dried mud trail and endless dead trees with only the crunch of dead leaves under their feet and the sound of chinking armour to give sound, Neria spoke up, "Alistair do you know exactly where we are going?".

"I have an idea of where we are going; you see that ruined dome out in the middle of the lake? We need to get across a wooden bridge and then find The Old Warden Grounds that lie beyond the lake"

"That's quite a vast area… not counting the lake itself" Aeden stated; casting his field of vision over the shrived foliage towards a vast, green-watered lake that sparkled in the orange light of the setting sun but failed to notice the rustling bushes as several hunched down figures leapt out from cover and at the group.

"Wolves!" Kallian yelled; kicking off the ground and stepping backwards to get some distance from the feral wild beasts.

The Wolves staring at the group of Recruits with foaming jaws and a wild hungry look in their eyes; the pack numbering at six Wolves each as hungry as the last, their grey fur matted with dark spots from potential wounds as their eyes glared with an unnatural red gleam.

"I'd hate to have to kill some hungry animals but I have no choice" Aeden spoke whilst drawing his sword; his manner of drawing a sword was as polished as a Noble would thus catching Kallian's eye as she was curious as to how a Noble fought in actual battle.

Jory stepped up to Aeden's side; his Greatsword held firmly in his hands, "Leave these wolves to us! Aeden and I can handle this alone"

"Very well…" Alistair agreed begrudgingly; though he too wished to see the battle capabilities of facing unpredictable foes such as a pack of wolves.

With a united howl; The Six Wolves scattered and reconverged on Aeden and Jory with their fangs and claws bared for the kill and a feast of human flesh only for Jory to grip his Greatsword with its large blade angled for a wide slash as he struck with great speed for a man his size as his blade slashed through three Wolves with a single stroke, The Wolves crying out in pain as they died whilst Aeden waited until a Wolf pounced towards him before impaling the beast on his sword though his face expressed sadness in the death of the poor creature.

The second to last Wolf backed away after witnessing four members of the pack be killed; barely reacting as a fireball homed in on the Wolf and blew the air around The Wolf became engulfed in fierce flames that seared The Wolf to death, the fireball having come from Neria's Elm Staff; having chosen to enter the battle to show off her Spellcasting.

Kallian crouched low with her centre of gravity kept at her core; the last Wolf lunging towards her ignoring its injuries to avenge its fallen pack with at least a single death, the beast barely blinking as Kallian lunged and eviscerated The Wolf with a single slash; the blade held in a reverse grip as she'd skewered the animal from jaw to tail with a single cut.

"Maker be damned… you can fight?!" Daveth shouted in shock as the last beast fell limply to the ground in a mount of fur and blood.

"What did you expect? That I was some helpless little damsel in distress that can't handle so much as a dagger?" Kallian snapped at Daveth with an aggressive voice; the dagger in her right-hand twitching as she struggled to not show him her skills with a small blade.

"No; I just…" Daveth quickly raised his hands in defence of himself; a cold sweat beading as Kallian edged towards him with her twitching dagger.

"Just what?!" Kallian snapped again; the dagger twitching again as she fought the urge to disembowel or amputate something from Daveth.

"He just didn't expect a young woman from The Alienage to be so skilled with a blade, how did you learn that butchering move?" Aeden chimed in, spotting the twitching dagger in her hand and stepping between the Elf and the former thief.

"I used to work in a Butcher's Shop; I mostly just mopped floors and cleaned blades but I observed how my employer cut through meat and ignore any resistance from an animals muscle fibres and sinew" Kallian spoke with a hint of remorseful recollection; she'd honestly enjoyed her quaint little job where she earned a modest wage and on occasion some meat for her family in The Alienage but the thought made her think of how her family was now that she was gone but now was not the time for such thoughts.

"That is very impressive" Aeden remarked, praising Kallian's knife skills now revealed that she'd learnt from her former place of employment.

"Let's just hope you can do the same when the target is clad in armour and you have weapons to avoid instead of claws and fangs" Alistair spoke up; ending the tension with a remark about their inevitable encounter with Darkspawn, the group returning their blades to the scabbards on their backs or hips while Neria kept her Staff in her hand for immediate use if necessary.

Proceeding through the wilds and slogging through the thick, muddy waters between the trailed path they'd been taking and heading towards a path of archways that had endured the years of ruination only to find the remains of a ruined convoy, a horse-drawn wagon that had been punctured by several dozen arrows, the horses lay dead in the muddy water after having attempted to flee some kind of attack but had been shot dead with arrows leaving the soldiers that had been carved like slaughtered pigs and laying dead in pools of their own blood.

"What happened here?" Jory spoke with a clear fear in his voice; for a knight he drew looks of surprise from Aeden and Kallian for how cowardly Jory had been acting when he'd been recruited for acts of valour and exceptional swordsmanship in a Redcliffe Tourney.

"I have a suspicion… but there aren't supposed to be any Barbarians in The Kocari Wilds" Alistair spoke with his fingers to his lips; his eyes carefully examining the site of the attack, The Ash Warrior Tribes had been summoned to Ostagar to aid in The Blight so there was only one clear reason that a supply convoy would be attacked.

"Hey!" this one is alive" Daveth shouted; being crouched down over a soldier that was barely moving but still breathing though shallow and having lost copious amounts of blood from a sword wound to his stomach and dagger cuts to his limbs.

"Soldier; can you speak? What happened here?!" Alistair rushed to the side of The Wounded Soldier; carefully lifting his head and shoulders into a seating position to make the man more comfortable to speak despite his condition.

"It was terrifying… they come out of nowhere… they attack without mercy… I had to leave my friend behind just to save my own sorry hide" The Wounded Soldier spoke with a clear sign of fear in his voice; recounting the encounter caused the man to break out in shivers though Alistair seemed resolute in his suspicion as to the cause behind this assault.

"We need bandages and Elfroot to treat him" Alistair spoke after having learnt about the attack; he wanted to find any form of trail left being by the attackers but saving The Wounded Soldier's life was the first priority.

"I have some in my pockets" Daveth spoke up; digging into his backpack and producing a leather pouch of Elfroot Leaf's and a bundle of clean bandages, clearly having planned ahead for any injuries in their party much to the impressed expressions of Jory, Aeden, Alistair and Kallian.

"I can use some basic Heal Spells" Neria spoke up; lifting her hands as they glowed with a bright green shimmer as she begun casting her Heal Spell without use of her Elm Staff.

"Please hurry before we lose him" Aeden spoke not wishing to witness another good man losing his life; handing to supplies to Kallian only for them to be snatched away.

Kallian snatched the Elfroot Leaves and Bandages as she knelt down to tend to the man; her hands working incredibly quickly as she applied the leaves to the soldier's wounds and bound them with the clean white bandages to halt the bleeding and bind the leaves to his wounds, "It's only a rush job; but that'll see him back to Ostagar".

"Thank you, Wardens without you I would surely have been lost to this wretched land" The Wounded Soldier spoke in his scared voice; his wounds being tended to while the warmth of Neria's Heal Spell encouraged the flesh of his more minor wounds to knit themselves back together but leaving slight traces of scar tissue.

"Just follow the path until you find the dead wolves we've slain and then head due east until reaching Ostagar, Healers will be waiting for any who arrive" Alistair spoke; recounting the path they'd taken so The Wounded Soldier might find his way back and into safety being Ostagar's walls, The Soldier shakily rising to his feet and shuffling off.

"Sounds like our first condition for passing this test is close by" Daveth remarked; excited to get one of their prerequisites complete.

"Don't let your guard down, Darkspawn are merciless and won't hesitate to cut you down if you give them so much as an inch" Alistair spoke carefully; watching as the wounded soldier limped away from the ambush site, taking note that the arrows puncturing corpses, horses and the supply wagon were still smouldering, the smell of smoke, blood and death still hanging in the air indicating that this attack was very recent.

"Weapons at the ready people…" Aeden spoke; sliding his Family Sword from its scabbard and unhooking his shield from his back, noticing that Neria was taking up her Elm Staff and clutching it fiercely whilst Kallian had her fingers resting on the hilts of her daggers.

Daveth notched an arrow to his bow while Jory took up his two-handed Greatsword; a polished blade of steel that had seen many battles judging from the sleek lines in the blade.

The air hung so tense that one could hear a pin drop; the silence only breaking as a low growling snarl alerted the group to the ruined arch heading deeper into The Wilds only to bear witness to a grey-scaled creature in amber/red-coloured armour with a black Longsword clutched within its grasp.

The creature letting out a battle cry as four more creatures stepped out from the foliage; each bearing the same amber/red armour and black steel weapons with two creatures bearing Longswords, another pair with daggers and one with an axe.

"Hurlocks! Fight or pray to The Maker" Alistair shouted as the five Darkspawn Hurlocks began stomping towards them with their weapons raised; Alistair stepping back from the battle and allowing The Recruits to battle and would only step in if at least one of the Recruits looked like they were going to die.

Aeden used everything he'd learnt about handling a sword to the test now that he was in a genuine life or death battle; his sword cracking against the Hurlock's weapon with the results being sparks flying between the swords, parrying a strike that had been aimed for his throat and slashing back only to graze the monster's arm at the elbow; the black blood of the monster leaking from the cut as the Hurlock struck again and catching Aeden's armour with a quick slash only leaving itself open for an instant but Aeden drove his Family Sword upwards and penetrating The Hurlock through the stomach and killing it where it stood.

Kallian alongside Daveth took on a Hurlock bearing a fierce but chipped axe; Daveth letting loose his arrow only for the deadly shot to harmlessly strike The Hurlock's armour, Kallian crouched low with her daggers in each hand; recalling how she'd defeated The Knight Captain in the mansion by turning his size against himself but The Hurlock had an entirely different build by being hunched over and had an executioners hood pulled over his scaled head leaving only his drool-dripping maw exposed.

With arrow after arrow flying from Daveth's bow and failing to find a vulnerable point in The Hurlock's armour whilst Kallian kept close to the ground as The Hurlock advanced on the pair; The Hurlock raising its axe for a crushing blow that would split any unarmed victim in two but instead only split Daveth's bow in two as he sacrificed his weapon to defend whilst Kallian saw The Hurlock's throat and lunged, Kallian's dagger plunged into The Hurlock's unprotected neck as black blood spilled from the torn scaly flesh though Kallian released her weapon and left The Hurlock to choke and drown in its own blood.

Neria alongside Jory fought the two Hurlocks bearing daggers; the black blades slashing through Jory's Greatsword trying to break through the man's guard whilst Neria held her left hand to the jewel embedded in the head of her Elm Staff; a silent chant flowing from her lips as Jory continued to hold off the two Hurlocks until Neria's eyes flashed open with a luminous purple glow as she lifted her Elm Staff and slammed the hilt into the ground, Jory batting the two Hurlocks back with the flat of his blade as Neria's Spell sent a flowing electrical current sparked across the muddy ground; The Two Hurlocks screaming in pain as they both were shocked by Neria's magic leaving their necks undefended as Jory swung wildly and took off both heads at a single slash.

The Last Hurlock stepped backwards as four fellow Darkspawn had fallen in battle; growling and hissing as it spied the one human not participating in the battle and raising his black sword and roared a bloodcurdling battle cry before charging for Alistair, Alistair merely smirked as his hand reached for his Templar Sword: a cross-shaped sword with a squared cross-guard and a straight white blade that flashed through the air with such grace and precision that The Hurlock kept running past Alistair before its head and arms fell from its body leaving the main body to fall to the ground long after it had died.

"Amazing…" Aeden muttered to himself; awed by the sword skills of a fully ordained Grey Warden and Alistair's calm demeanour when facing the charging monster and cut it down without a moment's hesitation.

"Well done everyone; Neria and Jory demonstrated excellent teamwork by combining magic and sword… something to remember in the future" Alistair spoke firmly; giving Neria and Jory an expression of impressed happiness with their takedown of two Hurlocks without any major injury except from a few cuts and grazes that Jory had suffered and the loss of Daveth's bow.

"Use these to gather a few drops of blood; and be careful to not spill as you'll need to present it upon return to Ostagar" Alistair stated; his right hand digging into the brown-leather satchel and producing five small glass vials, each fitted with a cork to keep the contents trapped within and handing each vial to a Recruit.

For what felt like a quarter-hour but was really only five minutes; the group of Aeden, Kallian, Neria, Daveth and Jory sat hunched over a deceased Darkspawn with a vial in-hand; each very carefully gathering the precious blackish-red blood they required with the tiny glass vial from the smallest open wound they could find so not to get any of the toxic substance on their skin, Jory was first to rise as he corked the vial and handed the blood to Alistair who stowed it back into a leather satchel hanging off his hip for safe keeping, Aeden, Daveth and Kallian rising second and Neria last each handing Alistair their vials.

"Good job everyone; you all kept yourselves safe in your first encounter with Darkspawn, I was scared shitless the first time I saw one" Alistair spoke with clear happiness that none of the Recruits had been killed by The Darkspawn when Senior Wardens would speak on how their fellows had panicked and been slain during their own first encounters, taking the last vial of Blood from Neria and slipping it into the satchel he carried.

"Alistair… that was a mere scouting party; they weren't equipped for a fight much less the lot of us" Aeden spoke as he gazed down at the five corpses; not even one bearing the equipment to be part of a major military nor a bestial horde.

Alistair stood silent for a long moment; his eyes looking down at the five dead soldiers, their thin armour, basic weaponry and how readily they'd charged all resembled the scouting party of a group merely seeking information and insight into an enemy force that was very likely to be The United Force gathering at Ostagar.

"Alistair; how much longer until we arrive at that the ruin we're heading towards?" Jory spoke tiredly; his rotund body heaving heavily as he'd been walking for hours and had to fight against a pack of wolves and Darkspawn Scouts.

"Yes; it shouldn't be much longer now… ah ha" Alistair muttered as he scrambled for his map only to find it so wrinkled from being opened, folded and stuffed back into his satchel so many times during their trek through The Wilds to the point that he couldn't made heads nor tails of the map though he quickly found the top of the northern tower of the ruin poking out over the treeline.

After travelling for well over three hours and the sun having almost entirely set into the horizon and the moon beginning its ascent into the dark skies; the group finally arrived at the ruins of an old fort, its walls remarkably still standing though the gates having been torn down

Upon stepping into what had used to be an impressive library only now the walls had crumbled into ruin, the high wooden shelves that would have once held an impressive number of ancient tomes, scrolls and books had long since been stripped bare long before the wood had rotted and split into worthless splinters.

"This Library would have looked a lot like one back at The Circle Tower when still in use" Neria chimed; gazing at the ruined library as she skipped around piles of rotted wood and peeked within stone chests that had long been emptied.

"Really? Books were a rare commodity in The Alienage; any time one turned up it was passed around every family until everyone had read it… the last book that made the rounds was a book on farming and harvesting crops, with any luck there will be more food this winter" Kallian spoke; walking not far behind Neria as she'd skipped over the rotten wood whilst Kallian merely kicked it from her path.

Aeden, Daveth and Jory all looked to Kallian with keen interest; that had been the most she'd spoken to anyone since they'd first met her during the journey and she'd slightly opened up to Neria though it made sense as they both were Elves and Kallian had made it clear she had no patience for men nor nobles.

"Kallian; when we get back to Ostagar I could help you both find a book or two" Aeden spoke in Kallian and Neria's direction; not realising that Daveth, Jory and Alistair were giving him knowing smiles as they took his offer as a ploy to flirt with and get close to their elven compatriots.

"That would be nice… but I'd rather get through this Joining Rite first" Neria spoke cheerfully letting her eagerness to become a Warden shine through though she didn't notice the annoyed look Kallian was giving Aeden for daring to try and get closer to her.

"Alistair; where exactly are these documents supposed to be? I can't find anything of your sort" Daveth spoke; having used his skills as a thief to scour the ruin for any hidden treasures and the documents they'd been tasked with retrieving but having come up short with nothing.

"I don't understand… we followed the trail but the Documents are missing!" Alistair exclaimed; rubbing the back of his head as the instruction he'd been given were that he'd find what they'd been seeking was supposed to be right here in this ruin.

"What you seek is no longer here" spoke an unknown voice from behind the group; the quartet of men quickly drawing their blades in preparation for a hostile encounter only to be met with the sight of a beautiful woman staring at them from atop a set of crumbling steps where that black-feathered crow had once been sitting.

"Who are you? Identify yourself Mage!" Alistair speaking first as well as being first to draw his blade to the source of the voice; being met with a woman dressed in a black and red robe that clung to her frame but left her voluptuous cleavage exposes for all to see, her inky black hair tied back as a pair of yellow cat-like eyes stared out from a pale, white-skinned face and blood-red lips.

"I would find it proper for you to introduce yourselves first!" The Woman spoke firmly; unintimidated by Alistair's sword being drawn and pointed to her, taking a step to her side and showing off the Staff she clung in one hand; the blackened wooden staff with a forking set of branches spouting out from the tip indicating that it was indeed a branch from a Sylvan.

"Daveth… let me handle this" Aeden spoke; his hand pressing on the leather shoulder-pad of his armour and guiding him aside as he stepped towards the strange woman.

"My name is Aeden Cousland; may I ask of your name maiden?" Aeden spoke with the high tone of a Noble; his wording made even Alistair lower his blade though only slightly.

"Such manners… I am Morrigan, an acquaintance that is purely coincidental given your arrival within these feeble ruins" Morrigan identified herself; stepping a little further down the stone steps, her red lips curling into a smile as her bare feet stepped onto the cold stone ground of what had once been the paths leading to a great library and met the group on even ground.

"Can you please tell us what Documents were being kept in this tower?" Aeden asked again; not needing to look behind him to know that Alistair, Daveth and Jory all had hands on their weapons, waving a dismissive wave of his hand indicating for his allies to disengage; an action that was received by the trio and lowered their sword-arms.

Morrigan curled a sly grin as she'd spotted the men reaching for their weapons and noticing Aeden's wave of dismissal; a choice of conduct she greatly appreciated though foolhardy given her magical might, "Tis a tower no longer but a ruin of what once a formidable bulwark, though to answer your question is that what you seek was indeed a set of three Scrolls; I know this because my mother is currently in possession of these objects of great importance".

"I order you to take us to this mother of yours and hand over the documents of which we speak! They belong to The Grey Wardens and to none other" Alistair barked; eager to return to Ostagar and report on the scouting party they'd encountered as well as get away from Morrigan as soon as possible.

"That is how you ask for a favour? Do all men in your little Order not have the most basic manners to ask kindly?" Morrigan spoke with a condescending tone of voice; her cat-like eyes leering solely at Alistair.

"May we please meet your mother? Those Scrolls are very important to our Order and we cannot return without them or we'll fail in our quest" Neria pleaded; holding out one hand to her fellow Mage though Morrigan only looked down her nose at Neria, her cat-like yellow eyes staring at Neria with disgust before she finally spoke again.

"As you wish… follow me then" Morrigan gave the group a long and hard stare of caution before speaking, giving a mere wave of her arm to beacon the group of Warden Recruits to follow her as she proceeded to walk deeper in The Wilds where the space between the dead trees were much less accommodating for the group to squeeze through and the ground much more uneven.

"Good job Neria" Aeden spoke thankfully to Neria; giving her a grateful tap on her shoulder as he passed her by with Kallian also tapping her shoulder upon passing.

Neria blushed softly as the touch of Aeden's hand felt somehow familiar to her; unsure on how or where she'd felt such a touch but knew she'd felt that kind hand in her youth but could not place that exact moment in her young life before or after her arrival at The Circle Tower.