Dragon Age Origins: A Grey Warden's Tale.

Chapter 10: The Witches of The Wilds.

Orange light of the setting sun filled the skies as it was quickly turning from dusk to night as The Recruits followed the strange, enigmatic Morrigan to her home; the path they'd walked had been littered with the bones of dead animals and livestock along with the rusted metal remains of old traps like since lost their edge.

"Are all these bones and traps for your own use?" Jory spoke; his voice giving away a sensation of fear as he'd been forced into following the Apostate Mage to her home all for the sake of recovering some mouldy old pieces of parchment.

"But of course; My Mother and I must protect ourselves from all dangers when living without the protection of your precious Circle" Morrigan spoke calmly but when speaking of The Circle she spoke with a snide tone of voice like she had been within the walls of a Circle Tower much to Neria's interest.

Neria tilted her head to one side as she picked up on Morrigan's words and tone of voice; she was sure that she'd never seen Morrigan amongst the other Mages but she did remember seeing the same Crow sitting up on the rafters that she'd seen while they walked through The Wilds.

Daveth and Jory took up the rear end of the group; dragging their feet and causing a dreadful noise as the metal pieces in Jory's greaves clinked every time he kicked a stone or a tile buried under the rough, muddy trail, Morrigan glancing backwards and shooting Jory a scornful look that instantly forced him to be more mindful of his steps.

Kallian kept walking at a steady pace as the paths in The Alienage were prone to becoming rough and muddy during the rainy season; her feet naturally finding firm footing between the pitfalls of slippery mud and matted grass, her lips widening into a smile as she proceeded to the head of the group alongside Aeden and Alistair until she made eye contact with the pair of men; the pair offering warm smiles as they observed her playful and natural state as Kallian hopped and skipped along the path until reaching their destination.

The group travelled wordlessly until coming to a bank on the edge of the vast lake where a small hut sat; its mud walls held up by sturdy wooden beams and a thatch roof gave away that Morrigan had been living here for some time but what drew the eye was the elderly woman hunched over a cauldron that sat with an open fire, she rose to her feet upon meeting their group's gaze; revealing that she wore a simple but rustic brown dress and a shawl that had once been vibrant with colour and beauty but faded with age much like the elderly woman's appearance.

"Mother; I bring you a group of Grey Wardens" Morrigan spoke to the elderly women stated to be her mother; though her tone barely contained any warmth or compassion to her parent but registered as a tone of cold detachment.

"Morrigan… I see them; I am not so old that my sight had faded, they are as many as expected" The Old Woman spoke;' her voice and withered appearance were rich with the wisdom of many years of life though her eyes gave away an unnatural sparkle of vigour when meeting her daughter's cat-like eyes on arrival.

"Wait… you were expecting us? How can you possibly know we were coming?" Alistair spoke first as leader of the group; holding up his hand and clenching his fist as the group of Recruits came to a halt behind them though they all spread out to get a look at the site before them, each one of the Recruits with the exception of Kallian staring with keen interest at the Hut and the two women who called it home.

"I have eyes in many places, but my powers of observation are not why you are here… is it?" The Old Woman spoke slyly; alluding to her abilities with no information given as she rose from her stool and shuffled towards Alistair and Aeden until she stood before the two men.

"Mother…" Morrigan spoke shortly; her voice cutting and rude towards her own mother.

"I am Alistair of The Grey Wardens, we ventured into The Kocari Wilds in search of some very important documents that Morrigan has informed us that they're in your possession" Alistair spoke up; introducing himself formally to The Old Woman who kept smirking as Alistair felt an increasing awareness to the possibility that she knew his true identity.

"Ah; you mean The Grey Warden Treaties, yes I do have them as I have protected them for the day your group of six came to retrieve them" The Old Woman spoke solemnly as if waiting for some grand revelation to unfold within the minds of the six Wardens gathered before her eyes.

"You protected them? How did you get past our Seals?" Alistair muttered; asking his question but felt a tinge of resentment that such valuable documents fell into the hands of an Apostate even if this woman was elderly but he knew that aged Mages were often extremely powerful in their Artes.

"Yes; The Seals protecting them from Non-Wardens wore off many years ago and I shall bequeath them to you Warden Alistair, I ask only that you personally deliver them to your leaders and tell them that this Blight is much more dangerous than they believe" The Old Woman spoke using Warden as an honourable title; her eyes meeting Alistair's as she spoke but did not gleam with kindness but with a knowing stare that shook Alistair to his core.

"How do you know this?" Alistair stuttered; uncertain by The Old Woman's words as his eyes glanced towards Morrigan who sat herself atop a mossy felled tree with a coy yet amused smirk on her face as she awaited her mother's name to be revealed.

"Either the threat of The Blight is less or more than your Leaders believe; that is for both you and them to decide" The Old Woman spoke curtly; sharing the same coy yet patient smirk as her daughter.

Jory felt his own eyes widen as he'd judged their quest just to be a simple pickup of random pieces of scribbled meta-physical junk about your journey and overcoming a trial but when hearing about The Treaties and the looming threat he'd realised that what she'd been sent out for was significantly more important than he thought.

Morrigan let out an audible sigh as the group of Wardens had only now figured out who her mother; Flemeth actually was, her exasperation obvious to the point that even Flemeth herself smirked with amusement in both the Wardens and her own daughter.

"May we ask your name?" Aeden asked in a blurted-out statement; speaking out of turn but not regretting his action when meeting an understanding look from Alistair.

The Old Woman smirked an amused smirk as she figured that the group had not pieced together who she was by her home's location and her knowledge of The Treaties, "I am called Flemeth".

Aeden felt his eyes widen upon hearing The Old Woman speak her name; noticing that Daveth, Kallian, Jory and Alistair all reacted the same but Morrigan stood to one side with an exasperated expression in her disappointment for the group.

"Don't you know who she is? She's Flemeth! The Witch of The Wilds! She'd turns us into toads to boil into soup!" Daveth spoke as he grabbed a hold of Alistair's and Aeden's shoulders; his voice quivering with fear when standing in the presence of a living legend, Kallian stepping backwards to keep behind Daveth for she too knew the legends of Flemeth.

"Don't be an idiot! That is nothing more than a story to scare children or drunken louts sat about a camp fire" Aeden spoke up in Alistair's place; reaching out and removing Daveth's hand from Alistair's shoulder, though he too had heard the story of Flemeth as a child and recalled the legend of a Witch who stole the bodies of young women to keep herself young but meeting the woman herself and her appearance as an old, haggard woman proved that the story must be false.

"There is a smart lad… believe what you will; it is of no concern to I, but what of the young ladies amongst you? Do you share the fears of the men?" Flemeth gave Aeden an amused smirk; waving her hand in dismissal in Aeden's direction before turning her piercing gaze over to Kallian and Neria who stood at the very back of the group.

Kallian and Neria glanced to one another; a silent moment passed between them both before Kallian opened her mouth to speak but not before noticing that Flemeth gently licked her lips when gazing upon Kallian's young and beautiful features, "I too have heard of you… but I don't put much belief in myths told between off-duty soldiers and drunkards".

Flemeth chuckled to herself when hearing Kallian's remark; an amused glint shone in her eyes, "This Elf Girl is amusing… I like you a lot, but always be aware… or oblivious… I mix up the two sometimes especially when one such as you have endured so much in so little time".

"How do you know about that?" Kallian felt taken aback; she'd only told her fellow Recruits about what had happened at The Arl's Estate the other night and to nobody else so how could Flemeth know about her ruined wedding, kidnapping, the death of her fiancée and the violation of her dear cousin.

"All in due time my dear… all in due time" Flemeth spoke cryptically; giving Kallian a shifting glance as her eyes flickered towards her and Aeden, a smile curling on her lips as she returned to her cauldron of soup; turning the ladle thrice as the scent of the soup filled the air.

"Mother; they did not come for you to pry into such details, they came for their Treaties… are you quite done with your games?" Morrigan spoke with a sigh; having had her fun observing the group and her mother's games and cryptic words, her cat-like eyes catching the uncomfortable expressions on the slowly retreating Daveth and Jory.

"Yes; you came for your Treaties, Morrigan; be so kind as to fetch The Treaties for this Warden and his little recruits" Flemeth spoke as she turned to her daughter; leaving Morrigan to stare in astoundment that Flemeth would simply ask her to do something.

"Mother… can't one of these men fetch these Scrolls themselves?!" Morrigan complained sourly; performing a flowing motion with her right hand as a wispy green mist latched onto Daveth and Jory thus returning them to the group of Recruits whilst they screamed prayers to The Maker to spare their lives.

"Just do as I ask Morrigan… for the sake of these young Wardens at least" Flemeth asked again only her voice contained a hint of threat; a tone that didn't go unnoticed by Alistair and The Wardens as they shared a foreboding feeling like a cold sliver of ice sliding down their spines.

"Very well… these Scrolls are of no use to me; After all you were merely keeping them safe until The Wardens had need of them" Morrigan again complained only now with a tone of dismissive annoyance in her voice; letting out an exhausted sigh from observing the entire verbal exchange and began to enter the hut through a wooden door that hung slightly crooked off his hinges.

"I give my humblest thanks" Alistair along with Aeden, Kallian and Neria gave a reluctant yet respectful bow of thanks to Flemeth as Morrigan vanished into the hut only to return seconds later with a set of three papyrus scrolls bound together by a red silk sash and clamped by a gold emblem with The Grey Warden's Griffon embossed into the gold.

Flemeth carefully took the bound set of three delicate scrolls from Morrigan's hands only to hand the set to Alistair's open hands; dismissing Alistair's earlier statement regarding his thanks and washing her hands of the matter, "Bah… think nothing of it; consider it a little gift for the roads that awaits you in your impending future".

"I don't understand…" Alistair stated; pausing as he accepted the bundle of scrolls from Flemeth when she'd spoken about his future.

"You shall soon discover my meaning; now be off with you all" Flemeth waved off the notion and turned her back on the group; though she shot Aeden and Kallian a glance as she gestured them to leave with a dismissive wave of her hand as she sat herself down.

"Is there anything we can do to repay you? My Father always taught me to repay someone who does a good deed" Kallian spoke up; once again expressing a kind heart and her good nature that Aeden had only seen with people whom she knew were not of noble bloodline.

"Worry not of that right now Young Elf Maiden… you have what you came for and you can leave now" Flemeth spoke from her seat; lifting the ladle to her lips and sipping the boiling contents without so much as a reaction whilst giving a dismissing wave of her hand.

"Can I ask you a question?" Neria asked; stepping to the head of the group of Warden Recruits and allowing Flemeth a clear look at her though her eyes instantly darted to The Elm Staff she carried.

"Didn't I already tell you all to leave… Oh, I didn't realise you are a Mage; do ask your question" Flemeth's eyes lit up as she spotted the Elm Staff that Neria carried, rising back up from her wooden log to meet Neria and receive her question.

"The tomes in The Circle Library tell of an ancient Mage who lived during the time of Andraste who was also named Flemeth who ascended into The Fade to become an Old God, are you that person? Or are you just using her name?" Neria asked' recounting how as a child she'd read the legends of Flemeth and her incursion into The Golden City: home to The Throne of The Maker and Andraste herself.

Flemeth cracked a sinister smile as Neria spoke her question; her aged eyes sparking with an unnatural youth as she simply radiated with magical might for the very air shimmered with her own powerful Magic, Morrigan's cat-like eyes flicking between Neria and Flemeth before taking a step backwards; her action noticed by the men amongst The Recruits and did the same by all taking a backstep themselves though Kallian remained where she stood.

Even Neria felt shivers quivering down her arms and back when sensing Flemeth's Magic; her mind's eye seeing the unfathomable depths of her magical might that would put Irving when he was in his prime to shame.

"I believe the answer to your question will be answered another day Young Mage… but for now just know that my might may be great but not to the level of that legendary Witch" Flemeth spoke creepily; letting her words sink into Neria's mind before she returned to her wooden stool and stirred her boiling soup once again.

"Once again; thank you for giving us The Treaties" Alistair spoke for the group; carefully placing the Treaties into the satchel he carried that also contained the Five Vials of Darkspawn Blood, the vials briefly visible as he carefully bagged The Treaties as Morrigan and Flemeth both spied the vials and smirked to themselves.

Alistair, Aeden, Kallian and Neria gave a collective bow of thanks while Daveth and Jory were already walking away from the hut; eager to get away from The Witch of The Wilds as soon as possible, the group of Aeden, Alistair, Kallian and Neria turned to leave after catching an emotionless wave of goodbye and a mutter of Good Riddance from Morrigan before hearing Flemeth's voice one more time.

"Know this Warden; there are those within your walls whom you cannot trust! A man who means to see your entire Order burn and perish" Flemeth shouted after the group; barely even looking at them as she gave her warning.

"How do you know this?" Alistair spoke; turning back to face Flemeth only to observe that Morrigan was gone; as if she's simply vanished on the spot leaving an empty seat and a bubbling cauldron of soup over an open fire.

"Do not ask why… only know that there is a snake in the grass amongst your leaders" spoke Flemeth's voice from no viewable source; her echoing words remaining in the minds of the group as they again turned to leave on the same rough trail they'd walked only a few minutes ago.

Aeden, Neria and Kallian glanced to one another as they too had heard Flemeth's warning; recalling how they'd thought they'd seen somebody watching them from the tents belonging to The King and his compatriots but the idea that somebody amongst The King's Men could be planning to betray them felt inconceivable.

"Alistair… what do you think Flemeth meant by her warning?" Neria spoke; having known that predictions coming from Mages of long life tend to have visions or knowledge of imminent events and revelations.

"I don't know Neria… but we must return to Ostagar with post-haste; The Kocari Wilds always prove to be all the more dangerous once the moon rises" Alistair spoke as he marched; picking up his and his fellow's pace as he dearly wanted to get away from Flemeth's Hut as quickly as he possibly could and never return.

"Is there a faster route back to Ostagar?" Kallian asked; glancing back at the path they'd taken only to find that the trial they'd walked had vanished leaving a waterlogged field of mud that would have swallowed up their boots if they'd dared to cross and no sign of the hut nor hint that it had actually been there.

"Yes; we must return to The Ruins first and then make for the trail" Alistair answered; glancing over his shoulder as he heard a low growl akin to that of The Wolves they'd slain earlier, he knew the route he had in mind was dangerous but with how fast the sun was setting he had little option left to him.

"Why didn't we use this route to begin with? Could have saved us a great deal of time" Jory bellowed; drawing his Greatsword from the scabbard on his back and slamming the heavy blade into the tiled floor causing the loose stone tiles to split on impact.

"Because the trail is a sharp uphill path; not suitable to go down with heavy armour but the uphill risk is necessary now" Alistair spoke; his right hand touching his own Splintmail as he considered the option of retreating on the path they'd taken that would take almost until midnight to navigate once the night had fallen and the risk of more wolves was high with the small pack that'd already slain but the uphill trail was preferable.

Jory shut his mouth; he'd already been embarrassed by his cowardice, humiliated in the presence of the legendary Flemeth and now drawn his weapon in anger and been dismissed when speaking about a dangerous alternate path.

"Alright… follow me" Alistair spoke as he gave a simple signal command for The Recruits to follow him as he turned on his heels and marched towards The Ruins and the path that would get them back to Ostagar and hopefully they'd arrive before the dangers of the dark rose up.