The first thing that Elissa noticed when as she woke, was the musty smell of dirt and nature. The second, was the quiet. Slowly, she opened her eyes and found that she was inside. Everything was wood and run down.

She heard rustling over in the far corner of the room and pushed herself up to take a look. The movement strained her aching muscles and she let out a groan.

"Ah, your eyes finally open. Mother shall be pleased."

With a start, Elissa's eyes snapped in the direction of the voice. And her stomach flipped. There, in the far corner of the room and standing in the middle of a pile of books, stood Morrigan. She had a book in each hand and looked to be organising the pile onto the bookshelf in front of her. She placed one of the books on the shelf, essentially ignoring the woman in her bed.

She wore the same clothes that she had done the day before, when they'd met her in the Wilds. Her staff leant against the nearby table. Clearly in arm's reach and ready lest Elissa try to do anything.

Elissa scrambled to sit upright. The movement dislodged the threadbare blanket that had been covering her and, with horror, she realised that apart from her undergarments, she was completely naked. "Err … yes," she said with a cough, and fumbled with the thin blanket trying to cover herself up. Once securely huddled under the blanket, she glanced around the room. "Uh, where am I?"

"Back in the Wilds, of course," Morrigan said. "I am Morrigan, lest you have forgotten, and I have just bandaged your wounds." She paused for a moment, placing another couple of books on the shelf. "You are welcome, by the way."

Elissa hurried to thank the woman, but the witch continued as if she hadn't heard her.

"How does your memory fare?" she asked. She paused in her tidying and looked over at Elissa, intrigued. "Do you remember Mother's rescue?"

"I … wait …" Elissa frowned and tried to think. How had she gotten here? What happened in the tower? The tower! She gasped. "What happened to the army? To the king?"

Morrigan shrugged and went back to her task. "The man who was to respond to your signal quit the field. The darkspawn won your battle. Those he abandoned were massacred." She paused again and when she continued, Elissa swore she almost heard a small amount of concern in her voice. "Your friend … well, he is not taking it well."

Elissa sat forward. "My friend? You mean Alistair?"

The witch rolled her eyes. "The suspicious, dim-witted one who was with you before? Yes." She nodded her head towards the door. "He is outside by the fire. Mother asked to see you when you awoke."

Elissa looked towards the door and was about to get up, when she glanced back at Morrigan and paused. "Thank you for helping me, Morrigan," she said, trying to put as much gratitude and sincerity into her voice as possible.

"I …" the witch froze and Elissa worried that she'd somehow managed to say something wrong in those few words. Although, she was sure she saw a faint blush tint the other woman's cheeks. But, then Morrigan frowned and shook herself free. She cleared her throat. "You are welcome, though Mother did most of the work. I am no healer."

"Were my injuries severe?" Elissa asked. Her left shoulder, abdomen, and left leg were covered in heavy bandages, but there was no immediate pain that she could feel from the areas. No more so than a regular bruise.

"Yes," Morrigan replied. Then she shrugged again. "But, I expect you shall be fine. The darkspawn did nothing that Mother could not heal."

Elissa frowned slightly. She thought back to her own inadequacies with her magic and how she'd let her father die because she couldn't heal him. Immediately, she shoved the thoughts down. That was not something she was about to try and deal with now. She looked up at Morrigan. "I have some questions, if you don't mind."

"I do not mind," the witch replied. "Take your time."

Elissa glanced at the door. "Are we safe here? Where are the darkspawn?"

"We are safe, for the moment. Mother's magic keeps the darkspawn away." She gestured outside. "Once you leave, 'tis uncertain what will happen. The horde has moved on, so you might avoid it."

"Why did your mother save us?" Elissa asked.

"I wonder that myself," Morrigan admitted. She let out a sigh. "But she tells me nothing. Perhaps you were the only ones she could reach." She shrugged. "I would have rescued your king. A king would be worth a much higher ransom than you."

Elissa chuckled and smirked at the other woman. "Much, much higher."

"What a sensible attitude," Morrigan retorted. She then frowned and huffed. "Mother is seldom sensible, however."

"How did she manage to rescue us, exactly?" Elissa asked.

"She turned into a giant bird and plucked the two of you from atop the tower, on in each talon," Morrigan said simply. Elissa raised an eyebrow and saw the corner of Morrigan's lips lift in a smirk in response. "If you do not believe that tale, then I suggest you ask Mother yourself. She may even tell you."

Elissa chuckled again and shook her head. After a moment, she seriousness settled again. "Are there any survivors besides us?"

"Only stragglers that are long gone," Morrigan replied. She paused and looked to shudder slightly. "You would not want to see what is happening in that valley now."

Elissa could imagine what the darkspawn were doing to the remnants of the king's army and no, she definitely did not want to see that. She sighed and rubbed a hand down her face. "Why would Teyrn Loghain abandon the king?" she muttered to herself.

"I do not know who this Loghain even is," Morrigan said, thinking Elissa was asking her. "Perhaps ask Mother of it."

Feeling like she was being dismissed Elissa nodded. "I think I've asked enough questions," she said.

"I agree," Morrigan said with a nod. "'Tis time that you speak with Mother and then be on your way." She pointed at the table near the fireplace. "Your equipment is over there."

"Thank you," Elissa muttered. She waited for a moment, but quickly realised that the other woman clearly wasn't about to leave the room while she changed, so she settled for waiting until the witch had turned back to face the bookshelf, then got to her feet, the blanket tightly wrapped around herself.

She shuffled over to the table and took stock of her things. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her daggers where not only both there, but they also appeared largely unscathed. Her armour, however, had not been so fortunate and there were quite a few nicks and dents in the hard leather. There were also three distinct slices in the armour, likely where the arrows had penetrated. She would need to find someone to repair it before long. Her backpack was still intact and other than two vials of minor health poultice in her vials pouch, which she cleaned out, everything else seemed to be in one piece. Even her coin pouch had made the journey, complete with the few coins she had inside.

Holding the blanket in place, she awkwardly slid into her breeches, deciding to leave the bandage in place for now. Then, with a quick glance over to check that Morrigan was still facing the other way, she dropped the blanket and hurriedly pulled the small tunic over her head. Relieved that she was no longer practically naked in front of the woodland goddess, she was able to go through putting on the rest of her armour, carefully and methodically. Once done, she slipped the backpack over her shoulders, then slid her daggers into place.

She made her way towards the exit, but paused at the door. She looked over towards the witch, who was still engrossed in her task. She wanted to say something.

"You must speak to Mother, then begone," Morrigan said, without looking away from the books. "You have an army of darkspawn to avoid, and 'twould be best to get an early start."

"Why does she want to see me?" Elissa asked with a frown.

The witch huffed. "I do not know. She rarely tells me her plans."

Elissa gave a nod. "I'll be going then," she said quietly.

Morrigan hummed. "And I will stay," she said. She paused and seemed to be pondering something. "Perhaps I will make something to eat."

Very clearly dismissed now, Elissa opened the door and stepped outside.

Almost immediately, she was met with a very energetic Loki barking and tumbling towards her. She knelt down and collected him in a hug the moment he reached her.

"See? Here is your fellow Grey Warden. You worry too much, young man."

Elissa looked up from her dog huddle and saw Alistair and Morrigan's mother standing not too far away, at the edge of the water.

"You …" Alistair started, his words catching in his throat. He coughed and started again. "You're alive! I thought you were dead for sure."

Looking at the man's face, she could see immediately that Morrigan had been right. He didn't look to be taking recent events very well. If she were to hazard a guess, she would say that he probably hadn't slept or even eaten since before the battle.

"Not dead," Elissa said gently, a small smirk playing at her lips. She settled into a gentle smile and glanced over at the old woman. "Thanks to Morrigan's mother."

Alistair shook his head. "This doesn't seem real. If it weren't for Morrigan's mother, we'd be dead on top of that tower."

"Do not talk about me as if I am not present, lad," the old woman deadpanned.

Alistair blanched. "I - I didn't mean … But what do we call you? You never told us your name."

The woman shrugged. "Names are pretty, but useless." She paused, thinking. "The Chasind folk call me Flemeth. I suppose it will do."

If possible, Alistair's face went even paler. "The Flemeth? From the legends? Daveth was right - you're the Witch of the Wilds, aren't you?"

"And what does that mean?" Flemeth asked, settling Alistair with a very pointed look. "I know a bit of magic, and it has served you both well, has it not?"

"Apologies, but why did you save us?" Elissa asked, cutting in before Alistair could dig himself an even deeper hole.

"Well, we cannot have all the Grey Wardens dying at once, can we?" Flemeth replied, as if it were obvious. "Someone has to deal with these darkspawn." She focused on Elissa for a moment, like she was studying her. "It has always been the Grey Wardens' duty to unite the lands against the Blight. Or did that change when I wasn't looking?"

"Of course not," Elissa replied with a frown.

"But we were fighting the darkspawn!" Alistair all but shouted. "The king had nearly defeated them! Why would Loghain do this?"

"Now that is a good question," Flemeth said with a nod. "Men's hearts hold shadows darker than any tainted creature. Perhaps, he believes the Blight is an army he can outmanoeuvre. Perhaps, he does not see that the evil behind it is the true threat."

"The archdaemon," Alistair said through gritted teeth.

"What is the archdaemon, exactly?" Elissa asked. Both she and Alistair turned to Flemeth for an explanation.

"It is said that, long ago, the Maker sent the Old Gods of the ancient Tevinter Imperium to slumber in prisons deep beneath the surface. An archdaemon is an Old God awakened and tainted by darkspawn. Believe that or not, history says it's a fearsome and immortal thing." She paused and settled her gaze on Elissa. "And only fools ignore history."

Elissa frowned. "Will you help us fight this Blight, Flemeth?"

"Me?" the witch said with a huff of amusement. "I am just an old woman who lives in the Wilds. I know nothing of Blights and darkspawn."

Before Elissa could counter the argument, Alistair cut in.

"Well … whatever Loghain's insanity, he obviously thinks the darkspawn are a minor threat. We must warn everyone this isn't the case."

Flemeth raised an eyebrow. "And who will believe you? Unless you think to convince this Loghain of his mistake?"

"He just betrayed his own king!" Alistair spat. "If Arl Eamon knew what he did at Ostagar, he would be the first to call for his execution!"

"Perhaps, we could go to him, then," Elissa suggested.

Alistair halted and a slight glimmer of hope seemed to spark in his face. "I suppose … Arl Eamon wasn't at Ostagar; he still has all his men. And he was Cailan's uncle." The glimmer grew and he almost seemed excited. "I know him. He's a good man, respected in the Landsmeet. Of course! We could go to Redcliffe and appeal to him for help!"

"Sounds like an excellent idea," Elissa agreed. But then frowned. "Surely that are also other allies we could call on."

"Of course!" the man said again, now grinning. "The treaties! Grey Wardens can demand aid from dwarves, elves, mages, and other places! They're obligated to help us during the Blight!"

Flemeth settled back and crossed her arms, looking distinctly pleased with herself. "I may be old, but dwarves, elves, mages, this Arl Eamon, and who knows what else … this sounds like an army to me."

Alistair turned to look at Elissa, hope now clear on his face. "So, can we do this?" he asked, a little tentatively. "Go to Redcliffe and these other places and … build an army?"

"Why not?" she replied, carefully. "Isn't that what Grey Wardens do?"

"So you are set, then?" Flemeth asked. "Ready to be Grey Wardens?"

"Yes," Elissa said, as firmly as she could. She looked the old woman firmly in the eyes. "Thank you for everything, Flemeth."

"No, no, thank you," the witch said, batting her platitudes away with a wave of her hands. "You are the Grey Wardens here, not I." She clapped her hands. "Now … before you go, there is yet one more thing I can offer you." She looked towards the hut, just as Morrigan stepped outside.

"The stew is bubbling, Mother dear," the younger witch said as she approached the group. "Shall we have two guests for the eve, or none?"

"The Grey Wardens are leaving shortly, girl," Flemeth answered. She paused a breath, then gestured towards the Wardens and smiled a sickly sweet smile. "And you will be joining them."

"Such a shame -" Morrigan started. But then her mind seemed to catch up with what she'd just heard and she froze. Her eyes widened slightly and she spun on her mother. "What?"

Flemeth let out a bark of laughter. "You heard me, girl. The last time I looked, you had ears!"

"I think that's an excellent idea," Elissa cut in, before she even had a chance to realise what she was saying. Her mouth slammed shut and she blushed.

Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice as Morrigan continued arguing with her mother. "Have I no say in this?"

"You have been itching to get out of the Wilds for years. Here is your chance," Flemeth stated. She then turned her attention on Elissa. The slight smirk on her face told her that perhaps somebody had actually noticed her slip, and she felt her blush deepen. Fortunately, the old witch decided not to comment. "As for you, Wardens, consider this repayment for your lives."

"Very well, we'll take her with us," Elissa said, trying to make sure that her tone was as neutral as possible.

Alistair frowned. "Not to … look a gift horse in the mouth, but won't this add to our problems? Out in the Wilds, she's an apostate."

Flemeth's smirk turned a little more feral and she glared at the man. "If you do not wish help from us illegal mages, young man, perhaps I should have left you on that tower."

The Grey Warden cleared his throat. "Point taken."

Flemeth's face relaxed a little and she turned to look at Elissa. Her gaze was pointed and an uneasy feeling settled in Elissa's stomach; it was like the old woman was looking straight into her. The witch's eyes narrowed slightly and she tilted her head to the side.

"Mother," Morrigan said, instantly pulling the old woman's attention away from Elissa.

Elissa let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding as the woman's eyes slid off her.

"Mother … this is not how I wanted this. I am not even ready -"

"You must be ready," Flemeth cut in. "Alone, these two must unite Ferelden against the darkspawn. They need you, Morrigan. Without you, they will surely fail, and all will perish under the Blight. Even I."

"I -" Morrigan started to argue again, but then just deflated and let out a heavy sigh. "I understand."

"And you, Wardens? Do you understand?" Flemeth asked, turning to the Wardens. "I give you that which I value above all in this world. I do this because you must succeed."

Elissa bowed her head. "She won't come to harm with us," she said.

Morrigan let out another sigh. "Allow me to get my things, if you please," she drawled and rolled her eyes. Without another look towards any of them, she headed back into the hut.

Elissa didn't realise that she was so focused on the disappearing woman, until Alistair's voice cut through the silence, startling her.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

She turned to face him, hoping he didn't notice the flush she was certain was colouring her cheeks. "I -" she started, then paused and looked awkwardly at the old woman who was just standing there watching them. She cleared her throat and squared her shoulders, settling into the stance she'd used throughout the years at any political function. "Physically, I don't believe that I have any lasting injuries. Flemeth did an excellent job. How about you?"

Alistair nodded. "Me too," he said. "Although, I don't think I had as many injuries as you did. You might want to look out for some more sturdy armour. Leather's great, but it doesn't really offer as much protection as plate or even maile."

Elissa raised an eyebrow, but then a thought presented itself and she smirked. "But leather is so much more flexible, and it's lighter so I can run faster," she said. "Which means, that the next time we come across an ogre, all I have to do is outrun you in your slow, cumbersome armour."

The other Warden let out an exaggerated gasp and clutched at his chest.

Elissa grinned.

Before either of them could continue the conversation, however, they heard the sound of the door to the hut opening and turned to see Morrigan heading towards them. She had a backpack similar to Elissa's over her shoulders and her staff firmly strapped in place.

"I am at your disposal, Grey Wardens," she said, although she definitely didn't seem pleased about it. "I suggest a village north of the Wilds as our first destination. 'Tis not far and you will find much you need there. Or, if you prefer, I shall simply be your silent guide. The choice is yours."

"No, I prefer you speak your mind," Elissa said with a gentle smile.

Beside them, Flemeth let out another hearty bark of laughter. "You will regret saying that."

"Dear, sweet mother," Morrigan said, her tone sickly sweet, "you are so kind to cast me out like this. How fondly I shall remember this moment."

Flemeth shrugged. "Well, I always said, if you want something done, do it yourself … or hear about it for a decade or two afterward."

Alistair frowned and looked at Elissa. "I just - do you really want to take her along because her mother says so?"

Elissa's jaw clenched, and she tried not to roll her eyes. She knew she needed to remain calm. She needed to keep everyone at least civil for now. "We need all the help we can get," she pointed out.

"I guess your right," he said with a sigh. "The Grey Wardens have always taken allies where they could find them." He said the last few words with a distinct air of disgust and unfortunately, Morrigan seemed to catch onto it.

"I am so pleased to have your approval," she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

This time, Elissa couldn't help but roll her eyes. Perhaps civility was going to be a bit of a stretch with these two. She let out a sigh. "Let's go," she said.

Morrigan nodded and turned to face Flemeth. "Farewell Mother," she said. "Do not forget the stew on the fire. I would hate to return to a burned-down hut."

"Bah," Flemeth snorted. "'Tis far more likely that you will return to see this entire area, along with my hut, swallowed up by the Blight."

"I -" Morrigan hesitated, "all I meant was …"

"Yes, I know," her mother said, gently. A smile then broke out across the old woman's face. "Do try to have fun, dear."

There was obviously a lot more just repeating the game's dialogue in this one, but hopefully, once we start to move past the introduction sequences I'll be able to start putting in more original content without it seeming too OOC. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Reviews are always welcome. See you soon!