Pushing through the heavy wooden door and into the tavern, Elissa was hit with the heady smells of ale and unwashed bodies. In front of her, those said bodies seemed to be packed into every corner. She couldn't see any children and assumed those with families would be over at the chantry. This place was for all the single folk or wanderers, those running from their problems and the world outside. It reeked of desperation and despondency.
Towards the back of the room, near the bar, stood a tall balded man. He wore the same style of clothing as most of the town folk around him, albeit he was little cleaner. He seemed to be overseeing the goings-on and, even though he seemed run ragged himself, each person who demanded his attention was met with a calm demeanour and their question answered.
Figuring he'd be the one in charge, or at least know who was, Elissa gestured at the other two and started heading towards him.
About halfway across the room, their path was suddenly blocked by three large men in gleaming plate armour.
"Well, well, well," the man at the front of the trio said, in a slow arrogant drawl. "Look what we have here men. I think we've just bee blessed."
Elissa crossed her arms and leaned back slightly, narrowing her eyes. "Not interested," she clipped.
"Loghain's men," Alistair muttered behind her, causing Elissa to immediately tense. "This can't be good."
The soldier to the right frowned and looked her up and down. "Didn't we spend all morning asking about a woman by this very description?" He paused and glared at the other patrons of the tavern. "And everyone said they hadn't seen her?"
The soldier in front sneered. "It seems we were lied to."
"Gentlemen, please," came a smooth feminine voice with a thick Orlesean accent. Snapping her head towards the origin of the voice, Elissa found a human lady, a good head shorter than her, with short-ish red hair wearing the robes of a Chantry sister. The figure was slowly approaching them, carefully weaving over and between the patrons sat and stood frozen at these new events unfolding. "Surely there is no need for trouble? These are no doubt simply more poor souls seeking refuge."
"They're more than that," the front solder replied. He settled the woman with a look and his sneer turned even more nasty. "Now stay out of our way, Sister. You protect these traitors, you'll get the same as them."
"Traitors?" Elissa asked. "What makes you think we're traitors?"
"I know who you lot are, Grey Wardens," the solider snapped.
"Teyrn Loghain claims the Grey Wardens betrayed the king," the Sister explained.
"Enough talk!" The soldier shouted. He gestured to his two men. "Take the Wardens into custody. Kill the sister and anyone else that gets in your way."
"Right!" one of his men replied with a nod, the other quickly adding, "Let's make this quick!"
Both immediately pulled their weapons and advanced.
Mindful of the surrounding civilians Elissa refrained from unsheathing her daggers and brought her fists up. Beside her, Alistair had the same idea. A flurry of ice and snow from her other side, however, told her that Morrigan clearly didn't have the same concerns.
Alistair rushed forward and, ignoring the soldiers' now-icy exterior, quickly grabbed the one on the right in a head lock, holding tight until the man blacked out and sank to the floor. At the same time, the one on the left fell in a heap on the ground, followed soon after by two others behind this lot that Elissa hadn't seen up until this point. All three had a small blade buried handle-deep in their throats.
Silence fell on the tavern. Elissa gaped at the sudden destruction that had appeared before her. Very slowly, she turned her head to the Chantry sister. Before she could say anything, however, the ice spell that had been holding the main soldier faded and he let out a gasp of air as he regained control of his body. He glanced at his men around him then over at Elissa and her group. Instantly, he held up his hands.
"All right, you've won!" he shouted. "We surrender!"
"Good," The Chantry sister said, her voice eerily calm given the current situation. "They've learned their lesson and we can all stop fighting now."
Elissa pushed whatever questions she had about the sister to one side and focused her attention back on the one remaining soldier. "The Grey Wardens didn't betray King Cailan," she said, as calmly as possible. "Loghain did."
"I was there!" the soldier argued. "The teyrn pulled us out of a trap!"
Elissa took an involuntary step towards the man. "The teyrn left the king to die."
"The Wardens led the king to his death! They teyrn could do nothing!"
Elissa sneered at the man and moved forwards until she was deep in his personal space. "Take a message to Loghain," she said, her voice low and filled with barely contained anger.
The soldier clearly heard the menace behind her voice and gave a stuttered reply, "w-what do you want me to tell him?"
"Tell him, that the Grey Wardens know what really happened."
She glared at the man and felt an odd sense of satisfaction when he made an audible gulp.
"V-very well," he said and gave her an awkward nod of his head. "I'll - I'll tell him. Right away. Now. Thank you!"
And with that, he all but ran out the door, not even paying any mind to his fallen comrades.
Elissa was still looking out after him, frowning at his behaviour, when the Chantry sister came up beside her.
"I apologise for interfering," the sister said, "but I couldn't just sit by and not help."
Elissa gave a thin smile. "I appreciate what you tried to do."
"I am glad that you found it in your heart to offer that man mercy." Elissa wasn't sure threatening the man and sending him back empty-handed to a deranged and no doubt very angry Loghain would be considered being merciful, but she didn't question it. She also decided not to comment on the three other men laying in a pool of their own blood. The sister must have taken her silence as an agreement or even just an acceptance. She smiled sweetly at the warden, then gave a small bow. "Let me introduce myself. I am Leliana, one of the lay sisters of the Chantry here in Lothering. Or, I was."
"I am Elissa. A pleasure," Elissa replied, returning the bow with a nod. She wasn't trying to be rude, but this woman, with her carefree attitude after efficiently murdering three people, set her a bit on edge.
"Those men said you are a Grey Warden. You will be battling the darkspawn, yes? That is what Grey Wardens do?" Elissa gave a slow nod, wondering where the woman was going with this conversation. "I know after what happened, you will need all the help you can get. That's why I'm coming along."
Elissa balked. She floundered for a second before managing to shake herself loose. "And why would you want to do that?"
"The Maker told me to join you," Leliana replied confidently. "Surely He would not do so without good reason."
"Can you … elaborate?" Being close to anything relating to the Chantry was enough to make her nervous, let alone someone who seemed so devoted as this woman was.
"I - I know that sounds … absolutely insane, but it's true! I had a dream … a vision!"
Alistair shuffled behind her and she could hear his smirk even without looking at him. "More crazy? I thought we were all full up."
Leliana frowned at him. Then she looked back at Elissa, squared her shoulders, and brought herself to her full height - which was still a head shorter than Elissa but that didn't seem to affect her. "Look at the people here. They are lost in their despair, and this darkness, this chaos … will spread. The Maker doesn't want this. What you do, what you are meant to do, is the Maker's work. Let me help!"
Elissa thought about it for a moment. She wasn't overly comfortable about having the Chantry following along … but, then she glanced over at the bodies a few of the more able-bodied patrons were dragging out the tavern's back door. "Very well," she said quietly, then turned back to Leliana. "I will not turn away help when it is offered."
"Perhaps your skull was cracked worse than Mother thought," Morrigan mused beside her.
Elissa turned and gave her a half shrug. The witch might not like it, but she'd meant what she said. She wasn't about to turn away help, wherever it came from.
"Thank you!" the Chantry sister said, breaking whatever silent communication the two were having. "I appreciate being given this chance. I will not let you down."
Again, Elissa gave a nod, and without a word to either of them she turned and went over to the man she'd seen earlier and thought might be the one in charge. She promptly apologised for the disturbance and subsequent mess. He was terse in his response but seemed at least somewhat appreciative that the soldiers were no longer drinking him out of house and home. After some quick trade - some food for her and her companions in exchange for some vials of poison that Morrigan had on her (she decided not to ask either of them about it) - he was a bit more accommodating and gave them some more information about the village and surrounding area. Enough for Elissa to get a bit more of an idea of where they could go next.
She met a man from a mercenary group called the 'Blackstone Irregulars' on the way out and, again figuring the more allies she had the better, agreed to help him out with delivering a few letters as she went about her travels.
Stepping outside the tavern, Elissa was surprised to see how late in the day it had gotten. "I think we should try and find a place to sleep here," she said. "It might be our last chance to sleep in a populated area for a while."
"You would bed down surrounded by these cretins?" Morrigan asked, looking around at the few villagers still meandering around the area. "Any one of them could kill you in your sleep for that small pile of coin on your hip."
Alistair let out a long suffering sigh. "Not everyone is a bloodthirsty murderer."
"How about the Chantry?" Leliana piped in. The very thought made Elissa's stomach fill with dread. "It is rather full at the moment, but I'm certain they would not turn away some needy souls."
"We are not needy," Morrigan ground out.
"Oh? What's the matter there Morrigan?" Alistair chuckled. "Scared to spend a night in the walls of the big bad Chantry? Worried you'll be found out and captured in your sleep?"
Morrigan glared and took a step towards him, small sparks arcing around her tightly-clenched fists.
"Okay," Elissa said, rushing to stand between the two. She held her hands up and glared at each of them. Once satisfied that they weren't about to kill each other, she relaxed slightly. But, remained where she was and turned to look at Leliana. "Thank you for the suggestion. I admit that the thought of a sturdy roof above our heads is inviting. But, in a way, Alistair raises a good point. I'm sure they have more to worry about at the moment than a roaming apostate, but I don't want to risk it."
She paused and looked expectantly between Alistair and Morrigan. Alistair chuckled, but shook his head and took a step back. Elissa felt her shoulders relax and she let out a heavy sigh. Glancing at Morrigan, she saw intrigue flitter across her face, before it was gone and she too stepped back, her hands relaxing and the sparks disappearing.
"I suppose we could try and find some tents to buy," Alistair suggested.
The others agreed and they spent the next few hours talking to almost every person in town, asking if they had a tent or two they could buy. While a few were happy to present absolutely anything, from bedsheets to very large coats, as tents in exchange for some of the group's coin, there seemed not to be a single tent left in the entire village. Although they did, much to Morrigan's chagrin, manage to help yet more villagers, from making traps for one very timid lady to helping gather healing herbs for the village elder.
Resigned to a night under the stars, they headed out to a small outcrop, just beyond the main village. It would be close enough to the buildings to hopefully dissuade any roaming wild animals, but far enough away to afford them at least some privacy.
They were just about to settle down when Leliana suddenly froze. Elissa looked at her and was about to ask her what was wrong, but the sister put one finger to her own lips and she stayed quiet. Very slowly, she unsheathed two short swords from somewhere in her robes. The others were surprised, but followed suit, still not sure what they were fighting. Loki started a low growl. Elissa sent her mind out, searching for the tell-tale darkness of the darkspawn, but found none. At least that was a positive.
Suddenly an arrow whistled through the air and embedded itself in her shoulder. She let out a cry and at that everyone burst into action. Morrigan sent forth a blast of fire catching two figures and a nearby tree alight. The light from all three illuminated the surrounding area, showing three more armoured figures, one with a bow standing several paces behind where two with swords and shields were charging towards them.
Beside her, Alistair and Leliana charged forward, taking one swordsman each. Using the pain in her shoulder as added fuel, Elissa too jumped into the fray, her attention focused on the archer. She somehow managed to dodge the next arrow that sped towards her, but the second one in quick succession caught her in the thigh. She stumbled slightly, but kept going. Anger started to boil up inside her. As she went, she yanked the arrow from her leg out with one hand then flung the other out and drained some of the archer's life force, feeling the would instantly start patching itself back together, even the one in her shoulder with the arrowhead still embedded felt a little dulled. Reaching the archer, she slashed twice at him with her daggers, then leaped into the air and brought the hilt crashing down onto his face. As he fell, she reached out and drained whatever was left inside of him.
She paused for a moment, breathing heavily, before the sound of fighting behind her brought her back. She glanced down at the man on the ground, then her eyes flicked to his bow. She grabbed it and yanked the last few arrows from his quiver. The first arrow felled the man Leliana was fighting, the second went into the back of the one Alistair was tussling with. Both of them started, surprised for a moment, before heading towards one of the two that Morrigan was busy keeping back with a barrage of flame and ice. With them handling that one, Elissa turned her attention on the last one. Now that the original flames had dissipated he seemed to have found his feet and was managing to dodge most of Morrigan's attacks. Fortunately, despite not being able to hit him often as he rolled and strafed out of the way, her frequent blasts were at least keeping him at bay. But, even from this distance, Elissa could see that the witch was starting to fade, her attacks less spectacular than they had been at the start of the fight.
Elissa reached for another arrow, but found none. Then she spotted, a few paces in front of her, the one she'd pulled from her leg. Hopefully, it would still fly. She scrambled forward, grabbed it, nocked it, then sent it flying.
It went through the back of the man's neck, burying itself nearly to the feathers.
An unnerving surge of energy coursed through Elissa.
The man crumpled to the ground at the same time as the one the other two had been dealing with.
Silence fell over the group. Nothing but the sound of their heavy breathing.
Finally, Elissa forced herself to her feet and slowly walked over to them.
"Is everyone okay?" she asked, giving them all a once over. Alistair had a nasty gash over his cheek and Leliana's robes were now flecked with darker red than the usual red of the Chantry. Morrigan shuffled forward, leaning heavily on her staff for support. Seeing the witch teeter, Elissa dropped her weapons and rushed forwards, wrapping an arm around her before she fell.
"I do not need -" Morrigan muttered and tried to pull away. But, she was barely standing and Elissa held her tight.
Carefully, she lowered the witch to sit on the ground, then rifled through her potion pouch. "Here," she said, uncorking a vial and lifting it to the other woman's lips.
"What -"
"It's a lyrium potion," Elissa explained, gently coaxing the woman to drink. Thankfully, Morrigan seemed too exhausted at this point to argue any further and let Elissa feed her the blue liquid. Once it was gone, she closed her eyes and took a few heavy breaths. Having felt the effect of one of these potions, Elissa let her have her moment.
Eventually, Morrigan opened her eyes again. Even in the limited light, it looked like she had a bit more life in her cheeks and she didn't seem to be leaning on her staff and Elissa as much.
"Are you okay?" Elissa asked.
Morrigan frowned. "I am fine. There is no need to hover." She frowned and settled Elissa with a look. "Why do you have lyrium?"
Elissa returned the frown, then let out a sigh. "You're welcome," she said, then stood up.
"They have tents!" Alistair suddenly called out from somewhere nearby in the dark.
Elissa couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of the situation. She shook her head and headed over to where the man's voice was coming from. And, sure enough, there sat three small tents, probably big enough for two people each.
Without saying a word, Morrigan brushed past them and went straight for the tent furthest away. She crawled inside. A moment later a few pouches and pieces of rough armour flew out the tent flap, then nothing.
"I guess that leaves the other two to us three," Alistair said. He shuffled awkwardly and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I mean, if it's alright, I am quite a bit wider than either of you, and what with all my armour -"
"You take a tent to yourself Alistair," Elissa said, putting the man out of his misery. Not that she wanted to share her personal space with anyone, let alone a member of the Chantry, the very people she'd been hiding from her whole life, but he had a point.
Leliana gasped and clapped her hands. "Oh goody! We can tell stories and talk about the latest fashions."
Elissa gave Alistair a pleading look. But the man just gave her a guilty shrug and hurried into his tent.
"I - I just need to tidy up," Elissa said quietly.
"Oh, of course," Leliana replied. "I found some coin and salves on our attackers, as well as a few bits of somewhat edible food. We can divvy it up in the morning. Their weapons and armour are all in a pile over there." She pointed off to the side of the tents. When Elissa looked at her, confused, she continued. "I took a look while you were helping Morrigan. That really was a very nice thing for you to do."
Elissa looked away. "We're a team now. We need to look out for each other."
"And the fact that she is so pretty helps too. No?" Leliana said with a gentle smile.
Elissa felt her cheeks redden and hoped that the other woman couldn't see it in the low light from the sliver of moon. "I would help any of you."
"You do seem like a good person," the Chantry sister said, tilting her head slightly and giving Elissa a calculating look until the noblewoman started to shuffle on the spot. She suddenly straightened up and grinned. "Oh, I almost forgot. I found your daggers." She hurried over to the pile of weapons, then came back, carrying Elissa's two blades.
Elissa rushed over and bundled them up. In the hurry to help Morrigan, she'd dropped them to the dirt. She hated to think what would have happened if she hadn't been able to find them in the dark and someone were to wander past in the night and take them.
"I cleaned them up a bit as well," Leliana continued.
And Elissa was pleasantly surprised to find that they had indeed been divested of any blood and grime. She took a calmed breath then placed them back in their scabbards. She then took out a cleaning cloth, wet it with some water from her waterskin, and started to wipe the blood off herself.
"They are quite beautiful," Leliana said, gently.
"They were a gift from my parents," Elissa replied. She paused as a stab of pain wrenched through her heart at the thought of them.
The sister must have seen the pained look cross over her face and thankfully didn't question any further. Instead, she gave Elissa a thin smile then walked over to their tent, giving Loki a pat on the head as she went.
Elissa continued to clean up until she was satisfied that every last drop was gone. Then she finally let herself breathe.
A snuffle and a very wet nose pushing into her side brought her out of her musing and she looked down to find her hound beside her, giving her an inquisitive look.
"It's okay, boy," she said. "Or, it will be. You and me."
She smiled and ruffled the top of his head. He rushed forward and gave her a big lick across her face, then nuzzled into her chest. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his fur. They stayed like that for a while. Just warm and calm and Elissa feeling a least a little bit safe.
Eventually though, the cooling breezes sneaked through her armour and she shivered. "Time for sleep I think," she said, standing up. She was about to head to the tent she'd be sharing with Leliana when her eyes settled over the small pile of weapons off to the side. Morrigan's comment from earlier sneaked into her mind. She really didn't want someone else to find them, especially not if those that found them would then try to use them on her and her companions.
So, taking a slight detour, she shucked off her backpack and packed as many of the blades into it as she could. The bow didn't fit, but there weren't any arrows around so it wouldn't be too much of a risk.
And, with that, she finally went to her tent, leaving Loki outside as guard. A slightly perturbed Loki, who was used to sleeping at the end of his mistress' bed. She gave him a couple of dog biscuits as a peace offering, then crawled in to try and get at least a few hours' sleep.