Even with the world seemingly falling apart at the seams, Haven is so tranquil during the dead of night. Just about everyone, save for a few guards and soldiers, are nestled in their beds fast asleep. She should be too yet tonight her mind is plagued with dreams too wild and unsettling for her to stay sound asleep for long. Instead Kasaanda opted to sneak out of her chambers to the apothecary. Lately she's found out how soothing it is to brew potions and grind herbs in the middle of the night. In her time in Skyrim there had been several instances when she would catch her companion grinding away during the night. At the time Kasaanda couldn't understand why Freydis would be working on potions at such an hour, especially if they had a big day planned come morning light. Freydis had claimed it soothed her. Kasaanda would often leave her be and return to bed. There was one time she had stuck around. In an unusual act of tenderness and patience, Freydis had taught her the basics of alchemy. An even more unusual thing to occur in that moment was how the Nord shared a glimpse into her life pre-Skyrim.
"My mother taught me everything I know." Freydis had said softly. As the red-head mixed and pounded, Kasaanda could see the love and devotion put into such a mundane task. Kasaanda dared not to speak in fear of ruining the moment. "She's a skilled alchemist. Runs an apothecary of sorts. We bonded over the work. Often times I would go out and gather her ingredients. There were times we did that together as well."
Still Kasaanda hadn't known how soothing a task like that could be until repetitive motions of stirring, pulverizing, and measuring worked wonders to distract her mind. The silence of dead of night was an added comfort she hadn't predicted.
The stratosphere painted a sickly chartreuse.
Inky tendrils rise from the darkened water.
Books scattered and stacked in towers everywhere.
And eyes in sky watching every move made.
A rather simple dream. It seems a bit silly to be so unsettled by one such as that. Yet each time it occurred, chills quaked through her body and her stomach churned. She tried to decipher what it could mean...what it could be. At first Kasaanda had interpreted it as her insecurities as the so-called Herald of Andraste. The darkness representing the widespread fear, the green glow for the mark on her hand along with the rifts in the sky and the eyes simply being all of Thedas watching her, waiting to see how she would fuck up or if she would be the hero they so longed for. The more she rolled that theory around in her brain, the more wrong it felt. On the surface it appeared to be a reasonable interpretation; however, something inside her refused to believe it. At this point she's given up trying to understand it or any other dreams that popup in her subconscious. Whatever the meaning was, there was some connection she held with that place. What that connection was, she had no clue.
"Are you alright?"
The voice is gentle in tone but even still it startles the mage awake. Head is raised up from the wooden table beneath, and as she sits up straight Kasaanda can feel an ache creeping through her body. It most certainly had not been a wise idea to fall asleep in that position. "What..? I-" She looks first at the pestle still nestled lightly in her grasp while avoiding looking at the bright light of morning streaming in through the window before she turns her attention to the owner of the voice. "Oh, uh good morning, Solas. How did you…?"
"I've seen you come here in the middle of the night once or twice." He answers, offering a somewhat sympathetic smile. "I'm presuming your late night activities are due to you not being able to sleep?"
Kasaanda laughs softly, placing the pestle down and standing up to stretch. "You are correct. Is it that obvious?" A rhetorical question. After all, unless there was a severe shortage or supplies needed immediately there was really no reason to be up through the whole night simply mixing up medicines. "It's getting to be a bit more frequent unfortunately."
"Considering the situation you've been placed in it's understandable that stress could start to wear on you mentally."
"Perhaps stress is part of the problem. Maybe that's what's been causing me to have a rather repetitive and dismal dream. Not quite a nightmare but terrifying enough to give me night sweats."
"Is that so?" the elf replies. His tone held a bit of curiosity yet his face for the most part remained neutral save for the slight furrow of his brows. "And what was in this dream of yours?"
And so Kasaanda describes every detail to him; from the nauseating atmosphere to the feeling of always being watched. "I know it sounds odd. Especially considering there's the impression and insistence that Qunari don't dream. But I know I do." With care she starts to clean up her workspace. Dried herb jars are put back in the exact spot she grabbed them from, and the fresh batches of potions, salves and balms are placed into a few empty crates for her to deliver to the Hinterlands along with some other supplies. "I thought maybe it was just my mind trying to process everything that's happened recently but that doesn't seem right. I don't know..." She sighs softly, glancing back at him.
"It's not a lie that dreams can serve as a way to process, store and revisit memories," Solas states, "Yet I have heard that some believe dreams can foreshadow what is to come. A premonition of sorts. Whether such a thing is possible could be debatable. The subject of dreams along with Fade tends to be more complicated than people realize. But it is a fascinating topic to study and explore."
Complicated couldn't even begin to cover it. She had to admit that in some way he was right about the topic being intriguing. Food for thought if nothing else. There's silence as she mulls over what he's said. Maybe it's a memory of the day the Conclave blew up. After all, she had no real recollection of those events. He follows behind her as she exits the apothecary.
"When it comes down to it dreams are just dreams. But when they become nightmares it's always nice to have someone to wake you up."
The added statement catches her attention, causing her to come to a halt. The look of surprise turns into a softer expression with a grin beginning to form on her lips. "Very true. Thank you, Solas. I really appreciate the talk and you checking up on me."
"It's no problem. I enjoy conversations like that. If you ever want to discuss it more I'd be more than happy to oblige. Anyways, whenever you are ready to depart let me know."
Kasaanda gives him a quick nod of acknowledgement. Silence settles as she watches the apostate walk away. Now that he mentions it... "Hey Solas!" the Qunari calls out before she can even contemplate what she's doing. Yet when he turns around with a questioning look on his face she finds herself frozen in place. There had been the intention of broaching the topic of Tamriel, Skyrim and of Freydis. If anyone could give insight into the situation he would be her top pick. Not to say her advisors or other companions weren't knowledgeable, but he was a bit more open minded. Perhaps less likely to think her crazy. However, the words she wishes to speak never come. They die on the tip of her tongue leaving her floundering slightly. "I, uh..I was wondering..." she stumbles verbally, gaze focusing anywhere but on him. There's no reason to get into it right now. He's already listened to her blabber on about on silly dream. The last thing she needs is for him to listen to her ramble on about another. "Nevermind. I'll come find you as soon as we're ready to leave." She doesn't even bother to wait around for a reply, verbal or reaction wise. Instead she hurries still a bit flustered.
She turns away the talk and thoughts of dreams, choosing to focus on her most current to-do list for their trip to the Hinterlands. Delivering and gathering supplies, providing aid to the refugees, closing more of the rifts and whatever else would pop up. When she enters Josephine's office she's a little surprised to see Leliana standing beside where their ambassador sits. If she were being honest, she'd think she was about to receive a lecture. Had that been true though Cassandra would be in here as well. Nevertheless she gives them both a smile and a greeting. "Good morning. How is everything? Are preparations about finished up for the trip to the Hinterlands today? Once the cart is loaded up with the cache for the refugees, I'll depart. Like usual I'm taking Cassandra, Varric and Solas with me."
Josephine delicately places her pen into an inkwell before folding her hands on top of the wooden surface of her makeshift desk. "A good morning to you as well, Herald. Preparations are just about complete. We've gathered all the items Mother Giselle has requested us to deliver to the people. There's a few new requisitions as well that you can go over when you get the chance. However," She shifts a bit in her seat and glances up at the spymaster before turning her gaze the mage. "Leliana has an interesting report to give you about some activity going on in the area."
"I've received a report from scouts in the area about sightings of and even an encounter with a rather strange individual."
"Strange how? And what was this encounter?" Kasaanda inquires with a befuddled expression.
"Well you see a week ago some of our soldiers encountered rouge mages ensnared in a fight with a lone warrior. She ended up passing out right before the end of the fight. Our men brought her back to camp, and the healers think it was just exhaustion. Granted she had some shallow wounds as well. Come dawn she was gone without a trace. No one on watch saw her leave. But she didn't leave empty handed. She took part of the rations and several people reported that any gold they were carrying on them was gone."
Kasaanda can't help but pace while listening and processing this new information. That was troubling no doubt. On one hand at least none their people nor any other innocents had gotten hurt. On the other hand what a slap in the face it is to have your food and money taken after providing aid to very person that you helped. "Do we know if this mystery person is affiliated with any group? Ferelden military? Templars? If anything it sounds like she might just be a common bandit or outlaw."
"There's no affiliation that we've been able to place. She's more equipped than your average marauder. Her armor and even her weapons were not like anything any of our people have seen before. The metal was unrecognizable. If I had to guess she'd be more of a mercenary than anything." Leliana's composure hasn't faltered since she started speaking. Until now. There's a pause in her speech, and the spymaster becomes visibly upset letting out a huff of a breath. "The only distinguishable features that have been recounted to me is that this woman is about Cassandra or maybe even Cullen's height, a mess of red hair and of course the uncanny armor. There's the theory that perhaps she's Avvar. Other than that we haven't gotten anymore information on her. And despite the few other sightings of her no one's been able to catch up to her."
That causes Kasaanda to come to a halt, her hawk like gaze focused on Leliana. "A rogue Avvar mercenary? I'd say that is strange." Then again what these days isn't a bit strange? The situation still leaves an odd pit in her stomach but from the sounds of it no one's been hurt. That to her is most important. Gold and food, while important, could be replaced. Lives cannot. Besides she has no room to lecture about morality and the wrongs of thievery when she did the very same things multiple times. "Don't fret about it. I'll keep this information in mind and let the others know. If the need arises, we'll handle the matter." Kasaanda concludes, waving a hand dismissively. "Is there anything else I need to know?"
"That was all. If anything happens, let us know." Josephine replies. "Safe travels, Herald." Pen is picked up again as she turns back to the documents on her desk.
Leliana gives her a quick nod and a farewell.
An hour later Kasaanda and her usual bunch are on the road after everything's been packed up and sorted out. She tries to keep up with the conversations that come about but her attention keeps turning back to what had been discussed earlier. She hasn't told the others yet merely because she's unsure of where to really start. It's puzzling why such a thing nags at her mind.
"You seem troubled." Solas states.
It gives her a bit of a fright. Twice today he's done that. And this also makes the second time he's been able to instantly tell something was wrong. There's the brief though panicked thought that perhaps he could read minds. How stupid. If anything she really needed to work on keep a straight face and not be so readable. She only becomes more ruffled when she realizes Cassandra and Varric have stopped bickering only to shift their attention to her. She guesses now is the best time to inform them rather than putting off. "Earlier today I got word from Leliana that there's been a bit of a weird situation happen in the Hinterlands. An unknown person lurking about..."