Judy as always: Thank you. My Spanish guest :Thank you for your comments. Your right I had forgotten about the mage during the attack. Thank you for reminding me. Kanta48 : Yes Aedan has his moments. And fear causes you to act in ways that normally you wouldn't. And now that she is more aware of Jowan it should be interesting for them to meet at Redcliffe. Thanks for your comments.

9:29 Dragon 26 Harring – 60 miles Northeast of Lothering

Duncan looked away as the young Cousland sliced into the flesh of the boar the two of them hunted for the evening meal. He wasn't squeamish. Maker knew he'd been hungry enough in his younger days not to look down on hunting.

But growing up on the streets of Val Royeaux the food if it wasn't rat it was usually dead and skinned before it made it into the city. In that their neighbor was more sophisticated than Ferelden. And once he became a Warden in both Orlais and Ferelden there were cooks to handle the messy part of the meals.

In that, he was more like the mage than the noble.

Duncan didn't miss the look of hopelessness on Rhiannon's face when he left her with instructions on helping to set up camp. As much as she tried, Rhiannon just wasn't becoming as self-sufficient as quickly as either she or Aedan wanted. The young lord's impatience and biting remarks were becoming irritating for both Rhiannon and himself.

He tried to reassure her there was a learning curve every Warden went through. But he figured she wouldn't believe him until she talked to a few other mage wardens and they exchanged stories. That was if they could get to Ostagar before the King took them to battle.

He understood why she had no stamina, but it was seriously hurting their travel time. Which was another thing irritating Aedan. He was so intent on getting revenge Duncan wondered what kind of Warden he would be. It might be something he would need to address if Aedan survived the joining.

It was then the idea of pairing them with Alistair the way Genevieve paired him and Riordan with Fiona. Alistair would smooth over Aedan's rough edges and bring out Rhiannon's self-confidence. And Alistair being a former Templar would alleviate some of Aedan's magic fears.

"Duncan?" Aedan called for the third time.

Duncan turned to focus on the twenty-year-old. "I am sorry Aedan. My mind was elsewhere. What did you say?"

Aedan chuckled thinking he knew where the older man's head was. "Trying to figure a way to carry Rhiannon so we don't have to make so many rest breaks?"

Duncan sighed, "Aedan. We talked about this. Rhiannon is trying. She has never had an opportunity to walk or travel anywhere. It takes time to build stamina. And the proper attire, mage robes and cloth slippers only hinder not help. She has not had the freedoms you've had. She will improve. Many successful Wardens started out in similar positions."

"Similar positions? What as a mage who's only talent is to help blood mages escape going to do to help the Wardens? She wasn't even successful enough to escape on her own."

"She wasn't trying to leave, Aedan. She was following the First Enchanters orders."

"The First Enchanter wanted the mages to escape?" Aedan asked shocked.

Duncan sighed and wondered if Aedan was being deliberately obtuse or was there truly a more genuine fear. "No. There are politics that neither you or I would understand, nor is it our place. But accept there was a reason she was involved and leave it at that. Rhiannon was the reason we went to the tower."

Aedan could feel the blood throbbing in his temples. He was angry. "Wait. We went to the Tower to get a mage?"

"We went to the Tower to get several mages. The King was allowing me a greater commitment from the Circle. The Darkspawn have magic and we need to counter it with magic of our own."

"That's what we have Templars for. Duncan you can't trust them. I know you think the Tower was the first time with mages, but Howe brought several along to destroy my family. Mages are evil or at least have the tendency to be evil. I will not be thralled before we get to Ostagar."

Duncan could have reacted. He could have told the young lord that his fears were groundless. He'd spent enough time with both to know what kind of people they were. She was no more a blood mage than Aedan was a criminal. But that wouldn't help the man who watched as mages helped kill his family.

"You were trying to get my attention for something. What did you need?"

Aedan sighed. He knew his warnings were falling on deaf ears. There were days, especially the last several he wished he'd taken his chances with Howe's men and not agreed to be a Grey Warden. Without Duncan and all his pet mage's stops he would have been to Ostagar with Fergus by now.

And if that wasn't irritating enough the mage had to be handheld on everyday tasks. He wasn't sure what she was even good for. She couldn't hunt, prep the animal for cooking, or even cook. How hard was it to cook? You put the meal over the fire and watched it, so it didn't burn. What was he saying, the only way she could make a fire was with magic.

He just walked away shaking his head when she put up her tent and it collapsed on top of her. Even Oren his six-year-old nephew could put up a tent. Or he could before Howe's men slaughtered him. And all Duncan could do after she cried herself to sleep was fix the tent for her.

As he watched Rabbit gobble up the last of the entrails and organs of the boar he frowned and said, "How long are we planning on staying in Redcliffe?"

"We're not. I am. You and Rhiannon are going to continue to travel on the road to Ostagar. I will take care of business with the Arl and catch up to you."

"Andraste's Arse, finally. Wait you are sticking me with the mage?"

"Yes, and I will trust you to take care of her as benefits your family responsibility. If you do not think you can do that then we will all go to Redcliffe despite the delay that will take in our travels."