Much love for everyone who is still reading after that break. I will try to get one more chapter out this week to catch us up. Then will post chapters for Seeking Alistair. Judy& Oscar: Thanks for the comment.

The wilds seemed to go on forever. Or maybe that was just what my aching feet and legs were trying to convince me of. With no sun and no moons to see by, I couldn't be sure how long we had been traveling, but it had to be at least three to four hours.

The cold had seeped into my bones, making me feel as if I would never be warm again. Of course, I was out of cold balm. My feet, soaked to the skin, made me regret for the hundredth time tonight spending the coin on the deserter. But just as soon as I thought it, I told myself I was a bad person for thinking that way. Besides I knew given the same circumstances I would do it again.

One good thing was, as a team we were meshing well. After fighting the wolf pack and a few misfires, we got into a rhythm.

Jory, Alistair and Rabbit attacked head on and fought one enemy until it was dead. Daveth bounced around kicking, slashing and even backstabbing any enemy he saw. Which caused some issues when I cast spells both as defense and attack. Fortunately, for all of us the wounds thanks to my shield spell were superficial when I accidently hit them.

Daveth later teasing me called it friendly fire. Jory suggested every once in a while I light everyone on fire intentionally to chase away the chill.

One of the times, I gave Ser Jory the injury potion he confessed he'd been hoping to have time to talk to me. He'd had not heard my origin story and was interested. He told me about his wife, their expected child and wanting to return to Redcliffe. He was looking for the glory of being a Grey Warden, and something told me that wouldn't turn out well for him. I tried not to think too badly of him.

But to be fair, from the beginning I favored the cutpurse to the knight. He was cheeky and had no problem with me being a mage. Other than Aedan, no one seemed to mind my magic. But Daveth went a step further and treated me like a woman. When I suggested I would watch his back if he watched mine. He said, "Oh I'll watch your back." It wasn't what he said that had me blushing, but how he said it.

He was also the first one who helped me pile the bodies so I could burn them. My first body was Joby or at least that is what his last will and testament said. I had gone to the water's edge to look for the flower and found the missionary floating face down.

After getting over my initial shock at the condition of the body, I realized the Darkspawn must not have found him. Just in case they came back I was going to make they didn't take him.

While Daveth helped me pull Joby's body out of the water Alistair questioned why. I knew it was that they didn't feel he deserved a burial pyre but why with the task we needed to accomplish was I taking the time. I responded if it was them or one of their family members wouldn't you want someone to make sure the body wasn't eaten. All of them agreed.

Aedan and Jory cautioned that we didn't have time to search all the wilds for the fallen soldiers. They were trying to get me to see Alistair's earlier point.

We compromised. They would help me gather the bodies for burning so I didn't have to do the heavy lifting. And we only took care of the bodies we found directly in our path. I wouldn't go searching for them.

None of us worried about walking off leaving the bodies burning with cold wet conditions of the swamp.

We were licking our wounds, so to speak. Well only Rabbit was licking the cut to his hindquarters, but everyone else was swallowing a vial of healing potion, injury potion or both. I had used up half my stock but we standing outside the crumbling tower Alistair said held the treaties we were sent to find.

Once we healed enough walking wasn't painful, we headed into the ruins. I tried to imagine what it looked like when it was standing. There standing in the middle of what I assumed in the past was a vault, a stone chest with a smashed lid.

Alistair, Aedan and myself rushed to find nothing. The chest was completely empty, and it looked as if it had been that way for a while. I had no idea what we were going to tell Duncan and how important they were to the actual joining ceremony.

We all turned in surprise as a woman walked down a ramp behind us. She accused us of being vultures or intruders in her wilds. Aedan spoke up first to tell her we were neither, but his voice cracked and suddenly he had no idea what to say. I had never seen him at a lose for words.

She told us she had been watching us for a while. I tried to figure out how. Rabbit would have had to known if we were being followed. She said she watched wondering why we were here and demanded an answer. Alistair cautioned us not to talk to her.

She sarcastically mocked him, for fearing that barbarians would be swooping down on us.

Ignoring her sarcasm the same way he did Uldred Alistair just said, "Yes swooping is bad."

And I couldn't hide my smile. I stopped concentrating for a moment on the woman as I thought about how funny I found Alistair. And how he seemed to deflect with humor. In that he reminded me a little of Anders.

Daveth for the first time since entering the Korcari Wilds sounded fearful. He began claiming she was a witch of the wilds and was going to turn us into toads.

Without denying she was the witch, she claimed they were legends and asked if we had no minds of our own. Then she singled me out and said, "You there. Women do not frighten like little boys. Tell me your name and I shall tell you mine."

I didn't know much about barbarians, but I doubted they wished to make introductions. And if stories of being a witch had any merit. More likely she was a mage either never caught by the Templars or escaped from a tower. I didn't see the harm in telling her my name. We were sisters of a sort, magic and all.

"I am Rhiannon. Pleased to meet you."

"Now there is a proper greeting. You may call me Morrigan. Shall I guess your purpose? You sought something in that chest. Something that is here no longer."

"Here no longer," Alistair demanded accusing her of being a witch thief and demanded that she return the Grey Warden property.

I groaned and shook my head. It was a good thing he was cute because he wasn't helping.

She took the insult just as I assumed she would. Angrily she snapped back that she wasn't the one who took them. We could threaten with a name that held no power, but she was not worried. Hoping to salvage something of the conversation, I asked who took the documents.

In a huff, she responded it was her mother.

Alistair made another sarcastic comment about believing her, and the conversation spiraled until I asked if she could take us to see her mother. Duncan had made it clear those treaties were part of our joining. We needed to find out what happened to them.

We were finally making headway when she agreed, telling me it was a sensible request and that she liked me. And of course, Alistair needed to warn me about being turned into a frog. I agreed with Jory when he suggested if the pot was warmer.

As the group followed Morrigan with Aedan leading the group, I turned to Alistair and said, "Don't worry. Mages are immune from frog magic. If she turns you into a frog, I will save you from the pot and keep you as my pet."

His mouth dropped open and nothing came out.

I grinned, spun on my toes and followed the others.

Within moments, Alistair had caught up and said, "You know there are worse things than being your pet. But green isn't really my color. Do you think she could turn me into a blue frog?"

"And who said I want a blue frog as a pet. This isn't Orlais."

All eyes were on me as entered the clearing, including a white-haired old woman. I wondered briefly if I was as bright red as I felt. It wasn't the first time since the beginning of our mission I paid more attention to the former templar than our task.

Morrigan introduced us, and again Alistair opened his mouth and accused them of something nefarious. I wondered how many times his thinking before speaking had gotten him into trouble in the past.

Aedan jabbed him with his elbow and Alistair said no more. Which didn't matter as she specifically spoke to me asking what my 'women's mind' thought.

I told her I didn't know what to think. And it was true. I figured they were hedge witches and stories always became exaggerated . Which would explain why Daveth was so unsettled but wasn't willing to rule out the possibility there was more to the story.

It must have been the answer she was looking for because she praised me. Then suggested there was a wisdom in the unknown.

Aedan on the other hand suggested that he was no fool. Being around him for the last month, I knew that he was telling her he didn't believe the stories about her, but it came out sounding conceited.

She dismissed him with an off-handed remark and then told us she had kept the treaties safe. I heard Alistair and Aedan talking to her in the background, but all I could think about was why with a party of five she singled me out.

Alistair put the returned documents in his pack and suggested we return to the camp. With a last word of warning, the old woman sent us on our way with her daughter as our guide.

Mutely, I listened to Alistair grumble all the way back to camp and watch Aedan trying to engage our guide in conversation.

For the hour, it took us to return by her shortcut Morrigan successfully avoided all conversation with Aedan or anyone else other than wish them the hope darkspawn didn't devour us.

She left us disappearing back into the wilds before we got to the gate. I wondered if she had really left or was still watching somehow.