Ahh...chapter six. I was delayed because the remaining computer in the house needed repairs to it as well, soooo I couldn't write for a few days. But it's back now, so I can write again, yaaaaaaay!
Please review, I'm dying for feedback.
Enjoy!
Aurora didn't expect to regain consciousness. In fact, she expected to never wake up again, least of all to find that she felt as it she'd been run over by the ogre they'd fought.
Then again, she might as well have been, it had knocked her around rather well…
Aurora groaned at the sore feeling, slowly sitting up in the…bed, she was on a bed. Carefully, she opened her eyes to take in the small, cozy little hut that was her surroundings, surprised to see a familiar, scantily clad, raven haired figure approaching her.
"Ah, your eyes finally open. Mother shall be pleased," Morrigan said in that smooth voice of hers as she approached Aurora's bed.
"…yes…Where am I?" Aurora asked slowly, still regaining her bearings. She realized next that she was only in her underwear, though she wasn't as uncomfortable about it considering it was just her and Morrigan in the room. If there had been a man in the room with them she would have freaked out.
"Back in the Wilds, of course. I am Morrigan, lest you have forgotten, and I have just bandaged your wounds. You are welcome, by the way." Her tone turned to that of curiosity, her gaze probing. "How does your memory fare? Do you remember Mother's rescue?
"I…I remember being overwhelmed by darkspawn…" Aurora murmured, trying to remember what had happened. They'd burst through the door…arrows flying through the air…Alistair leaping out of the way of some thrown rubble…
"Mother managed to save you and your friend, though 'twas a close call. What is important is that you both live," Morrigan told her, and Aurora looked up at the mention of her friend. Did she mean Alistair? Had he been rescued as well? She didn't get to ask her question, as Morrigan was still speaking. "The man who was to respond to your signal quit the field…the darkspawn won your battle. Those he abandoned were massacred. Your friend…he is not taking it well."
Aurora reeled. Everyone that had been in Ostagar, all those people…dead? Loghain had retreated rather than fulfill his vital role in his own strategy, leaving the others, the Grey Wardens and the King of Ferelden…to be slaughtered like rodents?
But…still…she'd said friend. "My friend? You mean Alistair?" Did he survive as well?
"The suspicious dim witted one who was with you before, yes," Morrigan said bluntly. Aurora shrugged off the jab at Alistair, feeling…relief to know that the man had survived. For a human man, he wasn't that bad—from what Aurora had seen so far, anyway, she still didn't know him well. But it did bring her some comfort to know that someone she was acquainted with had survived. And to know she wasn't the only Grey Warden.
Morrigan continued to speak. "He is outside by the fire. Mother asked to see you when you awoke."
Aurora looked down at herself, noting that she wasn't bandaged, and that all of her injuries were healed and gone, even the bruises on her arm where the guards at Denerim had grabbed her, though she had a small scar on her chest where the one had bit her. She'd rather that hideous mark was gone forever, but if she didn't look at it she'd be okay. "Were my injuries severe?"
"Yes, but I expect you shall be fine. The darkspawn did nothing Mother could not heal."
Aurora suddenly felt worry grip her, suddenly realizing she had no idea what happened to Alistair after she'd blacked out—he would have been left completely alone with the darkspawn flooding in when she lost consciousness. "What about Alistair? Is he all right?"
"He is as you are. I suppose it would be unkind to say he is being childish," Morrigan said bitterly. Again, Aurora ignored the comment, having gotten the impression by now that Morrigan was not very fond of Alistair and that what some would consider normal reactions—like grieving—she would consider foolish weaknesses. She seemed that kind of woman. Still…
"Thank you for helping me, Morrigan. Truly," Aurora said, inclining her head. The woman was surprised, then flustered—and it would probably be one of the few times Aurora saw the woman so at a loss.
"I…you are welcome, though Mother did most of the work—I am no healer."
Aurora gave her a slight smile, then slowly got out of the bed, looking around for her clothes. "I guess I'll get dressed and head outside, then."
Morrigan nodded. "I will stay and make something to eat."
Morrigan moved to a different part of the cabin, allowing Aurora the space to get changed. Aurora found her stuff in the locker at the foot of the bed, carefully shrugging on the leather armor and pulling her hair into its usual tight bun, the too short strands of hair dangling at the sides of her face. She left the helmet off, not really feeling like dealing with it right now and deciding she wouldn't need it for some time anyway. She searched through her looted goods and sheathed her sword and dagger after securing her pack, made sure everything was there, and regretfully discovered she'd lost the bow and arrows on top of the tower. A shame—she'd have to see if she could scavenge or buy a replacement. Once she was ready, Aurora stepped out the door.
The first thing she saw was Alistair a few paces from the door, standing on the shore of one of the Wilds' many swampy areas and staring out into the distance. She couldn't see his face, just his back, and he didn't seem to realize she'd joined them. He looked perfectly fine, she didn't see any bandages on him either, which was good. There were no missing limbs…all in one piece.
Morrigan's mother turned when Aurora left the shack, a secretive smile dancing across her face. "See? Here is your fellow Grey Warden. You worry too much, young man."
Worried? About me?
Sure enough, when Alistair turned to catch sight of her his expression changed from that of one lost in dark thoughts and memories to one of utter relief.
"You…You're alive," Alistair breathed in a barely audible voice, his shoulders slumping forward as he wilted from relief. "I thought you were dead for sure…"
"I'm not, thanks to Morrigan's mother—I appreciate your concern," Aurora told him gently, though she was…unused to a human showing such concern for an elf. It was…strange, though she brushed aside the thought that it was a farce as she could see in his eyes the fear and worry that was probably about to flow forth from him.
As Alistair recovered from seeing that she was in fact alive, his face crumpled, some of the trauma he'd been struggling with rising to the surface. "This doesn't seem real. If it weren't for Morrigan's mother, we'd be dead on top of that tower," he continued in that soft, shaking voice.
"Do not talk about me as if I am not present, lad," the old woman chided Alistair flatly. Guilt flashed across Alistair's face as he turned to face the old woman.
"I-I didn't mean…" he fumbled. "But-but what do we call you? You ne-you never told us your name."
"Names are pretty, but useless," the old woman said dismissively. "The Chasind folk call me Flemeth—I suppose it will do."
Aurora's head snapped around to face the old woman before her, and Alistair's eyes widened. Flemeth? The immortal witch the elves called The Woman of Many Years, was this woman before her? The woman who had saved them.
Suddenly Aurora was grateful for her instincts to be respectful and gracious to the woman she'd sensed was dangerous despite her elderly appearance.
"The Flemeth, from the legends?" Alistair asked, the shock reverberating in his tone. "Daveth was right…you're the Witch of the Wilds, aren't you?"
"And what does that mean?" Flemeth asked reproachfully. "I know a bit of magic, and it has served you both well, has it not?"
"If you're Flemeth, you must be very old and powerful," Aurora stated, eyeing the woman cautiously as she prodded just enough to see if perhaps by some odd chance this wasn't The Woman of Many Years that stood before her.
Flemeth's eyebrows rose. "Must I? Age and power are relative—it depends on who is asking. Compared to you, yes, on both counts."
So much for the off chance that Flemeth wasn't The Woman of Many Years. Aurora suddenly felt a lot more self-conscious standing beside this woman, like she was an insignificant fly waiting in anticipation to be swatted into a black smear on the wall.
Alistair, it seemed, was a little slow on the uptake of fear, his voice instead holding quiet accusation. "Then why didn't you save Duncan? He is…was, our leader."
"I am sorry for your Duncan, but your grief must come later…in the dark shadows before you take vengeance, as my mother once said. Duty must come now," Flemeth said patiently before she sized them both up. "It has always been the Grey Wardens' duty to unite the lands against the Blight, or did that change when I wasn't looking?"
"The land is hardly united, thanks to Loghain," Aurora muttered bitterly.
"That doesn't make any sense!" Alistair said in frustration. "Why would he do it?"
"Now that is a good question." Flemeth shook her head. "Men's hearts hold shadows darker than any tainted creature."
Aurora's expression darkened substantially, folding her arms over her chest. "Truer words have never been spoken," she said coldly, glaring at the ground. Alistair spared her a glance of wary curiosity, but he didn't press her for more as Flemeth continued.
"Perhaps he believes that the Blight is an army that he can outmaneuver. Perhaps he does not see that the evil behind it is the true threat."
"The archdemon," Alistair answered, shifting in place. Aurora chewed on her lip, a thousand questions flashing through her mind.
"We should contact the rest of the Grey Wardens," Aurora tried. Perhaps they could get help or advice of some kind if they could reach out to the others. Alistair himself had only been a Warden for six months, not long at all, and Aurora had only just been added to their ranks.
"Cailan already summed them. They'll come if they can. But…I expect Loghain has already taken steps to stop them. We must assume they won't arrive in time," Alistair said gravely.
Aurora sighed in frustration, working her bottom lip and absently twiddling at one of the strands of hair in her face. "What is this archdemon, exactly?" she asked, wishing now that she had managed to get time with Duncan to ask him these questions and get filled in on everything she needed to know. Hopefully Alistair or Flemeth could answer most of her questions.
"It is said that long ago the Maker sent the Old Gods of the ancient Tevinter Imperiem to slumber in prisons deep beneath the surface. An Archdemon is an Old God awakened and tainted by darkspawn. Believe that or not, history says it's a fearsome and immortal thing. And only fools ignore history," Flemeth said cryptically. Again, Aurora agreed with her statement, returning to having both arms folded over her chest.
"Then we need to find this archdemon," she said simply.
"By ourselves?" Alistair asked dubiously. "No Grey Warden has ever defeated a Blight without the army of a half dozen nations at its back. Not to mention…I don't know how," Alistair said, the desperation and fear glimmering in his eyes. Aurora couldn't blame him. He was green to the Order like her, though not nearly as green, and his entire world had just crashed around him. She was too new to the Wardens to feel the blow as deeply as him, but losing the king, knowing all those lives had been lost because of the treachery of Loghain…that she could understand. She could also understand that their job was serious and important, and right now they were the only ones who knew the truth. They had to at least try.
Flemeth arched a questioning eyebrow at Aurora's fellow Warden. "How to kill the archdemon, or how to raise an army? It seems to me, those are two different questions, hmm? Have the Wardens no allies these days?"
"I…I don't know. Duncan said that the Grey Wardens of Orlais had been called. And Arl Eamon would never stand for this, surely," Alistair stated, ending with some conviction in his voice even though he'd started out with a confused and hopeless tone.
"You think the arl would believe us over the teyrn?" Aurora asked, gesturing between herself—the murdering little alienage elf scum, and Alistair the sarcastic but right now slightly panicked and confused Grey Warden.
"I suppose…" Alistair started before trailing off. "Arl Eamon wasn't at Ostagar—he still has all his men. And he was cailan's uncle. I know him. He's a good man, respected in the Landsmeet."
Finally, hope seemed to light up Alistair's features. "Of course! We could go to Redcliffe and appeal to him for help!"
Aurora took care to phrase her words so that she wouldn't accidentally douse this first flicker of renewed hope inside her fellow surviving Warden. "I'm not sure if the arl's men alone will be enough…And if by some chance he won't or can't help us…Surely there are other allies we could call on?"
Alistair lit up at a sudden epiphany. "Of course! The treaties! Grey Wardens can demand aid from dwarves, elves, mages, and other places! They're obliged to help us during a Blight!"
"I may be old, but dwarves, elves, mages, this Arl Eamon, and who knows what else…this sounds like an army to me," Flemeth quipped.
"So can we do this? Go to Redcliffe and these other places and…build an army?" Alistair asked her, determination starting to radiate from him.
"Well…I doubt it will be as easy as that…but we can try," Aurora said carefully. Flemeth actually laughed.
"And when is it ever easy?"
Alistair's eyes steeled with his newfound determination. "It's always been the Grey Wardens' duty to stand against the Blight. And right now, we're the Grey Wardens."
"So you are set then? Ready to be Grey Wardens?" Flemeth asked.
Aurora sighed, trying not to feel the weight that was being dropped on their shoulders. And to think, her biggest problem a few days ago had been the fact she was being forced into an arranged marriage…
"I'd be happy with just staying alive," she admitted.
Alistair pursed his lips, looking at her. "Mm, come to think of it, that would be nice…"
Good, his humor was returning.
Flemeth snorted. "Well, don't expect me to do everything. There is, however, one more thing I can offer you…"
Before Aurora could ask what this other thing was, Morrigan exited the hut, coming to stand with them. "The stew is bubbling, Mother Dear. Shall we have two guests for the eve…or none?"
"The Grey Wardens are leaving shortly, girl. And you will be joining them."
Everyone was shocked by the statement, though Morrigan arguably most of all. "Such a shame—what?" she asked sharply, her voice cracking on the last word from how quickly her voice rose in pitch from her surprise.
"You heard me, girl; the last time I looked you had ears!" Flemeth said with a gleeful cackle. Aurora shifted uncomfortably at Morrigan's obvious displeasure.
"Thank you, but if Morrigan doesn't wish to join us…" Aurora said slowly.
"Her magic will be useful. Even better, she knows the Wilds and how to get past the horde," Flemeth said casually.
"Have I no say in this?" Morrigan asked in frustration.
"You have been itching to get out of the Wilds for years—here is your chance. As for you, Wardens, consider this repayment for your lives," Flemeth said with notes of finality in her voice. There would be no arguing with the old woman, that was for sure. Not that Aurora wanted to press her luck and try arguing…
"Very well, we'll take her with us," Aurora relented.
"Not to look a gift horse in the mouth…" Alistair started slowly. "But won't this add to our problems? Outside of the Wilds, she's an apostate."
"If you do not wish help from us illegal mages, young man, perhaps I should have left you on that tower," Flemeth said almost instantly.
"Point taken," Alistair mumbled, chastised, though Aurora was slightly amused by the exchange.
"Mother, this is not how I wanted this—I'm not even ready!" Morrigan protested.
"You must be ready. 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," Flemeth said seriously. Aurora frowned slightly.
Thanks for the vote of confidence.
"I…" Morrigan began to say before she sighed and relented. "Understand…"
Flemeth turned to them. "And you, Wardens? Do you understand? I give you that which I value above all in this world. I do this because you must succeed."
Aurora inclined her head respectfully. "She won't come to harm with us," Aurora promised.
"Allow me to get my things, if you please," Morrigan said, her voice sounding slightly strained. She disappeared into the hut, not gone for long at all—the silence didn't even get a chance to turn awkward before the woman had reappeared to join their little group.
"I am at your disposal, Grey Wardens. 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," Morrigan stated, the last part forced out through ground teeth.
"No, I prefer you speak your mind," Aurora said with a frown. She didn't like the thought of bringing other people to heel beneath her.
Unless of course they were no good shems who deserved to die, then she didn't have a problem with it.
Flemeth laughed. "You will regret saying that."
Morrigan turned to her mother. "Dear, sweet mother. You are so kind to cast me out like this. How fondly I shall remember this moment," Morrigan said spitefully.
"Well, I always said, if you want something done, do it yourself…or hear about it for a decade or two afterwards," Flemeth chuckled.
Alistair looked frustrated. "I just…do you really want to take her along just because her mother says so?" he asked dubiously, studying Aurora. Aurora folded her arms defensively across her chest.
"We need all the help we can get," Aurora said simply, though a few other reasons raced across her mind along the lines of I'm not about to cross The Woman of Many Years, it would be helpful to have a mage along, I don't have much of a problem with her…The list went on.
Alistair sighed. "I guess you're right. The Grey Wardens have always taken allies where they could find them," he relented, though a few notes of displeasure still leaked into his tone near the end.
"I am so pleased to have your approval," Morrigan stated smoothly. Aurora smiled slightly—good, another sarcastic one. At least she'd be among people who might be able to understand her humor. Still…it was already clear these two were not going to like each other at all. She could already hear the bickering fights while she tried to block them out.
"I think we should just get underway," Aurora said with a shake of her head.
"Farewell, Mother. Do not forget the stew on the fire. I shall hate to return to a burned down hut," Morrigan said in way of parting. Flemeth scoffed.
"Tis far more likely you will return to see this entire area, along with my hut, swallowed up by the Blight!"
Aurora blinked at how harsh that seemed, even by this peculiar mother/daughter pairing's standards. Morrigan was taken aback as well. "I…all I meant was…"
"Yes, I know. Do try to have fun, dear," Flemeth said cheerfully, and on that disconcerting note, Aurora waited for Morrigan to take the lead before she fell into step even with Alistair, a respectable distance between them as always.
There was only silence as the trio made their way through the Wilds, and Aurora found Alistair's lack of conversation far more worrisome than the darkspawn that surely lurked in the Wilds. It wasn't like him to be so quiet, and the constant frown he seemed to possess along with the dark, haunting look in his eyes…
Had she looked like that when she arrived at Ostagar? Was he going to be all right? He hadn't spoken much of the loss at Ostagar, not on the personal level anyway, and she worried about him, how it affected him. She hadn't had any connections at Ostagar other than he and Duncan, and Duncan had been more of a symbol of how she'd gotten there in the first place than anything else.
Now she just had the ring on her necklace to remind her of that—that was something she would never forget. A lesson she could never afford to forget, an event to remind her that shemlen men were not to be blindly trusted, and were to be regarded as dangerous, heartless, and greedy unless thoroughly proven otherwise.
She should have learned that lesson the first time after what happened with her mother, but she had foolishly held to the hope that perhaps there was good in all people no matter what race.
Aurora shook her head of the dark thoughts, pushing forward and continuing to follow Morrigan as she led the two Wardens through the Wilds, flitting through ruins and boggy swamp patches with an ease of a woman who'd known nothing else. Aurora envied the woman, somewhat—she'd had the freedom to live as she pleased out here in the Wilds, free to practice and develop her own talents without fear of retaliation. Well…perhaps there had been some fear when the woman was younger, perhaps not—Aurora didn't know. But what she wouldn't give to have that freedom in her own life before it was swept away in a river of blood. She'd always been captivated by the thought of the Dalish clans living in the wilderness, free from the oppression of humans…
Aurora was shaken from her Dalish fantasies as they came to a clearing rimmed with ruins, something rushing towards them from around the corner up ahead. Aurora tensed, reaching for her dagger, sharp eyes locking onto the fast moving object.
Aurora relaxed as it rounded the corner to reveal itself as a mabari hound, though surprise resonated through her as it bounded closer and Aurora realized it was a very familiar mabari.
As the hound from the Ostagar camp reached them, Aurora stepped forward and dropped to one knee, scratching behind the hound's ear. "What is it, boy?" Aurora asked before the hound pulled away urgently, bounding left and right in urgency and barking before he took up position in front of Aurora, his ears flattening against his skull as he lowered himself closer to the ground and growled menacingly at something she could not yet see. However, she did feel the sudden burning tug in her blood, and looked up with both hands on her weapons to see a band of eight Hurlock darkspawn headed towards them. A large and fully armored Alpha was at the front, and when it saw them it mimed slicing their throats with a guttural roar. Aurora drew her blades with Alistair while Morrigan pulled out her weathered staff, her amber eyes alight with a dangerous fire. Aurora didn't doubt that unlike the mage at the Tower of Ishal, Morrigan would be able to hold her own just fine.
The mabari hound bounded forward with Alistair and Aurora just a few paces behind it, Morrigan staying back as a frigid air suddenly appeared behind her. Before Aurora and Alistair even reached the group Morrigan had frozen one of the Hurlocks in the front, and as Alistair clashed his shield against the large greatsword of the Alpha and the mabari barreled into another Hurlock, Aurora swept her longsword with as much strength as she could manage through the frozen Hurlock, shattering it so it could not unthaw and continue its terror upon the area. The mabari, having just ripped out the throat of the darkspawn he'd clashed with, suddenly threw himself forward towards Aurora's right, crashing into a Hurlock that had been charging her. Aurora rushed forward and shoved the dagger through the creature's skull, looking up as lightly arced through the air overhead to crash into another Hurlock, the creature falling dead from the intensity of the spell.
Alistair was still locked in combat with the Alpha, though the fight was quickly becoming even more difficult for him as two of the remaining Hurlocks came at him as well. Aurora spun to lock blades with another Hurlock, the second one a few paces behind the first frozen in place by ice magic from behind. While Aurora held the Hurlock she was locked with in place, the mabari sank its teeth into the darkspawn's leg, causing the Hurlock to buckle and allowing Aurora to bat aside its blades and swiftly cut off the creature's head.
A bolt of purplish energy soared overhead and smashed into the frozen Hurlock, shattering it with another spell from Morrigan and giving Aurora and the mabari a chance to double back to Alistair, who was impressively holding his own against the two Hurlocks and the Alpha, though he had a clear cut across his cheek, there was dark crimson staining his armor in too concentrated of a spot for it not to be from a wound of his own, and he was hard pressed to keep up with the three pronged attack.
The mabari raced forward, leaping onto the back of one of the darkspawn and ripping its claws into flesh all the way down. The Hurlock howled and whipped around as the mabari sunk its teeth into the creature's ankle, yanking hard enough for the Hurlock to fall to the ground. The mabari wasted no time in jumping atop it and going into the kill, though Aurora was coming around to Alistair's defense as he caught the shield of the Hurlock with the flat of his blade, blocking a bone-shattering blow from the greatsword of the Alpha with his shield and being forced to jump over the low-swinging longsword of the Hurlock. Without his feet planted firmly on the ground, the Alpha shoved the man into the dirt. To get the Hurlock away from her fellow Warden, Aurora threw her dagger at the creature, distracting it long enough for it not to kill Alistair so she could get there in time to engage the creature, longsword whipping around fast just to be blocked by the creature's shield, and she was forced to dance away from the Hurlock's longsword as she didn't have her dagger to block it.
Alistair still had his wits and had managed not to be stunned by the blow to the ground, so he brought up his shield in time to block a killing blow from the Alpha. It knocked aside the shield with its foot, but was forced to stumble back a few steps as a second purple bolt of energy sailed through the air and struck it in the chest. That gave Alistair the time he needed to roll to his feet and retrieve his shield, raising the shield and charging the Alpha to strike it in the chest with all of his strength. The creature staggered again, but Alistair was already swinging with his sword and easily decapitated its helmeted head. He turned to help Aurora in her deadly dance with the last Hurlock, but the mabari beat him to it, barreling into the creature's side while it was focused on Aurora and pinning the creature to the ground, ripping into it effortlessly. Aurora let the mabari have its snack, limping off to retrieve her dagger as she caught her breath. Once she had her weapon back, she searched through her pack and tossed something at Alistair, who only barely managed to catch it.
Bandages. And she was wielding a shoot of elfroot and a health poultice now instead of a dagger and longsword. "Patch yourself up—it looks like they got you pretty good," she commented, nodding to the slowly blooming crimson on his left side.
"Right," Alistair murmured, finding a nearby rock to sit on while he patched himself up. Morrigan joined them once more—not so much as a speck of blood or a scratch on her, unlike Alistair, Aurora, and the mabari—while Aurora started to rifle through the corpses on the ground for anything good. She pocketed a few things, then sat back on her haunches as the mabari approached her with a happy wag to its short tail, panting. Aurora reached out with a small smile, gently petting the hound's head and scratching at its neck.
"Those darkspawn didn't hurt you, boy, did they?" Aurora asked, still petting the bloody but pleased mabari.
Alistair spoke up from his rock. "I think he was out there looking for you. He's…chosen you. Mabari are like that. They call it imprinting," Alistair explained, watching the little elven woman as she actually smiled while petting and scratching the happy hound.
"Does this mean we're going to have this mangy beast following us about now? Wonderful…" Morrigan said in annoyance. Alistair rolled his eyes, returning his attention to the mabari that had just helped them in a tight spot.
"He's not mangy," he practically cooed. Aurora chuckled, touching her nose to the mabari's for a few seconds before it licked her face and she laughed. Alistair paused. He hadn't heard the woman laugh—really laugh—without trying to cover it up. It was…different, but in a good way. It was nice to see actually happiness on her face, if only for a few moments.
"I wondered—after helping the Kennel Master heal him—what it would be like to have a dog like this…maybe it's meant to be," she said thoughtfully. The mabari barked happily, licking her face once more.
"All right, all right, settle down there…" she pursed her lips in thought, absentmindedly petting the mabari's head before she gave a slight nod of approval with whatever idea came to mind. "Alaron. Does that sound like a fitting name?"
The mabari barked again, licking her several times until she pulled away. "Careful there! You're as big as me, we don't want you crushing me!" she laughed, scratching Alaron behind the ears as she stood. She was right, he was as big as her—standing on all fours right beside her he almost came to her shoulder. As she turned to the other two, her expression once more fell to that of seriousness. "We should probably keep moving. The sooner we're away from darkspawn infested Wilds, the better," she stated, one hand on the head of the mabari that now sat at her side.
Morrigan sighed, casting a dirty glance at Alaron for daring to come along with them before she took the lead. "As you wish, Warden," she said with such disinterest Alistair was surprise she didn't cause the nearby plants to frost. Aurora didn't say anything, following behind the witch and drifting to the side every now and then to pick some elfroot or deathroot without even stopping, Alaron sticking right to her side the entire way.
Whatever route Morrigan had them on, it was a fast one. In what felt like no time at all the village of Lothering started to come into view as they made their way across a stone bridge that would take them to the outskirts of the village. Halfway across they ran into a few armed men standing around with several crates and two wagons blocking the way. Aurora tensed, knowing thugs when she saw them—especially since there was a dead Templar shoved carelessly to the side not too far from them. It was an obvious warning.
"Wake up gentlemen! More travelers to attend to. Led by an elf of all things!" the shemlen leader said as he approached, sizing them up rather hungrily. Aurora's expression immediately fell into a sneer, and beside her, Alaron growled. One of the shemlen's companions spoke up, and the way he spoke had Aurora immediately pinning him as the dumb one, even if he was wiser for being cautious.
"Err…" the slow shemlen said. "They don't look much like them others, you know. Uh, maybe we should just let these ones pass."
"Nonsense! Greetings travelers!" the shemlen leader said in a falsely cheery voice. Alistair shifted uncomfortably at Aurora's right, speaking softly so only she could hear.
"Highwaymen. Preying on those fleeing the darkspawn, I suppose."
Morrigan scoffed, folding her arms over her chest and glaring at the shemlens much as Aurora was doing at the moment. "They are fools to get in our way. I say teach them a lesson."
That was what Aurora was thinking.
"Now is that any way to greet someone?" the man clucked his tongue at them. "A simple ten silvers and you're free to move on!"
Aurora narrowed her eyes, placing her hands on her hips as she stared the shemlens down. "You should listen to your friend. We're not refugees."
"What did I tell you?" the slow one said as the leader took half a step back at the icy looks he was getting from the women. "No wagons, and this one looks armed."
Just this one? We're all armed!
"The toll applies to everyone, Hanric. That's why it's a toll and not, say, a refugee tax," the leader amended smoothly.
"Ooh, right," the slow one drawled. "Even if you're no refugee, you still gotta pay."
Aurora scowled. Even though she had enough to spare ten silvers, it was still the principle, and after growing up in the alienage where ten silvers had bought an entire house for Nessa's family, she had learned to truly value money.
And she wasn't about to be robbed by shemlen thugs like these.
"Forget it. I'm not paying," Aurora said flatly.
"Well, I can't say I'm pleased to hear that. We have rules, you know," the leader said flippantly, his thug friends tensing and a few in the back itching for their weapons. Aurora retained her calm even as the slow one issued the first naked threat.
"Right. We get to ransack your corpse, then. Those are the rules."
Behind her, Alaron growled and Alistair reached for his sword, hand on the hilt but not yet drawing the weapon as Aurora hadn't even reached for hers. Morrigan's amber eyes were watching her closely. Aurora instead crossed her arms over her chest, staying rooted in place and giving them a cold glare full of steel.
"Do you really want to fight a Grey Warden?" she asked in a calm but dangerous tone of voice.
The ripple effect was instantaneous, a few of the shemlens in the back letting go of their weapons and the three facing them taking a step back while the slow shemlen spoke. "Did she say she's a Grey Warden? Them ones killed the king."
Aurora's eyes snapped to the slow shemlen. The Wardens killed the king? Where had they learned that? Was Loghain already spreading a fabricated story that painted them as the villains at Ostagar?
"Traitors to Ferelden, I hear," the leader said greedily. "Teyrn Loghain put quite a bounty on any who are found."
"But aren't them Grey Wardens good? I mean, really good? Good enough to kill a king?" the slow one asked. Maybe he had some brain cells in there where the leader was lacking.
"You have a point," the leader relented, turning to Aurora. "Well, let's forget about the toll. We'll just leave you to your darkspawn-fighting, king-killing ways!" he said cheerfully. Aurora saw an opportunity to shame them further and kept her façade in place.
"You know, the Grey Wardens could use a donation," Aurora said thoughtfully, sizing the shemlen up.
"You don't say," the leader deadpanned.
"They is really good, boss, remember?" the slow one stated. The leader sighed, and Aurora could feel Alistair's shocked gaze and Morrigan's approving expression from behind her as the shemlen fished out a small leather pouch and dropped it into her hand.
"Well yes. Twenty silvers? That's all we've…collected today."
Aurora flashed him a predatory smile, pocketing the little pouch. "An excellent donation, thank you."
"Then take it!" the shemlen stated, unnerved by the smile she gave him. "Er, do enjoy your stay in Lothering, and all that…"
The bandits moved aside as Aurora led the way forward, Alaron growling softly at the bandits as they passed. Alistair glanced around at them cautiously, coming a half step closer to Aurora to whisper so only she would hear. "I can't believe you pulled that off!"
"Wait for it…" Aurora stated calmly, ears straining until she heard someone knock an arrow against their bow, the wood creaking softly as they drew the string of their weapon back. Aurora whipped around at the sound and threw her dagger, which lodged in the archer that had been readying to fire on them while their backs were turned. Chaos erupted, and Alistair jumped back and drew his sword and shield while Alaron jumped on the first bandit that charged Aurora. That left three, one for each of them. Morrigan simply froze one of them, Alistair blocked a heavy swing from the slow one, and Aurora went right for the leader, retrieving her dagger from the corpse of the archer on the way. It was hardly a fight, as Aurora clashed with the leader's weapons once, twice, and on the third clash cut his hand well enough to force the man to drop his weapon, which let her easily disarm him of the other one, kick his knee, and force him to his knees with her blades at his throat.
"All right! We surrender!" the leader said, and the slow shem raised his hands as Alistair drew back from the fight, leveling his sword at the slow one's chest. "We-we-we're just trying to get by, before the darkspawn get us all!"
Aurora sneered at him. "Get by? You're a criminal!"
"Yes, I'm a criminal, I admit it. I apologize," the shem said hastily and without an ounce of sincerity despite the cold blades pressed to his throat.
"Hand over everything you've stolen," Aurora ordered sharply, tightening her grip on her blades.
"Yes, yes, of course! The coins we collected are right here. Just over a hundred silvers," the shem said hastily, pulling out a much better hidden and larger pouch and dropping it at Aurora's feet with haste. "The rest is in the chests we brought! I swear!"
Aurora's sneer turned sharper as she studied the trembling shemlen bandit, staring at his terror-wide gaze. "Now I'm turning you in to the authorities," she said harshly.
"There aren't any! Just the Templars, and they'll execute me!" he said shrilly.
"They'll do what they have to—you're coming with me," she returned flatly, gaze unforgiving.
"I'm not going down without a fight!" the shemlen shouted furiously, throwing himself back and reaching for a fallen sword. Aurora had run him through before he could grasp the handle, and Alistair made quick work of the slow one. Aurora sighed, running a hand down her face before she crouched down to pick up the pouch of silver and see what she could find on them.
"Foolish shemlens," she muttered under her breath, tucking a few injury kits and health poultices into her kit as well as a few shiny gems she knew she could get some good coin for. She tested the bow the one archer had used and, once she decided it would do she secured it and it's quiver of arrows as she'd had the other bow and quiver at Ostagar, making sure the new weapons weren't in the way of her drawing her blades before she rejoined the others.
They made their way past the bandit group's barricade and a little bit further down the stone bridge before a stairway into the valley on their right came into view, and they made their way down the first flight to stand on the landing before the final set of stairs on either side that would bring them even with the ground. A rather pathetic looking town loomed before them, most of the space in the valley filled with refugee carts and tents.
"Well, there it is: Lothering. Pretty as a painting," Alistair commented, gesturing to the valley before them. Morrigan, it seemed, couldn't resist making a jab at him.
"Ah, so you have finally decided to rejoin us, have you? Falling on your blade in grief seemed like too much trouble, I take it?"
Alistair scowled at her. "Is my being upset so hard to understand? Have you never lost someone important to you? Just what would you do if your mother died?"
Morrigan smiled sweetly at him, unfazed. "Before or after I stopped laughing?"
Alistair shot her a dirty look. "Right, very creepy, forget I asked."
"You have been very quiet, Alistair," Aurora spoke up softly, making sure he could hear that she held none of the ridicule and judgement Morrigan was pinning to him. Alistair shifted uncomfortably, the dark shadows shifting in his gaze as he looked towards Aurora without actually seeing her.
"Yes…I know. I was just…thinking…" he answered in a quiet, halting voice.
"No wonder it took so long, then," Morrigan mused. Immediately, Alistair was scowling again.
"Oh, I get it. This is the part where we're shocked to discover how you've never had a friend in your entire life," Alistair retorted bitterly.
"I can be friendly when I desire to. Alas, desiring to be more intelligent does not make it so."
Aurora had to resist the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose in exasperation. This was going to be the entire journey, wasn't it?
Alistair seemed to pick up on her frustration with the current conversation—if it could even be called that—and quickly switched the subject.
"Anyway, I thought we should talk about where we intended to go first."
"You have some thoughts on that point, Alistair?" Aurora asked, making it a point to keep him involved and listen to his opinion. Best to be the healthy counterweight to Morrigan's criticism.
"This should be good," Morrigan mused with a smile.
"I think," Alistair ground out, making it a point to ignore Morrigan. "What Flemeth suggested is the best idea. These treaties…have you looked at them?"
"Yes, I have," Aurora said. In a way…sort of. I mean, I had to look at them when I put them in my pack. That counts, right? Maybe I'll actually look at them later, but you and Flemeth already summed them up back in the Wilds.
As if sensing her lie, Alistair still gave her a short explanation. "There are three main groups that we have treaties for: the Dalish Elves, the Dwarves of Orzammar, and the Circle of Magi. I also still think that Arl Eamon is our best bet for help. We might even want to go to him first."
Aurora nodded slowly, then looked over to Morrigan. "What do you think we should do, Morrigan?"
"Go after your enemy directly. Find this man Loghain, and kill him," she said simply. "The rest of this business with the treaties can then be done in safety."
"Yes, he certainly wouldn't see that coming!" Alistair scoffed. "And it's not like he has the advantage of an army and experience and—"
"I was asked for my opinion and I gave it," Morrigan cut him off coldly. "If your wish is to come up with reasons why something cannot be done, we will stand here until the darkspawn are upon us."
Aurora shook her head, rubbing her forehead as if she had a sudden headache. In a way, she did, in the form of these two bickering. Suddenly, she realized they were both looking at her expectantly, and she blinked. "Wait…why are you leaving it up to me? The little elf scum newbie?" she asked, brows furrowed in confusion.
Alistair was taken aback by her choice of words, staring at her for a few moments before he managed to scrape together his response. "I…I never said you were…" he sighed, some of his earlier frustration showing. "Well, I don't know where we should go! I'll do whatever you decide."
"Now that is unsurprising," Morrigan commented. Alistair resolutely ignored her as he continued to try and explain his reasons.
"Arl Eamon is a good man, but I don't know for sure he's where we should go. I'm not going to fight about it," Alistair said tiredly.
Aurora sighed, shifting uncomfortably under their gazes. "I'll…think about it. Right now we need to resupply and see what news we can gather…maybe get an explanation for those bandit's ramblings about what Loghain's said about the Wardens and Ostagar."
Alistair nodded. "Fair enough. Let's head into the village whenever you're ready."