Cousland's POV
I opened my eyes slowly, feeling a dull pain in my throat and chest. All I could see was the ceiling and ropes that were holding different alchemy ingredients. I moved my hands to feel what was causing the pain and noticed that I was in just my small clothes, laying on a furry bed.
"Ah, you're eyes finally open. Mother shall be pleased." I know that voice. I sat up slowly and looked at my surroundings, I seemed to be in a small home decorated with pelts and books. I turned my head to where the voice came from and saw the woman from the Wilds stirring a pot.
"I remember you from the Wilds... Morrigan? Where am I?" My voice scratched my throat. She smiled when I remembered her name and handed me a cup of water that I drank too fast and started coughing.
"We are in the Wilds, where I am bandaging your wounds. You are welcome, by the way. How does your memory fair? Do you remember mothers rescue?" Rescue?
"The last thing I remember is being on the tower... She rescued me? From the tower?"
"Mother managed to save you and your friend, though 'twas a close call. What is important is that you both live."
"What happened to the battle? Did we win?" She was silent for a moment before answering.
"The man who was to respond to your signal quit the field. The darkspawn won your battle. Those he abandoned were massacred. Your king is dead. Your friend... he is not taking it well." My mouth fell open as she spoke. They... they're gone? No, Duncan and Kaylee... gone. I could feel my breathing start to become irregular and the bile rise in my throat, but I swallowed it down. At least someone else survived.
"My friend... you mean Alistair?" I wiped the moisture out of my eyes.
"The suspicious, dim-witted one that was with you before, yes." Thank the Maker. "He is outside by the fire. Mother asked to see you when you awoke."
"Are... are you sure no one else survived the battle?"
"Some soldiers managed to flee to Lothering, though I don't know how many." I nodded solemnly.
"Thank you, Morrigan, for saving us." She looked surprised at that.
"I... you are welcome, though mother did most of the work. I am no healer."
"Nevertheless, thank you. I will go speak with your mother now." I stood up shakily and started to the door, but she stopped me.
"Are you sure you want to go out like that? The imbecile may enjoy it, but I doubt mother will be so supportive." I looked down at my mostly bare body and blushed furiously. She had a sly smile and pointed to a container. "Your weapon and armour are in there. Mother mended your armour as best she could, she knew you would not want to lose it." She turned away to stir the pot she was at and I opened the chest.
Inside was my mothers legendary light brown Sea Wolf leathers, enchanted bow, and satchel. My family sword was nowhere to be seen.
The ogre. I left my sword in the ogre. Damn it, I am an idiot. I should have grabbed my sword, the darkspawn probably have it now. I kicked the side of the chest in my frustration, after feeling tears return behind my eyes. I managed to damage myself more than the hard wood. Morrigan gave me a sideways glance from the pot as I yelped in pain.
I glowered at the chest and moved to put the armour on. I then re-braided my light brown hair and walked out of the hut.
The sun was bright and temporarily blinded me as I walked out. A figure in dirty armour was standing looking over a swampy creek with an old woman beside him.
"See? Here is your fellow Grey Warden. You worry too much young man." The old woman was Morrigan's mother and the man turned around. Alistair's eyes were full of despair and sadness as he turned but changed to relief when he saw me walk out.
Thank the Maker Alistair is alive. Everyone else is gone; Duncan, Kaylee, Kenai, Daya, Zoey, Luna, Aubrey, Cailan. Everyone I knew since my family died, had died. At least Alistair is still alive.
I walked up to him and threw my arms around his torso in a hug that he returned easily and rested his head on my shoulder. I squeezed him as hard as I could, to make sure he was real. I pushed my face into his chest and held back the tears I could feel forming, I will not cry here.
"You... you're alive! I thought you were dead for sure." I pulled back and shook my head.
"I'm alive, Alistair. We're alive. Thanks to Morrigan's mother." He shook his head gently and I could see dried tears around his eyes.
"This doesn't seem real. If it weren't for Morrigan's mother, we'd be dead on top of that tower." He was frowning deeply and his eyes were unfocused.
"Do not talk about me as if I'm not present, lad." He was shot back into reality and turned to the old woman.
"I didn't mean... but what do we call you? You never told us your name."
"Names are pretty, but useless. The Chasind folk call me Flemeth. I suppose it will do." Alistair and I were both surprised.
"The Flemeth from the legends? Kenai and Daveth were right- you're the Witch of the Wilds, aren't you?" Flemeth narrowed her eyes at him.
"And what does that mean? I know a bit of magic, and it has served you both well, has it not?"
"Thank you, Flemeth, for saving our lives." She nodded at my gratitude. There was a bigger problem afoot though, the Blight. "We need to stop this Blight somehow."
Alistair looked angry as he spoke. "We need to bring Loghain to judgment! Why would he do this?"
"Now that is a good question. Men's hearts hold shadows darker than any tainted creature. Perhaps he believes the Blight is an army he can outmaneuver. Perhaps he does not see that the evil behind it is the true threat."
"The archdemon." If we kill that then the Blight's over?
"Then we have to find this archdemon."
"By ourselves? No Grey Warden has ever defeated a Blight without the army of a half-dozen nations at this back. Not to mention, I don't know how." He shrugged sheepishly at me.
"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"
"Arl Eamon? The Arl of Redcliffe?" He nodded. "He wasn't at Ostagar, perhaps we could go to him, then."
"I suppose... he still has all his men. And he was Cailan's uncle. I know him! He's a good man, respected in the Landsmeet. Of course! We could go to Redcliffe and appeal to him for help!" We were getting more hopeful with each suggestion.
"Don't we have other allies we can call on?" I'm sure we do. His eyes lit up and he pointed to my bag.
"Of course! The treaties! Grey Wardens can demand aid from dwarves, elves, mages, and other places! They're obligated to help us during a Blight!" Of course!
"I may be old, but dwarves, elves, mages, this Arl Eamon, and who knows what else... this sounds like an army to me."
Alistair turned to me, pure hope in his eyes but a unsure frown on his face. "So can we do this? Go to Redcliffe and these others places and... build an army?"
"Why not? That's what Grey Wardens do isn't it?" We shared a small smile.
"So you are set, then? Ready to be Grey Wardens?"
I let out a shaky breath before answering, "As ready as we'll ever be."
"Now... before you go, there is yet one more thing I can offer you."
We had been walking for a few hours, Morrigan leading us out of the forest. The distance between Flemeth's hut and our destination, Lothering, was a three day walk. Flemeth had sent Morrigan along with us as our first companion, as a guide out of the forest and a capable mage. Alistair was not at all pleased with this.
It was a tense silence as we walked. Only being broken by noises of nature around us, or Duke's loud investigating of the local fauna.
I would occasionally ask Morrigan a question about the flora and she would answer, but those answers were short. Alistair was the quietest of the three of us, frowning at his feet as he walked. I knew he was thinking about Ostagar and Duncan. I was too, Kaylee most of all. She deserved better.
Every now and then he would speak about something, no matter how trivial but Morrigan would insult him whenever he opened his mouth. Poor guy, he's just trying to cope.
"Morrigan, lay off him." She turned and glared at us before scoffing and walking faster. Alistair gave me a weak nod in acknowledgement but stayed quiet until the sun started to set.
We had stopped in a small outcropping clear of trees. "Lothering is still about a two days journey from here. I suggest we make camp for the night and continue in the morn. You'll need to eat to sustain yourself. You will have to ration it." Morrigan was already unpacking her bag as she spoke and threw a piece of dried meat to me and a slightly smaller chunk to Alistair. I was ravenous and ate it quickly.
I walked slightly into the Wilds to get some fire wood before hurrying back. Morrigan set the fire pit and lit it with her magic. Since it was a magical fire, she said she could maintain it for a few hours without any extra wood.
It started to get cold as the sun set, Alistair took off the outer layer of steel of his armour- it would have made him colder- and I realized that his Grey Warden armour was gone. Instead he was wearing a browny-grey splintmail armour set. I noticed the armour being different but I hadn't really realized his other set was gone.
"Alistair, where is your Warden armour?" I feel like it was a dumb question and he gave me a sideways look.
"Remember how the ogre in the tower thought I was a squeeze toy? Well, it crushed my armour beyond repair, or so Flemeth says. She had this around and gave it to me..." He gazed at the armour then looked back to me with playful but tired eyes. "Did you forget already?" He added a small smile, one of the first I've seen for the past few hours.
"I don't remember much between killing the ogre and waking up. I'm sorry, I should have remembered that." He shrugged and edged closer to the fire. My leather armour had a warm wool lining but I was still cold. I imagine he was freezing in just a thin undercoat.
Morrigan walked from the edge of the forest and pulled a wolf pelt blanket just big enough for one out of her bag then wrapped herself in it. "I put a ward around the edge of our camp. I'm sure your mangy hound will warn us if there is a real threat, but no one will sneak up on us." She turned away from us and laid down with her back close to the warmth of the small fire.
"He's not mangy, are you boy?" Alistair reached over and scratched behind Dukes ear, which Duke was all too happy to receive. Alistair smiled at Dukes enthusiasm and looked back up to me. "I suppose we should get some rest now. Sleep tight, Rosa." I quietly returned the idiom and watched him lay down, facing the fire and trying to get as much warmth as he could. We are going to have to buy some supplies from Lothering, we need blankets or sleeping bags.
Duke moved beside me and I took off his harness, putting it to the side with my bow, and leaned against him. I was shivering and I heard Morrigan scoff after a few minutes.
"I will get no sleep if you continue to chatter your teeth like that. Just take this." She threw her blanket at me and shifted into a furry wolf that curled into a ball beside the fire. She looks like the expressive wolf from the Wilds. I greedily wrapped the blanket around myself, reveling in the warmth before I felt guilty and opened one eye to peek at Alistair.
He was still in his spot beside the fire, his hands were running up and down his upper arms and head tucked in. Damn it, I'll feel like an asshole if I just sat here in a blanket while my friend froze.
I sighed and walked over to where he was laying, signaling for Duke to follow. I laid down facing Alistair's back and tossed the blanket over the both of us. The blanket really was only made for one person as it only covered one of us at a time. Duke squished against my back and Alistair stopped shivering. He flipped around and looked at me quizzically. I blushed slightly after realizing our noses were almost touching. I didn't look at his face but I could tell he was blushing and slightly confused.
I spoke quietly, almost mumbling. "I thought we should share the blanket, but it's only big enough for one..." I mumbled the last part and bit my lip. He paused before saying a quiet 'oh.' I couldn't move away because of Duke at my back. "You can have it. I'll use Duke." I started to stand up but he grabbed my wrist gently before I could stand.
"I... I'm fine with sharing. That is, if you are, I mean. I won't take it from you though, you can have it." He blushed as he stuttered and looked away. He was sitting up now and I sat back down awkwardly as he handed me the blanket.
"I'm not going to take the blanket. I at least have a dog and wool lining in my armour, you don't. You take it." I handed it back to him but he was insistent.
"I won't let myself sleep under a blanket while you don't have one." I crossed my arms and furrowed my brows as he tried to give me the blanket. I must have looked like a child that wouldn't eat their vegetables. He took the same stance and we just furrowed our brows at each other for a few moments. I sighed in defeat, since I'd like to get some sleep tonight. I guess we are going to share.
"So, should I just..." I gestured widely to the space beside him and I saw his eyes widen.
"Oh! Uh... I- I guess?" Oh boy, this will be awkward. I laid down on my side and Alistair laid down behind me. He pulled the blanket over us and scooted forward until his chest his my back. "Uh, is this okay?" I was suddenly very warm between Alistair and Duke.
"Yeah, this is fine... Good night Alistair." We're just huddling for warmth because it's cold. That's all, it's for survival. Eventually I closed my eyes and felt sleep take over my body, I was more exhausted than I thought.
I was standing on top of a bridge, looking over thousands of darkspawn, the dragon from my joining beside me. Suddenly I was inside the horde looking up at the dragon as a part of a hive mind. There was a flash and it seemed to be getting closer, like I was being pulled towards it. Its mouth opened and inside were the faces of the Wardens at my joining, but there were bloody holes where their eyes were supposed to be. The dragon snapped its jaws shut and I fell back into the horde, which was now full of the citizens of Highever. I hit the ground and I looked at my body that was suddenly covered in the taint and spiders. The spiders started to crawl up to my face and I swatted them away, but they managed to get inside my mouth and nose. I leaned back to scream and I saw the dead bodies of my family standing around me. The spiders crawled over my eyes and I scratched them away and clamped my eyes shut.
When I opened my eyes I was in a forest with the morning sun shining through the trees. The sweat that rolled down my forehead from my dream blended into the morning dew and I breathed deeply to calm my racing heart. There was a weight on my side and I looked down to see an arm wrapped around me holding my arms to my chest. The arm released my arms while I was breathing and I released a shaky breath. Duke had moved away from where he was sleeping last night and left me open to the morning breeze.
"Bad dreams, huh?" Alistair's voice woke me up and pulled my hand across my face, wiping away the moisture. I moved away from him and sat up so I was facing Alistair. He did the same, propping his knee and resting his arm on it.
"It seemed so real..." I rubbed my eyes with the heel of my hands, trying to get the memory of spiders out of my mind.
"Well it is real, sort of. You see, part of being a Grey Warden is being able to hear the darkspawn. That's what your dream was. Hearing them. The archdemon, it... 'talks' to the horde, and we feel it just as they do. That's why we know this is really a Blight." The beginning may have been the archdemon, but I think the end was just in my mind.
"The archdemon... is that the dragon?"
He shifted slightly. "I don't know if it's really a dragon, but it sure looks like one. But yes, that's the archdemon. It takes a bit, but eventually you can block the dreams out. Some of the older Grey Wardens say they can understand the archdemon a bit, but I sure can't." He looked down for a moment before looking back at me. "Anyhow, I felt you thrashing around and I didn't want you to hurt yourself, and I thought you should know. It was scary at first for me, too." I was probably going to claw my eyes out in my sleep if he hadn't held my arms down.
"Thank you, Alistair. I appreciate it." I gave him the most sincere smile I could and he smiled back.
"That's what I'm here for. To deliver unpleasant news and witty one-liners."
Morrigan had been packing up camp and called over, "That's all you're good for. Let's leave now, while the sun is still up." Alistair glared at the witch and stood up, holding a hand out to help me up. I took it and he pulled me up easily, then set off to put his splintmail armour on. I strapped my shield back onto Duke and grabbed my bow. "We should have about one more day of travelling. I know of a spot we can make camp then be in Lothering by noon of the next day."
We set off and after a tiring day of walking, we made it to the spot which already had the remnants of a camp fire in the middle. Must have been a common spot.
We shared what little food we had and went to sleep, although Morrigan gave us the blanket with less anger this time. We went into our previous sleeping position and it was considerably less awkward than the night before. It seemed more natural now, and there was no fighting beforehand.
I didn't get a darkspawn dream that night, instead I dreamed of my family one summer in Redcliffe. I was reliving a memory from when I played with the stable boy for the first time, I was about six and he the same age. That was the beginning of a friendship that lasted until I was nine or ten, when he disappeared.
When we woke, I began to think of the boy from Redcliffe. Where is he now, I wonder? Alistair reminded me of him, but the clumsy, chubby faced child just couldn't be the broad warrior before me.
Alistair, Morrigan, Duke and I walked onto a ramp covered in bandit bodies leading to a small town. We had gone through it on the way to Ostagar, but we didn't spend much time here.
"Lothering, pretty as a painting," Alistair said, breaking the silence that had befallen him the past day.
"So, finally decided that falling on your blade in grief was too much of a task?" Morrigan quipped back venomously.
"Is my being upset so hard for you to understand? Just what would you do if your mother died?" Alistair had had enough. The entire trip was Morrigan making fun of Alistair and me doing my best to defend him while dealing with my own grief.
Not listening to Morrigan's reply, I looked to the small town in front of us. I only turned away when Alistair called my name and asked me where we should go, even then my eyes settled on the front of his armor.
"We should probably go to Arl Eamon as soon as we can, but…." Looking around at the town again I sighed and continued, "First we should see if any other Grey Wardens or soldiers made it out," Morrigan scoffed, earning a glare from both Wardens present, "Also we should help the villagers and warn them about the hoard."
I looked between my two companions' faces, getting a curt nod from one and a roll of the eyes from the other. I swallowed and set off down the ramp, thankfully Morrigan decided to stay quiet.
We crossed the yard to the chanters' board, but finding that all the bounties were taken, started off across the bridge. Not halfway across, I felt my arm being tugged. Looking down at it, I saw a little boy with red hair and blue eyes, the same colour that Oren's were. I looked at his eyes, trying to see a refugee boy but all I could see was Oren's lifeless eyes, staring at his mother's corpse. I tried my best to not let the tears building up behind my eyes fall.
"Have you seen my mummy?" That did it, I ran. I don't know where too but I only know I have to get away from that poor boy. I feel sorry for him, we have a lot in common; we were both missing our mothers. Not long after my outburst I heard Alistair yell my name- middle name- and heavy feet chasing after me. Duke had ran after us too, but mostly for the sake of chasing
I rounded a corner of a house, sat against it and cried. Alistair came around the corner to see me sitting on the ground with my knees near my chest and my face in my hands, I was shaking and a steady stream of water was coming from my eyes. Alistair probably didn't know what was going on, or why I had acted that way.
I don't even know why I'm crying. Just so much has happened in the past two weeks, I never got to deal with it. I refused to cry in Ostagar or when we couldn't find Fergus, then in the Wilds with Flemeth, but now I'm crying in front of Alistair.
I don't think he even realize I was crying until I lifted my head to look at him. "What's wrong? What happened? Why are you crying?" He squatted next to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. Much more calmly he added, "Rosa, I can't help unless you tell me what's wrong." Duke nudged my face and rested his head in my lap.
I looked at him for a few moments before wiping my eyes and nodding. I can tell him about the boy. He stood up and pulled me up with him. Duke ran off around the house. I cleared my throat before talking.
"That boy… I only saw my nephew." When Alistair's brow furrowed I added, "The last time I saw him... he was lying in a pool of his own blood." My eyes glazed over while Alistair's immediately softened and he took on a face of sadness and pain.
"I… I'm so sorry." He must have noticed I looked like I was about to cry again, so he put his hands on my shoulders and bent sown a bit so we were the same height. "Hey, hey, please don't cry, if you cry then I'll cry and we don't want that. It's a lot a snot and puffy eyes, really gross; you don't want that." He knew it was a bad attempt to lighten the mood but thankfully it worked.
I gave him a small smile and hugged him. He was slightly surprised to say the least. He returned the hug, it felt like a long hug but it was quick.
Suddenly, we heard a familiar voice yell our names. Then immediately after he was almost knocked over by a bear hug from a dark haired assailant.
Authors Note:
I have the next few chapters done, I'm going to post them a couple days apart.
Shout out to Judy the guest for reviewing every chapter so far. Thank you!
Sorry for all the tears in the first few chapters, it's a hard time for the crew.