Shatter Me
Chapter 2
Andreas felt himself slowly coming to consciousness. Raising a hand to his face, he rubbed at his aching temples, before a green glow permeated his closed eyes. He groaned softly and looked at the mark, still very much on his hand, but not painful anymore. It was more of a buzzing feeling, with an occasional throb. But it didn't hurt, and it didn't seem to be any larger from the last time he had gazed at it on top of the mountain.
He was broken out of his thoughts by a gasp and the sound of something dropping and the tinkling of glass breaking.
Sitting up quickly, his gaze lands on an Elven girl who seemed to shrink into herself when their eyes met.
"I am so sorry!" She babbled.
"It's okay. I only just woke-" Andreas tried to assure her.
The Elven girl fell to her knees before him. "I humbly beg your forgiveness and your blessing. I am but a humble servant. You are back in Haven, my Lord. You managed to stop the breach from growing like the mark on your hand. It's all anyone is talking about."
"So they're pleased?" Andreas asked, swinging his legs off the side of the bed.
"I don't know, I shouldn't have said!" The girl gushed out, standing to her feet and backing away, somehow smaller still. "Now that you're awake, you should see Lady Cassandra."
"Where is she at?" Andreas asked the timid elf, standing to his feet.
If possible, the Elven girl got smaller again as her eyes grew larger in her face. "In the Chantry- at once she said!" With that, the girl turned and fled.
Andreas sighed and ran out hand through his tangled locks, throwing them haphazardly to one side and over his shoulder as he normally wore it when his sister wasn't around to braid his hair away from his face. He grimaced as he looked down at his clothes. The same ones he had been in since before the conclave as well as himself were caked in mud, blood, and many other vile things from fighting demons.
Spotting a chest, he opened it and found a set of armor made out of leather hide, decorated with bits of metal. The leather was pure white and when he lifted it out of the chest, he surmised it could have only been meant for him, giving its size. He laid the armor out, with everything from the gloves and boots on the bed he had laid on earlier. Gazing around again, he took note of the massive black bird in a cage sitting in the corner, and blessedly, a washing basin full of water.
The water was only a few degrees above freezing it seemed, but with a small wave of his fingers, he warmed the water up until a soft steam came off of it. There were even clean clothes stacked next to the basin and more water in the pitcher beside it.
He removed the filthy armor and allowed himself to clean up as much as possible. Once the water was filthy, he threw it out the window and refilled it again with clean water from the pitcher. He soaked his hair in the basin, cleaning out the dirt and blood. Carefully combing his fingers through the tangles until he found none. Once that was complete, he allowed himself a moment to look around the room in his small clothes while everything dried. He discovered someone had left notes about his condition and the box the Elven girl had dropped proved to have some healing herbs and other useful items in it. Placing that on the bed next to the armor, he was pleased to see the small amount of coin he had gathered on the mountain had been left in his possession, along with the elfroot leaves he had found.
Believing he had left the Seeker waiting long enough- and not feeling up to facing her down in his small clothes with her full armor- he began to dress in the new armor. Once he had it put on, he allowed himself to twist and turn. He was enjoying the sound of the creaking leather as well as the comforting smell. It fit well but felt slightly odd. Until he had left the circle, he had never been allowed to wear anything but robes.
Only once the circles fell did he get to wear pants again for the first time in sixteen years. He began to fill the pouches up on his belt with all his accumulated coin and healing herbs. It wasn't much, but if he and his sister needed to run, it should have been enough to get them passage on a ship.
He let himself stretch a bit more in the new armor, letting it settle against his arms and shoulders before he moved toward the door.
"Lot of people out there." Pride whispered.
"Are we in danger?" Andreas whispered back, hand pausing just above the handle of the door.
"It doesn't feel like it. There's just a lot of people gathered out there. Waiting." Pride responded.
Andreas breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth to calm himself down, unsure what to expect outside as he threw the door open.
Soldiers lined the street keeping back the throngs of people who went completely silent at the sight of him. The soldiers stood straighter and saluted as he slowly walked by them. As he gazed around, searching for any familiar face, he found strangers staring at him raptly.
"That's him. The Herald of Andraste." Someone whispered in awe.
"A mage?" Someone asked.
"Maker, look at him. He is as tall as an one of those ox men." A woman whispered to her friend and as both giggled and gave him coy looks.
Andreas felt very uncomfortable and moved at a quicker pace, seeing now that the crowd was essentially herding him to the Chantry. More comments, more declarations of him being holy, blessed, touched, marked, special, a mage given the Maker's blessing- began to crowd his mind and even Pride felt disturbed at the attention.
"This is problematic. This means more eyes. More watching, more everything." The demon whispered. "This means more danger for little sister."
Andreas cursed and nearly stopped in his tracks. He began to scan the crowd left around him, seeking out those familiar blue eyes. He hoped she ran away, but the other part of him felt she would still be safest with him. He was near the Chantry itself when he spotted her. She was standing back from the crowd with Solas. The Elven mage still gripped his staff, but had a comforting hand placed on his sister's shoulder and saying something to her. He watched his sister nod at what Solas said before the pair motioned toward a direction they would wait.
Andreas gave a jerk of a nod and turned toward the members of the Chantry standing outside their own establishment. The gathered Mothers, Sisters, and lesser initiates all gazed at him with wonder, suspicion or just curiosity.
"Chancellor Roderick says the Chantry wants nothing to do with us." A younger Sister said to a Mother.
"That's not up to Chancellor Roderick, now is it Sister?" The Mother remarked, inclining her head to him as he passed.
Andreas had never felt so happy to be in a Chantry as when the doors closed behind him, cutting out both the light, and the crowds of people. The Chantry was silent. The murmurs and gazes being forgotten as he glanced around. He began making his way further in, where he spotted a few doors. The closer he got to the back, the more he could hear Cassandra and Roderick arguing about him and his fate.
"He failed Seeker! For all you know he could have intended it this way!" Roderick fumed.
"I do not believe that." Cassandra snapped back, as he pushed the door open. Immediately, he took note of the two Templar's flanking the door.
"Chain him!" Roderick barked at the Templar's. "I wanted him prepared for travel to the capital immediately!"
"Disregard that, and leave us." Cassandra told the Templar's. To Roderick's disgust and Andreas' amusement, the Templar's saluted and did just that.
"You walk a dangerous line, Seeker." Roderick hissed at the dark haired woman.
Andreas walked further into the room, nodding his head in acknowledgement of Leliana's presence in the room.
"The breach is stable, but it is still a threat. I will not ignore it." Cassandra told the man, coming to stand nearly nose to nose with the Chancellor.
"Let me guess? You need me help." Andreas joked.
"You have done plenty! Your actions will be taken into account by the new Divine!" Roderick barked at him.
"Have a care, Chancellor. The breach is not the only threat we face." The Seeker warned.
"Someone was behind the explosion at the conclave. Someone Most Holy did not expect. Perhaps they died with the others or have allies who yet live." Leliana warned the man.
"I am a suspect!?" Roderick exclaimed, the shock clear on his face.
"You, and many others." Leliana responded, brows furrowed.
"But not that prisoner!?" Roderick asked, pointing a finger at Andreas.
"I heard the voices at the temple!" Cassandra cut off whatever else the Chancellor might have said. "The Divine called to him for help."
"So his survival, that thing on his hand, all a coincidence?" Roderick spat.
"Providence." Again, the Seeker's voice was full of conviction. "The Maker sent him to us in our darkest hour.
"So you changed your mind about me?" Andreas couldn't help the sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"I was wrong." Cassandra admitted. "Perhaps I still am. I will not, however, pretend you are not exactly what we needed when we needed it."
"The breach remains," Leliana spoke up as Cassandra turned away to retrieve something from a table behind the two of them. "And your mark is still our only hope of closing it."
"This is not for you to decide!" Roderick snapped.
Cassandra turned back around and slammed a book on the table in front of the Chancellor. The man went pale at the sight of it. "You know what this is, Chancellor? A writ from the Divine, granting us the authority to act. As of this moment, I declare the Inquisition reborn. We will close the breach, we will find those responsible, and we will restore order. With or without your approval." With each word spoken Cassandra advanced on the Chancellor, poking him in the chest to make her point.
When at last she finished, the Chancellor cast his gaze to Leliana, who stared back stonily, and finally to Andreas, who he sneered at. The Chancellor then turned on his heels and left the room, slamming the door behind him as he went.
"This is the Divine's directive: Rebuild the Inquisition of old. Find those who will stand against the chaos. We aren't ready. We have no leader, no numbers, and now no Chantry support." Leliana told Andreas as Cassandra turned back to them.
"But we have no choice: We must act now. With you at our side." Cassandra responded, her gaze firmly planted on Andreas.
"Can I still remind you that you accused me of murdering hundreds of people, locked me in a dungeon, and now you want me to help you form a movement- with the sole claim that I am somehow chosen!?" Andreas snarled. He turned away from the pair of women and ran his hands through his hair, biting back the slew of curses he wanted to hurl at anyone and everything.
"Help us try, that is all we ask." Leliana said softly.
"Help us fix this, before its too late." Cassandra said, also softening her voice, and holding her hand out to him. Her gaze fixed firmly on his own.
Andreas took that deep breath in again through his nose.
"This is not ideal, but it means they are protecting us. That means protecting little sister as well. Safety, food in your bellies, and a warm place to sleep at night. It's better than what the past two months have been." Pride murmured softly in his mind.
Cassandra's hand was starting to drop and Andreas finally snatched it, squeezing it firmly as he shook. The Seeker smiled at him, and it softened her face, taking off the weight of the world, for a moment, even.
"We have much to do. Things to discuss and letters to send. While we get things rolling, why don't you get familiar with Haven, its people, or even just take the time to rest. The building you woke up in is your own to do with as you please." Leliana told him.
"Thank you, I would like to rest." Andreas agreed.
He turned and left the room, passing an open door. Chancellor Roderick sat behind a desk and was scribbling furiously away on some parchment, but at the sound of footsteps, he looked up and scowled.
Feeling a little mischievous, Andreas blew the man a kiss before waggling his fingers at the man and walking on. His stride slowed only briefly when he spotted a soldier leaving the door that he knew led to the dungeon.
He immediately headed left to the direction his sister and Solas had motioned toward. Coming between two buildings, he was relieved to see Solas enter a building and leave his sister alone outside. She stood close to a fire for warmth.
"Andriana." He murmured as he swept her up into a hug.
"Andreas!" His sister cried, arms closing tightly around his neck as he lifted her from the ground. "When I saw you bound and being led away those few days ago, I thought I would never see you again! What ever happened up there?"
Andreas opened his mouth to answer, but found an Elven woman standing close enough to be in hearing range, not being so subtle with her eavesdropping. "Come with me." He set his sister back down on her own feet and led her through Haven to the little cabin that had been made his own.
Once they were safely back within the cabin walls, Andreas felt he could breathe again. He sat down on the low bed he had woken up on earlier, noting that the bed sheets or coverings had been changed, and neatly made up again. His dirty clothes were gone and the water basin filled with fresh water. He imagined the pitcher was also full of clean water. Newly added was a tray of cheeses, dried meats and bread on the table as well as a bottle of wine and some wooden mugs.
"Welcome to our home, for now." Andreas joked.
"I imagine something must have happened for that armor. Maker, white leather? Did they not see how filthy you were when they decided to make it?" Andriana laughed. She grabbed a piece of cheese and popped it into her mouth. "Oh that is so much better than the gruel? I've been eating for the past week."
Dropping his head into his hands, "I don't know what to do Andy." Andreas sighed. He felt so tired, his whole body was shaky, and he was unsure if it was nerves or just leftover weakness from his recovery.
"What happened at the conclave?" Andriana asked, pulling a chair to beside the bed, then grabbing the bottle of wine and food. She placed the tray and wine on the bed beside him and sat in the chair, picking at the food.
Andreas grabbed the loaf of bread, ripping it in half and leaving the other half for his sister. He made himself a very dry sandwich with some of the dried meats and bit into it, chewing for a moment before he reached for the wine. He pulled the cork out with his teeth and spit it across the room, before taking a gulp and handing it off to his sister, who also drank.
"I honestly don't know Andy. I remember all being assembled into the room, so many of us that most were still outside the building. They asked I be within the building, so my size could be used to intimidate if needed. I just remember...running. Something was chasing me but I can't remember what. Then as I was climbing up some weird structure... there was a woman. She reached out to me. That's it. That's all I can remember. I don't remember the speeches, the demands, I can barely remember faces of people I saw." He rubbed a hand over his face. "I woke up in shackles, guarded under blades."
"They were saying you killed her, the Divine." Andriana whispered. "I know you didn't, and I wanted to defend you so bad. I couldn't though. They were starting to question mages and any sympathizers. I was so afraid that I might... I'm so sorry."
"Don't be sorry. If something were to happen, or if they had decided I was guilty, I wanted you to run." Andreas smiled, patting her hands that were twisting in her lap with worry. "Even now. If things look dicey or this new... arrangement doesn't seem fruitful, I want you to run."
"What even is this new arrangement?" Andriana asked him.
"They think I am...blessed by Andraste. Chosen special to wield this mark and close these rifts that have been left in the wake of the breach." Andreas snorted, a bit of laughter escaping him. "If they only knew how wrong they were about that."
"Oh." That one word set off the man, and he fell back on the bed, letting the full belly laughter out.
Once he had let go of his mirth, nervousness, and worry, he sat back up to face his sister. "Yeah. Oh." He giggled again. "But this, for the time being, does offer a small amount of protection. I help them with closing rifts, righting wrongs, and all of that and we don't have to worry about the Templars knocking down this door at least."
"That is true, I suppose. But we will have to be so careful brother." Andriana whispered.
"I know. Trust me, I know." Andreas scrunched up his nose. "I am certain someone does know already."
"Yes, Solas." Andriana agreed. "He asked questions, but I refused to give him answers. I just played dumb through most of them or asked him to elaborate. He couldn't ask out right without risk so for now that's left alone. I don't trust him. He is very knowledgeable, but in a way that suggests more that...he witnessed it than anything."
"Maybe he is that old." Andreas teased, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction.
"Remember Chanter Endrel? He was the oldest member of the circle, but looked younger than First Enchanter Igmor? Endrel was thirty years older, but looked thirty years younger than Igmor." Andriana asked, amused.
"And Endrel could outrun most anyone in that circle. I swear he stayed alive just to spite everyone and crush their spirits." Andreas laughed.
"Both of them were at the conclave, you know?" Andriana murmured once their mirth died down. "They haven't been seen again, so I think they are gone."
"I think we lost a lot of people when the conclave exploded. And we will never know their names, faces, or have a way of letting friends or families know." Andreas sighed. "But let's not focus on that right now. Where are your things? Let's move whatever you have into here. I will request a bedroll so I can sleep on the floor."
"They don't make bedrolls big enough for you, remember?" Andriana scoffed. "I will sleep on a bedroll and don't argue with me brother. I have been sleeping on the cold ground in a tent with three other women. The tent is meant for two. So this is luxury. Trust me. More privacy, water to bathe, a roommate that you can trust to leave when you ask, so you can use the privy or take a bath. Seemingly better food as well. Oh! And then there's walls, and a fire to keep warm! This is surely, nearly what kings must live like."
Andreas laughed and finally agreed to his sister's wishes. She stood up, taking the mostly empty platter of food back to the table and the near empty bottle of wine with it. She placed both on the table before returning the chair to its normal position. "Rest brother. I will bring my stuff back here soon enough."
A few things became obvious over the next few days to Andreas. People were overly invasive, whatever Cassandra and Leliana were doing had garnered a lot of attention, and people from all walks of life were showing up every day. Templar's were arriving. Mages who had been in hiding, started arriving. Pilgrims, the poor, the rich, the curious, and the skeptical.
Andreas chose to hide away until he was needed. Andriana was the one who would venture out, blending in with the mages and common folk to find out more information on what was happening in Haven.
From Leliana sending out constant letters via birds, to the arrival of a well dressed woman with an accent his sister said she couldn't place. "Not Orlesian." His sister had said. The Commander Cullen- his sister said with doe eyes that worried him- had placed out a scroll calling for soldiers. That is when people truly started to flock. The chance to do something good, something holy, to follow Andraste's chosen...
Andreas shuttered as he remembered stepping out just yesterday, hoping he could at least go find someone to ask if they could hang a sturdy metal bar in his cabin for use of keeping up with his body... had been horrible. He had made it to the smithy and started to explain what he wanted. He had demonstrated by reaching up to a rafter and lifting himself up by his arms. He found working his muscles over had been a good way to keep balance in his body and Pride.
He had done a few repetitions when the giggling began. He had dropped down immediately to find several women had gathered to watch, and most annoyingly, Cassandra had seemed to have been passing by and paused to watch as well.
"You're so strong!" A girl said, reaching out to touch his arm.
Andreas stepped back quickly out of her reach and murmured, "I'm sorry, please excuse me." He made for his cabin again, ready to hide from the world until needed, when a woman clutching a baby thrust it at him. He was left, wide eyed, and holding a small baby twisting in its blankets- unhappy in the cold.
"Please Herald! Bless my baby! Make her strong enough to last this winter! I have birthed three others before her and all have perished before their first year!" The woman had sobbed. "Please take my pleas to the Maker! I will do anything to ensure my child makes it to an old age!"
"I...But I..." Andreas fumbled. The woman sank to her knees and kissed his armored boot with a large crowd of people gathered around him.
"Just lie!" Pride hissed in his mind, equally as freaked out with the forming crowd.
"Of course." Andreas murmured. He placed a kiss on the child's soft hair before handing her back to her sobbing mother. "I will carry your prayers to the Maker's ear, I swear this."
The woman continued to babble her thanks before Solas appeared and made an excuse of needing him. He might not have liked the Elf all that much, but right now- he was a bloody savior. As the Elf led him away, he babbled about the red lyrium they had seen and research he was thinking about starting. The Elf continued to chat with him until he was delivered to his cabin door.
"Have a good night, Herald." Solas joked as he turned to walk toward his own cabin.
Yet again, Andreas noticed the lack of footprints in any of the snow or mud the Elf walked over.
It was the next day when Andreas was summoned once again to the Chantry. This time, he was given a different set of armor to wear, not anywhere near as gaudy as the 'dragon armor' as his sister called it.
It was Cassandra herself that fetched him and led him to the Chantry. As they entered the building and the door closed behind him, Andreas felt uncomfortable as more people had asked for his blessing. He now gazed down at his hand where the mark sat glowing steadily.
"Does it trouble you?" Cassandra asked him, pulling him from his thoughts.
"Just curious to know how this all came about. I want to know where it came from, how it came to be placed on me, and mostly importantly- I want it gone." He muttered.
"We still have need of it." Cassandra reminded him.
"So I have been told." Andreas snapped. He gave himself a shake and breathed in deeply through his nose.
"The most important thing, for now, is that it is stable. Solas feels with more power behind it, a second attempt could close it for good." Cassandra remarked, starting to walk again.
"Oh good, what harm can there be in powering up something we barely understand?"
Cassandra let out a small bark of a laugh and said: "Hold on to that sense of humor!"
Once again, Andreas found him in the back room, Cassandra standing at his side with three people standing on the other side of the table. Leliana, the Commander, and the foreign woman his sister had mentioned.
"You remember Commander Cullen, leader of the inquisition's forces?" Cassandra introduced.
"It was only a moment on the battlefield. I am pleased to see you yet live." Cullen told him with a genuine smile.
"This is lady Josephine Montilyet, our ambassador and chief diplomat." Cassandra mentioned next, motioning to the foreign woman dressed in golds and blues.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, my Lord. You are much taller than I had expected, even with the tales of your height!" The woman told him, accent firmly in place.
"Not Orlesian." Pride agreed with a snort.
"And of course, you know Sister Leliana." Cassandra said at last.
"My position here involves a degree of-" Leliana began.
"She is our spymaster." Cassandra butted in.
"Yes. Tactfully put, Cassandra." Leliana said sarcastically.
"Impressive bunch of titles. Now the question is- why am I here?" Andreas asked.
"I mentioned that your mark needs more power to close it for good." Cassandra reminded him.
"Which is why we need to approach the rebel mages for help!" Leliana responded.
"And I still disagree. The Templar's could serve just as well." Cullen argued.
"We need power, Commander." Cassandra sighed. "Enough magic poured into that mark-"
"Could kill us all!" Cullen snapped. "Templar's could suppress the breach, weaken it so-"
"Pure speculation." Leliana dismissed.
"I was a Templar. I know what they're capable of." Cullen reminded the Sister.
Andreas felt a tinge of annoyance at the mention that the man his sister was making cow eyes at was a former Templar. Though he didn't see how one simply stopped being a Templar.
"Unfortunately," Josephine interjected. "Neither group will even speak to us yet. The Chantry has denounced the Inquisition- and you, specifically."
"And I am to be bothered by this how?" Andreas asked the diplomat.
"Some are calling you- a mage- the 'Herald of Andraste.' That frightens the Chantry. The remaining clerics have declared it blasphemy, and we heretics for harboring you." Josephine answered.
"Chancellor Roderick's doing, no doubt." Cassandra snipped.
"See, you should have let me throw him off that bridge." Andreas smirked.
Cullen started to laugh, but covered it with a cough and a clearing of his throat.
"It limits our options. Approaching the mages or Templar's for help is currently out of the question." Josephine sighed.
"They aren't more concerned about the breach? The real threat!? Perhaps maybe instead what they will have with their afternoon tea?" Andreas asked. "I'm so shocked."
"They do know its a threat." Cullen interjected. "They just don't think we can stop it."
"The Chantry is telling everyone you are going to make it worse." Josephine added.
Andreas held up his hands to stop the conversation. "Someone explain to me how I, a mage, picked up the title of Herald anyways?"
"Word has spread of what you did, and the woman that was seen in the rift behind you when you stepped out. As if delivered back to us safely by the Lady Andraste herself." Leliana answered.
"Quite the title, don't you think?" Cullen asked. "What do you think of it?"
"If they only knew how far from the truth they really were." Andreas muttered. Louder he said, "Can we do anything to squash these rumors? I am tired of being accosted outside my own cabin if I even so much as open my door."
"You know these things, they spread on their own." Cullen said, as a way of apology.
"There is something you can do, however." Leliana said, bringing his attention to her. "A Chantry Mother by the name of Mother Giselle has asked to speak to you. She is not far, and knows those involved far better than I. Her assistance could be invaluable."
"A woman, who works for the Chantry, who has denounced us- specifically me, wants to meet me? And this doesn't feel like an ambush?" Andreas asked with a raised brow.
"I doubt it. From what I know of her, she is a kind soul and not the sort to involve herself in violence. You will find Mother Giselle tending to the wounded in the Hinterlands near Redcliffe." Leliana explained.
"Look for other opportunities to expand the Inquisition's influence while you are there. Every deed you do, every person you save or help is only going to help our cause." Cullen asked of him.
"We need agents to extend our reach beyond this valley, and you're better suited than anyone to recruit them." Josephine added to Cullen's statement.
"But in the meantime, let's think of other options. We shouldn't leave this all to the Herald." Cassandra said.
Andreas flinched at being called 'Herald'. "Please, call me Andreas, mage, agent, tall mother fucker, whatever. Just do not call me the Herald, Herald of Andraste, the Chosen one or whatever else people are using to put me on an altar. I am none of those things."
"It would better suit our position if we did call you Herald." Leliana told him.
"I honestly could care less." Andreas snapped. "I am not the Herald of anything!"
"Then we give you a choice. We call you 'Herald', or we have your lover removed from Haven." Cassandra interjected.
"My...What?" Andreas asked in disbelief.
"You think the woman leaving your cabin would not be noticed?" Cassandra asked.
"That's my sister!" Andreas hissed. "And you are threatening to kick her out?"
Pride began to push at the boundaries of his mind, wanting deeply to answer the threats. Andreas turned away for a moment and faced the wall while he attempted to regain control. In this room, it would be known quickly that he is an abomination. Another few deep breaths and he felt Pride calm.
"Of course we would not kick your sister out." Cullen interjected the silence, hand moving to rest on the hilt of his sword. "We are sorry that the situation was misread."
"Let's get one thing straight here." Andreas snarled, turning to face the Seeker. "I am not the Herald. I will never be the Herald. My sister will always remain at my side. If you try to remove her, threaten her, or bother her in any way, shape, or fashion, I will burn this entire Valley to the ground. I will not take threats to her lightly. 'Misread' or not. And finally!" He rounded on the Commander. "Templar or not- smiting me would be a very bad idea."
Cullen removed his hand from his sword and held them out in a placating gesture. "I apologize."
"Your sister will be safe, I swear it." Leliana agreed.
"Perhaps as a token of faith, we can have another bed moved into your cabin, for her?" Josephine suggested softly. "We can have some new clothes brought in as well."
"Do not try to win me over with gifts." Andreas muttered. "However I would like to see a bed brought in for her. She refuses to let me sleep on the ground, so she sleeps on a piece of very dingy and dirty looking stitched together leather."
Josephine nodded, but jotted something down on the board she carried.
"Next order of business though," Josephine said, cutting into the tense silence once she finished writing. "It has been noted that you are of a noble lineage. Would this help our cause at all?"
Andreas couldn't help the snort that escaped. "My family tried to force Andriana and I to sign away our family name- so we could not be connected back to them. Five children born of them and the two youngest were mages? Such a disgrace and shock. So no, I do not think the Trevelyan's will be eager to back us anytime soon. Even if they did, I don't know that I would welcome the help anyways."
"Understood." Josephine stated, again jotting down notes on her board again.
"Back to the matter at hand then, I believe we can all agree that you should head to the Hinterlands. However, there are other things we would like to bring to your attention." Cullen cut in.
Leliana nodded and handed a few pieces of parchment to Andreas. "These are nobles who have wrote to us, or matters that need urgent assistance, however-"
"We can't agree on anything." Cullen muttered under his breath.
"We are unsure of who would be best suited for these tasks. So if you would be willing to 'assign' these out- so to speak." Leliana finished.
Andreas read through the parchments quickly, and each council member's suggestion, before handing them out. "Leliana, handle this noble ass hat. Cullen, please send the honor guard to Highever. And Josephine, please handle gathering coin for the cause. Leliana, once you have finished with the noble ass hat, please look into this matter for Varric."
"Very good, Hera-... Lord Trevelyan." Leliana finished.
"I'm not sure whether I love or hate that more than Herald." Andreas muttered. "All right, so I assume I won't be sent out alone. Who baby sits me?"
"We don't need to send Templar's with you." Cullen answered.
"I will accompany you. We can take Varric and Solas as well. They have volunteered and have no real official role- so they would be best suited for this." Cassandra cut in.
"Fantastic." Andreas answered. "We will leave out at dawn then. Excuse me, I want to go tell my sister all the good news."
"Well, that went rather well." Cullen joked.
"I cannot believe you threatened his sister." Leliana interjected. "We need him to trust us!"
"You didn't know she was his sister either!" Cassandra defended.
"That is because all we have heard is rumors. She didn't answer anyone's questions about their relationship and kept to herself nearly as much as he has!" Leliana snapped back.
"Enough!" Josephine cut in. "Lord Trevelyan is going to be hard enough to win over, without us threatening people around him, or anything else. We all agree here and now that we do as he wishes, and leave her alone, except to protect her should we need too."
"Perhaps we can offer her some kind of role that will ensure she is safe when he is away?" Cullen suggested.
"What do you suggest?" Leliana asked.
"Well," Cullen rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe she can aid us in here? These missives pile up, and while we agreed to have the Hera-, I'm sorry, the Lord Trevelyan look through these to assist us, perhaps she can do so in his absence. This will give her a job, keep her busy- perhaps helping Josephine in between? It will give Lord Trevelyan the peace of knowing we trust his sister with some important decisions too?"
"I do not think-" Cassandra began.
"I do not see why not." Leliana cut the dark haired woman off. "We can start off with simple things, and build from there. The choices of today would be about as far as we let it go for now. If she proves she can keep council to herself, and work well with us, we can increase some of what we do with her."
"It is agreed then." Josephine stated with finality.