Welcome back to Warden in Rags, I hope you guys are enjoying reading as much as I am enjoying writing. I completely forgot to do this in the first chapter so, big big thank you to my beta and BlackBeltDancer for ping ponging ideas and talking through character development with me. Thanks everyone. Please enjoy chapter 2 and post a review of what you think.
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"A grey warden?" Damien asked lowering his bow. To say he was awestruck would have been an understatement. As the man turned, he revealed a crest of two griffons on his chest, the crest of the Grey Wardens.
"Yes, and you are the thief who broke in for food. I saw you fight," Duncan said smiling at him.
"Yes, my name is Damien," the youth replied.
"Come, let us check on those under your protection." Duncan headed for the larder followed closely by Damien as he dragged the bag of food.
"Duncan, thank the Maker you live," the teyrn stated.
"Tis not easy to kill a warden," Duncan answered examining the wound in the man's middle. He sighed and shook his head. "This bandage bought you an hour or so but not much more I'm afraid."
Lady Cousland started to sob into her mother's arms and the Teyrna wept over her husband. Damien wanted to apologize but could not seem to find the words.
"Duncan, I beg you. Get them out," Teyrn Cousland asked.
"I understand, but I must ask for something in return," Duncan said placing hand on the Teyrn's.
"Name it."
"I came here looking for recruits. The Blight demands that I leave with one," the warden said looking over at the young girl.
The Teyrn looked up with pleading eyes, but before he could speak, the young woman spoke up.
"Very well. If you need a recruit, I volunteer."
Damien admired her eagerness to jump into battle, but he had to admit she might have wanted to think about it a little longer.
"Then let us leave before the castle becomes surrounded and the we become trapped," Duncan said standing. Damien felt a lump forming in his throat. He wanted to volunteer for the Grey Wardens as well, but what would such a powerful order want with a street rat like him?
"I'm not leaving. Not without Bryce," the Teryna announced.
"I cannot move Eleanor. You must go." The Teyrn was struggling to talk. He was fading and fast.
"Hush Bryce, I'll kill every man that comes through that door. It will give them time to escape," the Teyrna stated. Damien could tell there was no talking her out of it.
"You, thief, you kept your word and saved my life twice now. Ensure they make it out," the teyrn ordered. Damien knelt before the Teyrn and bowed his head.
"The grey warden and your daughter will make it out. I swear," Damien said. Secretly, he hoped he wasn't making a promise he couldn't keep.
A loud crash rocked the castle as Damien spotted the door to the passage. He had to admit, it was really well hidden. He quickly opened it and drew one of his daggers just in case they ran into trouble.
"They've broken through the gates. We have to go," Duncan said pulling the weeping Lady Cousland to her feet.
"Mother, Father, please! Come with us!"
"Stay safe, pup. We love you." The teyrn's words echoed down the tunnel as the trio sprinted down the passage with the mabari trailing behind them.
It only took a minute or two to reach the other end and they exited into a small clearing in the woods outside the castle wall. Damien knew the area well. During the spring, he and Henness would hunt squirrels and pick berries to feed themselves.
"Lady Cousland, you must quiet yourself. We have long way to go before we reach Ostagar," Duncan said placing his arm around the weeping girl.
"Oriana, Oren, my mother and father, Sir Gilmore, everyone is dead," she sobbed. Her hound came over and nuzzled her with his nose, letting out a small whimper. Damien never thought such a small sound could come out of a massive war dog.
"Your ladyship, I know this is a hard time, but we must keep moving," Damien said heaving the bag of food over his shoulder and heading off into the trees. He could hear the warden and girl following him. They could not move through the woods silently at all. He had to learn to hunt with his bare hands or traps. If he made any noise, he'd starve.
He kept the warden and lady hidden while he crept back to his small camp with the food, but when he arrived, his heart shattered. Laying in pools of blood were his friends. Henness looked like he had tried to fight, but Lockey and Griggs appeared to have been stabbed in their sleep. The only ones that would do something like this were Howe's men. They were the only ones brutal and savage enough, and the only ones outside the castle to do it.
"I'm so sorry," Damien said kneeling next to his friends. He closed Henness' eyes and picked up his cloak. It did not have a hood like the one he lost but Griggs had a separate hood he wore. He took that and slipped it on. He placed a hand on Griggs and Lockey silently asking the Maker to watch over his friends before promising them he would make Howe pay. He found a small necklace around Lockey's neck. It was a small carved piece of wood. Wouldn't be worth more than half a copper, but it was all the poor boy had had of his parents. Damien quickly gathered up his friends cloaks and tucked them under his arm.
"I'll keep it safe for you," Damien said slipping it around his neck and tucking it into the shirt. He said his final goodbye and grabbed the shoulder bags they used for gathering food. The warden and Lady Cousland would need some for their journey to Ostagar.
Damien fought to keep the tears back as he crept through town trying to avoid any of Howe's soldiers. The teyrn was dead, his friends were dead, and now he had nowhere to go. He finally had some coin, armor, weapons, and food, but lost the three people that had been his family for near ten years.
"What's wrong Damien?" Duncan asked as he approached.
"Howe's men killed my friends. Slaughtered them in their sleep," Damien said. He surprised himself just how cold he sounded. How strong his voice seemed.
"I'm sorry," Duncan replied.
"Here. Take what you need for your journey," Damien said setting down the bag and handing them two of the shoulder bags. He divided the food between them evenly and looped his bag over his shoulder.
"Where will you go?" Duncan asked. Damien sighed, releasing steam from his nostrils like an angry dragon. He could feel the three pairs of eyes on him. Even the dog was waiting on his answer.
"Honestly, I don't know," Damien said adjusting the stolen armor. It wasn't a great fit so he stripped off the chest, shoulder, and thigh pieces. If he had to defend himself, he could always block with the arm and shin guards. He slipped the armor into the bag that had held the food and heaved it over his shoulder. He might be able to get a few silvers for the gear. At least enough to get a horse to somewhere.
"You could come with us."
Damien stopped. It was not Duncan who made the offer, but Lady Cousland. Damien turned to face the woman more confused than anything. "Why would I do that?"
"The wardens could certainly use a talented warrior like you," Duncan said smiling. The dog let out a soft bark, Damien could only assume was him agreeing with the Warden. Mabaris were very clever after all.
"Wait, you want me in the Wardens?" Damien asked.
"You have great skill. Certainly an unorthodox way of fighting, but effective. I could see you becoming a fine Warden," Duncan said smiling.
"And you seem to know a great deal about making the best of bad situations," Lady Cousland added. Damien sighed and adjusted the pack and weapon on his back.
"I suppose I really don't have anywhere else I could go, do I?" Damien said tightening his scarf around his neck a little more. He could hear some of Howe's troops moving through the streets, most likely searching from them.
"We must leave quickly. If Howe's men catch us, I fear we will not escape," Duncan said, looking to Damien. "Can you lead us out of the town?"
"I know these streets and alleys better than the folks that built them. Stay close and stay quiet," Damien said leading them down the alley.
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The roads and wind carried a chill as the trio made their way south. It would be a long trip; at least several days on foot. They could cut that to three days if they had horses, but Damien was not sure if the coins he carried would be enough to get all three of them steeds.
"It shouldn't be much further to the next town," Duncan said picking up the pace slightly.
"Good, cause my expertise ended about two miles back. I've got friends in other cities and I've travelled a little, but Highever was what I knew," Damien said. His heart felt heavy in his chest. His fingers touched the wooden necklace through his tunic and he felt a small shiver climb up his spine.
"There's an inn and a stable in the next village. We should be able to get horses there," Lady Cousland stated. Damien looked over at her. Did she really know or was she just guessing? Didn't the Teyrn's children stay in the castle most of their lives learning about all the finer things in life?
"We should be cautious. Howe may have men in the surrounding towns to delay news from reaching the king," Duncan added. That made sense. Duncan was starting to impress him. The Warden seemed to have a firm grasp of strategy and a level head.
"I think hiding who we are is the best bet for us," Damien said turning and scooping up a bit of mud from the side of the road.
"What's that for?" Lady Cousland asked taking a step back.
"Anyone who took one look at you, milady, would know you, but if you are dirty, they may not recognize you as the Teyrn's daughter," Damien said offering her the hand full of mud.
"You think a little dirty is going to conceal my identity?" the girl asked taking some of the mud and rubbing it between her fingers.
"Hopefully, anyone in the inn or at the stable will think you are just a pretty peasant girl and pay us no mind," Damien said applying some of the mud to the Mabari's back and neck. As he finished, he tossed the rest of the mud away and wiped his hand on his cloak.
"Pretty?" she asked wiping the mud on her cheeks and nose.
"Any fool can see you're attractive," Damien said bluntly. True he did find the girl breathtaking, but he had no romantic goals with her. He saw her as his Teyrna now that her parents were gone, and hopefully soon as a fellow Grey Warden. There was no time or reason to try for anything else.
"Let us continue," Duncan said picking up his pace. Damien nodded and quickly fell in step with the Warden Commander.
The village before them Damien had visited before a few times, but always passing through. There was not much a beggar could get from a poor village with barely enough for themselves. Besides, he would never steal from people with so little.
The stable offered them horses at a fair rate, one silver per horse, merely asking that they be returned to them well looked after. Damien shook the man's hand and gave his word before they made their way across the road to the inn.
"Welcome, what can I get you?" the innkeeper shouted from behind the bar.
"Two rooms, if you have them," Duncan said placing a handful of coppers on the bar.
"Sorry, but only have one room left," the man said taking a little over half the coins and handing him the key.
"You take the room. Just being inside is good enough for me," Damien said spotting a table in the corner near the fire.
"I do not mind the commons either," Duncan said handing Lady Cousland the key.
"But," she began but Damien held up a hand.
"A woman should not sleep in the common area of an inn. It's not safe," Damien said before turning and settling in at the table and removing his cloak.
"Duncan, are you sure?" she asked.
"Of course. Now, go get some sleep. We have a long ride to Ostagar tomorrow," Duncan replied patting her on the shoulder.
"Very well, good night," she replied snapping her fingers summoning her dog to her side as she climbed the stairs.
Damien waved his reply and signaled for the barkeep to come over. The man nodded and hustled over to him as Duncan took the seat across from him.
"What kind of food do you have?" Damien asked.
"Oh, I've got some stew, vegetable soup, and I think I've got some salted pork," the man replied.
"A bowl of each and whatever salted pork you have, we'll take a serving," Duncan said producing a silver. Damien smiled. He had heard the legends about Grey Warden appetites, but he never expected Duncan to eat more than what he usually had in a week in one sitting.
"I'll just have a bowl of soup," Damien said pulling a piece of bread from his bag. The soup would be more than enough to send him off to sleep and give him the energy he needed to ride in the morning.