Here's the next chapter. Thank you so much for everyone's reviews and comments. They really brighten up my day. Hope all of you are enjoying the story. Enjoy!
000000000000000000000
The sun set behind the hills to the north as the group finished setting up their camp. Damien finished stoking the fire and stood wiping off his hands. He could feel the air getting cooler. They were in for a cold night with the southern wind coupled with the moist northern air.
"I never expected to be passing so close to Highever again. Not this soon anyway," Alyssa said stepping to his side. Damien nodded and took off his daggers.
"I was planning on coming back this way soon, but I don't think we are ready to take back your family's home," Damien said setting his weapons next to his tent and starting to remove his armor. Even though it was lightweight and comfortable, sleeping was still a lot easier without the protection. Besides, he was not on the guard rotation that night so he could sleep through the night for the first time in over a week.
"No, I don't think so either," Alyssa said looking into the fire with her back to Damien.
The young commander sat down in front of his tent and removed his boots and socks. He would never have gotten this comfortable if he had been with his old friends or traveling alone.
"Alyssa, sit down. Take a load off. You don't have guard duty until later tonight, so get some rest while you can," Damien said crossing his legs and taking out his knife. Using the blade, he scrapped his cheeks taking off the steadily thickening layer of whiskers that were growing in. Even when he was with his friends or traveling, he had always made it a point to stay as cleanly shaven as possible.
Alyssa sat down next to him and studied the motion. "You could have gone to a barber in Denerim you know," she said as Damien continued to shave.
"I'm used to doing it this way. Besides, don't want to waste funds on a barber," Damien answered.
"You know, I could do that for you," Leliana said sitting down on the other side of him.
"That's nice of you, Leliana, but I'm used to doing it myself," Damien responded.
"Obviously, but it would be faster and cleaner to allow someone who can see your face to do it, no?" Leliana retorted. Damien couldn't argue with that, as much as he wanted to. It was still hard to trust Leliana since she was still obviously hiding something.
"Fine, just be careful," Damien said flipping the blade in his hand and handing her the knife. Leliana smiled and nodded pouring some water in a small bucket. Damien sighed and closed his eyes as she wet down his face and started where he stopped.
"Seems like you've done this before," Alyssa said.
"Yes, I helped take care of my mistress' guests in Orlais. Some men prefer a young woman to help groom them," Leliana admitted. Damien could hear a small amount of nostalgia in her voice. She must have really loved her life there. But then, why would she leave? Maybe she was a fugitive like them? Or maybe she was framed and fled to Fereldan? But why would an Orlesian come to Fereldan to hide?
"You certainly look like you're having fun," Alistair said. Damien opened his eyes and chuckled.
"You stick your head in that bucket and have a knife scrapped against your skin. See how much fun you have," Damien teased.
"No need to take away from your experience. I wait my turn," Alistair responded causing Damien to chuckle slightly.
"Make me laugh too hard and Leliana here might accidentally cut my throat," Damien replied. He eyed the girl looking for a reaction but she kept up the same giggly, little girl façade she always did. Maybe he was wrong about her. Maybe that was just the way she was. After all, he pretty much understood everyone else in the group.
Alyssa's story was easy enough to guess. Took after her father and brother with a love for combat and honed her skills. Other than that, a proper lady in every way that really mattered.
Alistair had some secrets and didn't like talking about his time before his Templar training and the Wardens, but he was too dense to be a mastermind of anything. He certainly had the potential to be a leader but if that ever happened, he would need strong and encouraging people around him.
Lyna he had really gotten to know in the short time they had been together. She was disgusted by most human and the city elves because of her origins with the Dalish clans, but she was trying to fit in as best as she could.
Sten was exactly what Damien expected of a militaristic culture's soldier. Stoic to a fault with a cool and collected head on his shoulders, but there was something that bothered him. Damien had caught him more than once looking toward the west with a longing. It certainly wasn't homesick. His home was north in Par Vollen. He'd find out what was bothering him sooner or later.
Morrigan… what could he really say about her. She was as straightforward as they came. She didn't care what anyone thought and she will always say exactly what she was thinking no matter who was listening. He wasn't stupid enough to think she didn't have a hidden agenda but he would worry about that later.
Even Bohdan and Sandal were easy enough to get a handle on. A good man who found an abandoned boy and raised him as his own with a knack for finding a good deal on goods and weapons. They really had no hidden agenda or alternate goals to speak of.
Kallian, he would have to get to know a little better before he passed any kind of judgement on her but she certainly had a strong opinion of her skills and was not afraid to boast about it. She also did not like to show any kind of weakness to anyone, but who really enjoyed that?
Still, Leliana was mostly a mystery. She had a past she was running from and she had honed her skills as a fighter during it somehow, but had also learned skills usually reserved to upper class and nobles. He had to admit a genuine curiosity about the girl's origins.
"All done," Leliana announced handing Damien a moist towel to wipe his face. Damien rubbed his cheeks and neck finding them completely smooth. He may not know much about her past, but the girl made one hell of a barber.
"Thank you, I really appreciate it," Damien said wiping off his face. "Has Lyna left to hunt for dinner?"
"Actually, I'm back," Lyna said strolling into camp with a pair of rabbits in hand. She stopped short and studied Damien for a moment. "Well you look nice."
"Thanks," Alistair interrupted causing everyone to bust out laughing. Lyna shook her head and started to skin and clean the rabbits to get them ready for dinner.
Damien stood, still laughing, and made his way over toward Morrigan's campsite she had set up away from the main group. Kallian was still under her care for at least the next little bit until her wounds had healed. He spotted the city elf resting near the fire with Morrigan applying a poultice to a dark bruise on Kallian's shoulder.
"Feeling any better?" Damien asked sitting down in front of her.
"A little, but Morrigan doesn't exactly have a good bedside manner," Kallian said wincing as Morrigan applied more of the poultice.
"If you want to be babied, you should have stayed in your slum," Morrigan said patting her rather roughly on the shoulder.
"Do I have to remind you that you are supposed to be making her feel better, not giving her new bruises," Damien jested examining Kallian's bandages.
"They're nothing to worry about," Kallian said using her blanket to cover everything she could, but in doing so revealed a very swollen ankle.
"Those may not be, but this is. If you can't be light on your feet, you can't fight," Damien said examining her ankle closer.
"I can fight on it just fine, shem," Kallian snapped.
"Let's see," Damien said grabbing two pieces of firewood and placing one in her hand. "Face me."
Damien could see the smirk on Morrigan's face as Kallian examined the stick. He hoped Kallian would submit to the treatment and give up on her tough girl act, but that seemed to be impossible with her personality.
"Fine," she said starting to get up. Damien twirled the stick around his fingers and took his fighting stance. He had to make sure to go easy on her and make sure she didn't try anything that might hurt her more.
Once she was on her feet, Damien wasted no time and immediately attacked. Kallian managed to block his first attack but the block was too weak because of her injured shoulder. Knocking her block aside, Damien swept his leg behind her good one before shoving his body weight into her side. Kallian toppled over and hit the ground hard.
"If that's all you've got, I should've risked breaking Soris out of Fort Drakkon," Damien snapped tossing the piece of wood into the fire and readying himself again.
"I wish you would've," Kallian screamed back. The exclamation caught Damien of guard as his eyes widened.
"Would you rather be back home in Denerim, because you are free to return to your family and friends? If this is the best you can do, I'd spend more time protecting you then fighting our enemy. Your head isn't on straight," Damien quieted his voice and sat down next to her on the ground. "Everyone here has either lost something or left everything behind. We understand that struggle. You might have had to be strong for your friends and family back in the Alienage, but you're with friends who don't need you to be strong right now. If you're hurt, admit it and we'll help you heal. If you need training, ask and we'll teach you. We may not be family, but we do look after each other. No matter what." Damien set his hand on her shoulder gently and gave her a soft assuring squeeze before standing and heading back toward the main camp.
"Soris talked about you."
Damien stopped and looked back at the girl. She was crawling back over to her bed and refused to look at him as she continued to talk.
"He told me that you were a human thief. That you taught him how to move through the city unnoticed, and that you taught him how to survive, and even thrive on the streets. If you did all that for him, could you teach me to be stronger?" Kallian asked.
"You have plenty of strength, Kallian. You just have to figure out what to use your strength for; your tough girl act, or admitting when you need help," Damien said turning and walking toward the camp where the others were doing their best to act like they had not heard the disruption. They weren't doing a very convincing job.
000
Sweat cascaded down his face as Damien sat up with a start. Even in the tent and under his blanket and cloak he could feel the cold Fereldan air creeping in and biting at his sweat soaked cheeks. The archdemon had plagued him yet again as he had watched the multitude of darkspawn legions marching toward the surface. He had to admit, knowing that the darkspawn were marching up reinforcements was good intelligence that they could use, but he had no proof of it and he certainly had no clue as to where the beasts were going.
Using his blanket, he wiped the sweat from his face and lit a candle to see what he was doing. Through the fabric of his tent, he could hear Lyna and Alyssa comforting each other in the next tent, most likely from the same dream.
He grabbed some paper and some charred wood. He wanted to write a letter, but he wasn't sure who it would be to yet. His writing wasn't that impressive and he managed to misspell even simple words. Even reading was a struggle for him, but Heness had been doing his best to teach him. At least he could get his point across in a letter if need be even if it took him forever to read a reply.
He thought about who he wanted to talk to the most and the only person who came to mind who wasn't dead was Bethany. He wanted to tell her that he was scared; that the archdemon was screaming in his dreams, demanding his blood. Instead he started telling her about everything that had happened since they had parted and to send any reply to the Spoiled Princess on Lake Calenhad for the next week or so. He told her about Kallian and how her attitude was hindering her healing. By the time he was done with the letter, the sun was starting to rise.
He folded the letter up and sealed it with the candle wax and pressed his warden pendant to it. Hopefully that would let her know the letter was from him. He slipped the letter into his bag and loaded up everything with it.
With a stretch and a yawn, Damien crawled out of his tent and looked around the camp. Everyone, even Lyna and Alyssa, were asleep. They must have found enough peace to go back to sleep.
He fed the fire a little more and started cooking up some breakfast. They still had some leftover rabbit soup and a loaf of bread he could toast up. It would be good enough to get them through the day.
Damien sat closer to the fire as he warmed up their breakfast and toasted the bread. He wanted to have everything ready as soon as everyone woke up so they could get moving immediately. He planned to head to the circle and recruit the mages to the army as soon as possible. Not to mention having a few more mages in their ranks would certainly be helpful. However, walking into a tower full of Templars did not make him comfortable at all. If any of them noticed what he was, he might be in danger and of course Morrigan would need to stay away from the tower as well.
They were still a good two days from crossing point to the tower. He couldn't understand why the mages allowed themselves to be corralled like livestock. As long as they did not resort to blood magic, he didn't see anything wrong with mages being free from Chantry control. All they needed was a school to help them get control of their power and learn the dangers of magic. He didn't even have that and he was still okay. All in all, he didn't think constant Templar overwatch was necessary.
"Archdemon always ruins the best sleep," Alistair said sitting down next to him.
"Damned thing never likes to keep quiet," Damien responded spooning up some soup for Alistair and handed him some toast.
"And it won't until we defeat it, but I'm not even sure how we are supposed to do that," Alistair confessed.
"I overheard some of the king's men at Ostagar talking about what would happen if the archdemon had shown up at the battle and they believed the king had ordered the Grey Wardens to handle the dragon without the rest of the army. It's just a theory, but I think defeating the archdemon may have something to do with the taint in our blood. Otherwise, I'm sure Duncan would have asked for extra troops to help in the fight," Damien speculated. He hoped that he was wrong, but judging from their luck, he assumed he wasn't. Why else would they have been required to drink the darkspawn blood? Just sensing the darkspawn wasn't enough of a reason, not in his mind. There had to be something else to it. The defeat of the archdemon had to be another reason behind the joining ritual.
"I'd guess you're right, but there are only four of us now. If any of us are killed, it will be that much more difficult to fight the damned thing, as if our lives aren't hard enough," Alistair said playing with his breakfast.
"Hey, if you have complaints about the food, fix your own meal," Damien jested reaching for the bowl. Alistair quickly moved it out of his reach causing some of the broth to spill over and on to his hand. The man shouted in pain as he set the bowl down and wiped his hand off.
"Not nice," Alistair scolded.
"But funny," Damien retorted.
"As honorable as that is, I'd rather not burn my hand on anything else. Thank you," Alistair said collecting his bowl once more.
"I'll keep it in mind," Damien responded.
The rest of the camp woke up within the next few minutes. They broke camp as soon as everyone had eaten and were on the road once more less than an hour after sunrise. Damien hoped they would reach the Spoiled Princess tavern within two days, but if they got caught in the rain or snow it would slow them down immensely. He hoped they would not, but the clouds overhead loomed threateningly, full of rain and snow.