9:30 Guardian 27th
We have arrived in Redcliffe and it was already starting to look really good. Most of the debris has been cleared away and I heard that they were already starting negotiations on getting some loggers to build more homes. I can't help but feel that even if they do start rebuilding, they're going to get attacked by darkspawn again later on once the Blight is in full force. I prayed that most of their work would still stand.
As Leliana gave the reins to Derek who was at the stables, I went out to look for the others. I called down Alistair and Zevran who were both working together. Zevran had steady fingers and, with Alistair's strength, were able to build foundations fairly easy, who knew?
Wynne and Eren were still at the castle. Alfred was playing with the kids and I called him over as well. He nearly tumbled me into the dirt with how happy he was that I was back. Surprisingly, I found Morrigan weaving tales with a few of the children too. These were the ones that I had talked to in the Chantry that had lost their parents and were traumatized. She gave me a look when I called her before giving Mallory one of the feathers from her robes.
"You will not say a word." Morrigan looked down at me as she walked toward the Castle.
"Nah of course I wouldn't dare tell everyone that you were telling stories to children and even giving away your feathers." I stifled my laughter.
"You are growing to be cheeky. Careful or else I might invent a spell to turn you into a toad." Morrigan rolled her eyes.
"Kids are my weakness too. You know, all things considered, I think you might be a good mom." I said as I caught up with her.
"Truly? I wonder exactly where you get these assumptions of my character." Morrigan huffed.
"I'm not that bad at figuring people out. Besides, you can really tell a person's character with how they treat two things; animals and children." I pointed out.
"Whoever told you that?" Morrigan raised a disbelieving eyebrow.
"My husband." I said who took various classes on psychology and wanted to be a therapist. "I know you're a good person. The best I can describe you is awkward."
"I feel so much better now that you have given me your opinion on my state." Morrigan said sarcastically and scoffed.
"You're welcome." I said sincerely while Morrigan walked slightly faster to get to the castle. I know it, other people know it, Morrigan starts off as a cold hearted ice witch but there is someone deeper inside. She may not love the whole world but she can love certain people. Considering how much she loves her son in the future, I'm sure that Morrigan can be defrosted over time too. Hell, Sten is starting to talk to me more. Morrigan will come around.
We walked into the main gates and headed toward the throne room. Teagan was there talking with Eren. He looked over and settled his eyes on me. I looked away, still feeling slightly angry at his decision. Soon all of us trickled into the throne room, the attention was baring down on Leliana, Talen, and I.
"What have you found?" Teagan asked.
"For one, someone was impersonating Genitivi's assistant. He's the one that's been turning away knights of Redcliffe and sending them to Lake Calenhad or other places. We got rid of him and found Genitivi's research as well as a map to a village called Haven." I explained, taking out the map from my pack and handing it to Teagan. "This is probably where Genitivi went missing and could be a place that has the Urn of Sacred Ashes."
"Good work. How soon can you all depart?" Teagan asked, handing the map to Eren.
"As soon as possible my lord, so long as we are allowed to take provisions." Eren nodded.
"Then you are allowed to take any that you need." Teagan said before going upstairs to his room.
"I have left him several potent potions for Arl Eamon. This should be enough for at most 2 weeks. Any longer than that and he may not survive." Wynne explained.
"Then it's best we get going. Gather your things and get as many supplies as you need. We leave tomorrow." Eren said.
"Do you really think the urn exists?" Alistair came up to me.
"Who knows? Maybe we'll find them, maybe we'll find a broken urn that has collected dust. We won't know until we get there." I said.
"Why would ashes of a dead woman be a healer of all?" Zevran wondered.
"From what the Chant says, Havard, one of the disciples of Andraste, felt guilty for not being able to save her from her execution. He was hurt and when touched by the ashes, he was healed and found the strength to take her ashes away. Of course we don't know where he put them. Genitivi's research may have some merit to it." I explained.
"And yet my question goes unanswered." Zevran shrugged.
"Zevran you live in a world where you can visit a spirit world while dreaming and you have experienced magic in front of your eyes and you still can't believe in magical ashes?" I looked at him with disbelief. Zevran just chuckled and put his arm around me.
"There are many things in this world that are still unanswered like why haven't you fallen for my charms?" Zevran wondered.
"Because you're not my type." I took his arm off. Alistair chuckled at that while Zevran glared at him. We went into the kitchens to take away provisions for our trip. The smells of the kitchen reminded me of home. The smells of the spices and herbs mixing in with the smell of baking bread was soothing to me. I took some bread that resembled matza, no leavening products. I added a small jar of jam that was given to me by a servant girl. When I opened it, it smelled of raspberries instead of strawberries. It smelled wonderful.
I took some dried fruit before moving onto the dried meat. You can't survive on protein alone. If you didn't have any sort of fruits or vegetables, your body won't be 100% and I'd rather not get sick during this cold time. I put everything away in a smaller pack inside my bigger pack. Looking around the library I stumbled upon an empty journal. Score! I was writing as small as I could to fit any entries but with this I can go back to my usual. I also found an inkstone to try to write some entries in ink. It would be hard but it doesn't smudge as bad as charcoal. What I wouldn't give for a regular pencil or pen.
I put my pack in my room and decided to do some maintenance on my armor. We were going to end up nearly killing all the people in the village of Haven. I had to go in and make sure it was going to withstand some abuse. I cleaned it, going into the nooks and crannies. I took some oil that was given to me by Derek. This would protect it slightly. I ran my hand over the chest plate, feeling a little sad that the griffon wasn't pressed into it. It was armor built for Grey Wardens but I couldn't even show it.
After doing that, I went off and washed the extra pairs of clothing that I kept before noticing that holes where developing around the inner thigh area. I frowned. That was the downside of having thick thighs for most of your life. I patched it up as best as I could before leaving my clothes to dry near the fireplace. By the time I got everything done, it was already night time. I relaxed in my bed, remembering how it felt before having to sleep out in the wilderness again.
Leliana came in and nodded politely but I could tell there was something on her mind. I saw her getting ready for bed. She sat down and stared in a daze. I got up but it seemed she didn't notice me. I walked over and waved my hand in her face.
"Oh, is there something you need?" Leliana asked.
"Not really, I was wondering if you were ok. You're kinda out of it." I said.
"Ah…" Leliana looked down at her intertwined fingers. "I merely had a talk with Alistair."
"You turned him down didn't you?" I said. She looked at me with wide eyes.
"You knew?" She wondered.
"I had a feeling." I said, sitting next to her and she put her head on my shoulder.
"I told him that we couldn't let our personal feelings get involved in our mission. It was…nice but there is something more that we need to focus on." Leliana sighed.
"It's not wrong you know. When you like someone, you like them. Alistair is a good man. Awkward and he acts like a puppy but he's a good man." I said. Leliana nodded and her hair brushed my cheek. "Or do you have something else on your mind?"
"Perhaps but it's best to leave that be. I've already had so much to go through on our trip to Denerim. Adding romance to the mix might not be the best of options right now." Leliana pulled open her covers and settled into her bed.
"True. You've been through a lot. Rest and let yourself sort it out." I said, running my hands through her hair. Leliana looked at me and I smiled at her.
"I have a confession to make." Leliana said.
"You're really cute Leliana but you do have to remember I'm married." I joked and she swatted me with her extra pillow.
"That is not it." Leliana pouted before settling again. I was running my hands through her hair and I saw that her eyes were drifting. "I…" She buried her face in her pillow and noticed that her ears were slowly turning red. "You are like a mother is all." Her words sounded muffled. I bashfully smiled and felt myself getting red.
"Well I was a mother. Get a good night rest Leliana." I said, patting her head before checking my clothes on the fireplace. They were dried and I put them into my already filled pack. Thank God that we had a wagon. I got ready for bed and slept.
9:30 Guardian 28th
Eren woke all of us before daybreak. The sky was only getting lighter as we walked toward the village. I rubbed my eyes as we were all armored and ready. Derek had gotten Lily ready last night and we put our packs there. Derek went to the seat to guide Lily out. Wynne, Morrigan, Eren, and Talen were in the wagon. Everyone else was walking.
"I seemed to have overheard some gossip yesterday." Zevran said after we had walked out of the village and past the Redcliffe farms.
"What are you an old woman?" I yawned.
"A certain song bird was given a rose and yet she responded with thorns." Zevran said cryptically. I raised an eyebrow before Leliana scoffed and crossed her arms.
"I think that's her business not ours." I said.
"It makes for a good conversation starter no? Why would she reject someone as dashing as our fine Templar?" Zevran wondered.
"I can hear you and it's not welcomed." Alistair pouted. I rolled my eyes. I knew this was going to be a tricky situation.
"They are adults Zevran and I think they handled it without us so we shouldn't pry." I said.
"You are no fun. Tell me my fair headed friend, what drew you to our beautiful bard? I can already list a few items but it is better when two men share their tastes." Zevran waved his hand as he grew closer to Alistair.
"I'm not going to say that right now!" Alistair grew beet red.
"Zevran stop antagonizing Alistair. Just let them keep it to themselves. There's no reason why they need to air their laundry at the rest of us." I said.
"Ah well. Tell me my grey friend, was there anyone you fancied back home?" Zevran sighed dramatically at first before going over to Sten.
"No." Sten said curtly.
"No one? I can only imagine the woman back in your homeland. Tall, robust, filled in all the right places? Well fit." Zevran purred.
"There is no point in speaking of them." Sten grumbled.
"Zevran?" I hummed.
"Yes my lovely woman?" He sauntered over to me.
"Can you please shut it?" I said politely with a smile. Zevran sighed dramatically again before Alistair tapped me on my shoulder and mouthed 'thank you.' I shook my head and we had another comfortable silence.
"How did your husband woo you?" Zevran suddenly piped in.
"Can't you go a minute without wanting to know those private things?" Alistair groaned and rubbed his face.
"It is an honest question! Here we have a beautiful woman and I would like to know what warrants her loyalty!" Zevran looked at me expectantly. Even Leliana was looking at me curiously. Sten and Alfred decided to walk closer to the wagon.
"It was unorthodox I guess. I was completely oblivious to my husband for a good half year and then he saved me. I guess it started off the wrong way too. I never wanted to start another relationship so soon after the last bad one but he kinda shoe horned me into it and I felt like I owed him for helping me. Then everything fell into place when we really got to know each other. He and I were the same in tastes and common interests. He was less compassionate than me and had trouble sympathizing with others but I evened it out with my own compassion. We were the same in interests but different in personality. Our personalities meshed really good. I was the good with the bad and he was the bad with the good." I said, putting my hands together and smiling. "He made me laugh, really laugh, from the bottom of my heart. He might not have been the romantic kind spewing poems or giving me flowers but he was there when I needed him and made me smile." I found myself tinkering with my ring again while Leliana sighed.
"All he had to do was make you laugh?" Zevran raised an eyebrow.
"I'm a simple woman." I shrugged. "All I need is manly hands, some jokes, and an occasional massage from my man apparently." I giggled.
"I can see how he managed to nab you. You don't really ask for anything unlike Morrigan who has her small satchel of jewelry." Alistair mumbled the last part.
"I love jewelry but I'm not about to take from the dead unless it's needed. I stick to the true path of working for what I want. Although if someone were to happen to give it to me, I would take it. It would be rude not to right?" I shrugged and smirked.
"You swindled someone didn't you?" Leliana gave me a playful smile.
"He was trying to court me, as you guys said it, and gave me a ring. I don't wear it of course but I like having it around. Citrine is very pretty." I laughed.
"My opinion of you has changed." Alistair sulked.
"Can't make everybody happy."
9:30 Drakonis 1st
We got lost while trying to find the trail over to Haven. They wanted to remain hidden and it got to the point where all four GWs started to argue amongst themselves who should be leading, which trail we should be using, and how the map and the notes can be read. Eventually Talen gave the notes over to Leliana and Zevran who, with their background, might have found trail pointers on the map.
Leliana figured it out and we were half a day from the first trail. We were closer to the door to Orzammar than anything. Haven should have been near Honnleath from what I remembered. We rested after getting lost, retraced our steps, and found the trail the next day. It was just an entire headache that could have been avoided if the GWs stopped being so stubborn.
We found ourselves finding the gate toward Haven with the headache present over our heads. I felt slightly nervous as Sten's scowl formed deeper and deeper over the days we were lost. I could almost feel the tension surrounding him. I knew what was going to happen and have already prepared something in case Eren can't calm him down.
"I'm guessing a gate in the middle of the mountains might be Haven?" Alistair wondered as we got closer. There was a single guard there that immediately gave us the stink eye as our group approached us. He looked warily at the wagon. Everyone was out as soon as we reached him.
"Halt. What business do you strangers have to do in Haven?" The Guard walked in between us and the gate. If we wanted to, we could have easily passed by him or beaten him. One guard wasn't going to stop us but we weren't here to fight. At least not yet.
"We were merely traveling toward Orzammar. It seems our map isn't as accurate as the one who sold it to us would like to believe." Leliana covered for us quickly.
"The city of dwarves lies northward. If that's your destination, I suggest you leave." The Guard glared at us.
"We've been traveling for a few days my good Ser. Can we ask for some slight hospitality? Do you have an inn? A barn? Perhaps a store that could sell us some provisions?" Alistair added to it. The guard sighed dramatically.
"We have but one shop and one stable. You may stay one night but do not go through our homes like we're some sort of zoo. Keep to yourselves and do not start any trouble and none will be given to you. Please leave as soon as the next dawn." The Guard went back to his post with an eerie glare.
"Thank you very much." Alistair nodded. We walked past the guard and into the town of Haven. It was smaller than I expected it to be. No stairs as of yet but plenty of marked trails. There was a silence that seemed to fog the entire village. We saw no one out and about except for some children that seemed to have snuck away from the group.
Derek found the stables that were nearly overrun with weeds. He rolled his eyes before settling Lily there with some feed and water, tending to her as well.
"Where is everyone?" Wynne wondered.
"Maybe they're frightened of us?" Talen asked.
"Or perhaps there is something they are trying to hide." Morrigan added quietly. As we went further in, passing a few houses, Sten walked up to the front of the group. He stood there and then crossed his arms.
"What strategy are you all planning? To continue north until it becomes south and defeat the Archdemon from its rear?" Sten sternly asked. Everyone in the group stared in shock but the GWs looked at each other.
"What are you talking about big guy?" Derek asked.
"From my understanding, the Grey Warden's goal is to find the Archdemon and defeat it. Instead, we are looking for the charred remains of a woman in a village that has long been forgotten. I have followed in your shadows for far too long and for far too little results. You are all running from battle." Sten announced.
"We are not running from anything." Eren stepped up.
"We are doing this for Arl Eamon so that we can get help defeating the Archdemon." Alistair explained.
"Is that so? I had thought that we were climbing a mountain to find a nearly abandoned village on some trivial whim of yours." Sten glared. Alistair turned red. "If there is no other challenge then I am taking charge of this unusual band of fighters."
"Are you serious right now?" Talen gaped.
"I am." Sten said, taking out his greatsword and planting it in the ground. He was standing, waiting for someone to go up and challenge him. I walked up to him first.
"Sten, that means you are a soldier of the berasaad is that right?" I wondered.
"That is correct." Sten nodded.
"That means you are like a captain in our world. You commanded men underneath you and led them into battle." I said.
"Why must you already say what has been confirmed?" Sten wondered.
"Bear with me for a moment. Sten, in order to fight against an enemy that has numerous forces, commanders, and generals, what would you do?" I crossed my arms.
"I would delegate and increase my forces to fight against them. Strategize against their generals, lay out my forces to tackle theirs, as well as send in fighters to gauge their strength." Sten replied.
"And to do all that you need men right? You are talking about a force of hundreds of men and woman to fight against your enemy. Think of the Archdemon as Tevinter. Would you really go against the whole might of their army with only a handful of skilled fighters like us?" I waved to the rest of us.
"No." Sten glared down at me.
"Then why are you about to do that under your charge? Considering that the Archdemon is an Old God that commands hundreds, if not thousands of darkspawn. What could our group do against a tide of nature like that? We need commanders, soldiers, to fight against their army. You don't fight an army with very few fighters, you get yourself an army as well. These are the steps that are required to gather that army. The Arishok holds power over your forces right?" I asked.
"Yes." Sten nodded.
"Then think of Arl Eamon as your Arishok. Right now, he is what we need to gather our forces against the darkspawn. We don't have time to get another person worthy of the 'Arishok' in our position. We take what we can get. The Archdemon won't be lying in wait for too long and we have to get our shit together in time for its strikes. You don't build an army in a freaking day. You want to take charge right? Then how are you going to pull hundreds or thousands of people against an Archdemon when you can't even understand the very country that's about to fight against it? The odds are stacked against you and you won't be able to strangle every single problem in front of you. Think about it Sten, logically. Do you really have what it takes to gather the country of Ferelden under your banner with the way you go about doing things?" I took a step forward and looked up to him.
His mind was going a mile a second, I could tell. I've hit him with logic, his greatest weakness and strength. Truthfully it is pretty roundabout. I'm sure that Teagan can probably put in his word for us in a Landsmeet but his word doesn't carry as much weight as Eamon. It would be harder for Teagan and double work for us to gain allies. We had a choice in Eamon to get the best chance against Loghain. Eamon knows the war between Orlais and Ferelden, a well-respected man to the country and the nobles. Of course he won't be the only one needed. We still have the treaties concerning the Dwarves and Elves but this would be a big step for us as soon as we acquire Eamon.
"You have made…a sound judgement." Sten took his sword out of the ground and put it away. "I have said what I wanted to say. It is time to move on."
"Good, so are we up for exploring to find the ashes or what?" I said, looking back at the group. There were various gazes of awe and respect even on Eren's face.
"Yeah, of course. How are we going to go about doing that?" Alistair wondered. I gave a sneaky glance to Leliana and Zevran.
"I will check the store." Leliana gave me a smirk.
"I think I saw a door without locks." Zevran hummed.
"You're not thinking of breaking and entering are you?" Wynne wondered.
"At this point, we need to find clues about the Ashes. We won't find anything out in the open. Leliana take Eren, Derek, and Wynne with you. Zevran, Alistair, Morrigan, you're with me. Sten, stay out here with Alfred and make sure that guard is not wary to what we are to do." I ordered. Sten nodded before Alfred went up to the lone guard and started to get his attention.
"It would be better if you were in command." Sten muttered low enough for me to hear as he passed me to go to the guard. My face heated up as Eren took his group over to the shop that was up the trail.
"I must say that this change of pace is rather refreshing." Zevran said as he walked up to the house he mentioned.
"Someone needed to stop Sten from attacking everyone or holding a coup at least." I mumbled.
"And it was skillfully handled. Why then are we being led by those that only have half a mind?" Morrigan glanced to Alistair.
"Oh was that aimed at me? I was thinking you were talking about Eren." Alistair laughed. Morrigan scoffed as Zevran opened the door while the guard was being distracted. We all hurried in and were hit with the metallic and faint rot smell as soon as we were all inside. There was an altar at the far side of the wall in plain sight of the door.
"This is…disturbing to say the least." I said.
"Maybe it's used for food preparation?" Alistair wondered.
"Does meat really bleed that much?" I wondered.
"I'm only trying to be positive. Thinking about the alternative…makes me really want to see my breakfast." Alistair gulped.
"The crows have done rituals that involved sacrifices of blood. It gave them uncanny abilities not much different from blood magic." Zevran looked hard at the blood.
"Human sacrifice to increase their strength? One would not play with such dark arts unless tis for power but power to do what I wonder?" Morrigan said.
"Besides this, we won't find clues in a regular person's house. Let's go see if the others found something." I said. We went out and walked over to the village store before Leliana and the others came rushing out.
"You are not going to believe what we found." Leliana breathed out.
"We found the missing soldiers. They're bodies were all crammed behind next to the produce." Derek shook his head. We heard a high pitched whistle from the lone guard before he was silenced by Sten. It was too late. The alarm was sounded as we saw various bodies coming out of the Chantry that was overlooking Haven.
"Well looks like our answers are running to us now." Alistair chuckled as we got ready to face them down.
Beta'd by Syutaku
I know I took a unprecedented long time and one I didn't even plan. Truthfully my mental state was bad and I had to focus on myself for once. With therapy and my loved ones, things are looking much better! The baby is ever healthy and I'm counting down the final weeks until they are born. Thank you for everyone that is still reading this story and following it! Updates will be sporadic at this time, once I'm more comfortable they will be back on 4 days apart. Thank you for your patience!
Thank you Akashic Records, ferpet (hi again!), Emberflame03, helljumper141, Eclipse-Sol, Sweetheart1975, FireBirdOn, Nightrainrose, and Slendermane for favoriting/following!
Chimera Spyke: Love your reviews as always. I love how you pick apart all the dialogue between characters and I'm sorry for the long wait!
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