The Darkspawn tried to ambush us on the road to Redcliffe. Probably some sort of recognizance party, sent to track us. That or they came from some unknown breach in the deep roads. Regardless I do not believe the main horde has even reached Loathering yet. Sten is part of the Qunari version of such things, a scout for the Qunari army, the Antam. He didn't tell me why he was dispatched but I suspect it was ether preparatory work for another invasion, or else an observation of the Blight. I do not haver the luxury of inquiring further.
Unlike Sten, Alistair finally told me his secret. He is the bastard son of King Maric. That's why they kept him from the battle. That's why Arl Eamon raised. And that's probably why the Chantry was so reluctant to give him up. He doesn't like to talk about it. In fact I'm the first soul he's ever told. I try not to think of him any differently, but this man is the last surviving member of House Therin! Still the Landsmeet decides who is King, even if they do consider blood claims.
The situation at Redcliffe is grave. Somehow even worse than I expected. The Castle is completely cut off from the village. Nobody has heard from it in days. It is assumed to be overrun with walking corpses. Every night they come out of the castle and attack Redcliffe Village.
The Militia has taken heavy losses and Eamon's brother Bann Tegan is the only thing holding the situation together. He seems to me to hold the attitude of a gallant knight, rather than the acting lord of one of the realms most important Arldoms. For example, when I asked if he had a family, for the purposes of figuring out succession to Redcliffe along with alliance possibilities, and he thought I was flirting. At a time like this!
Mind you the man is quite handsome. And quite heroic, he's stationed himself in the church at sir Perth's request in order to defend those villagers unable to fight. It is a brave thing to do what must be done even if it gains you no glory. But these points are irrelevant. I suppose his lack of political insight is a good thing. A man thinking as a lord, as opposed to a soldier holding together a situation, might have come to terms with Logain in exchange for reinforcements. The thought would never occur to an honorable man like Tegan. So what does that make me?
As I mentioned they have the local militia, along with a few Knights. Those who weren't stationed in the castle, or lost on the quest for the Urn, or killed by the undead. That doesn't add up to much. We did learn why Isolde believed that now after all these centuries the Urn could be found. The Arl once employed a scholar by the name of Brother Genativi who believed the Urn could be found in Ferelden. It was always a pretty common theory, Ferelden is Andraste's homeland
The Knights wanted the Revered Mother to give them some sort of charm to ward off evil. Of course their was no such thing, Revered Mother Hannah said the men would have to rely on their faith alone. I managed to convince them that she wouldn't be lying to them, as the men's faith in the "magic trinket", would make them fight better. She decided that my excuse was good enough.
In fairness Sir Perth did seem quite pious. May the Maker watch over them all. I prayed already, but what's the harm in asking for more help?
I fount Rigby's wife Jetta in the church and gave her the box. That helpless look on her face, the minute she knew her husband and son had both died, that her world had ended, it's light gone out, in those eyes I saw my brother.
A young girl named Kaitlyn asked me to find her brother for her. The poor girl's mother was dragged off by the walking corpses and her brother ran off saying he was going to save his mother. Just imagine, being asleep in your bed and then some vile curs attack your home and destroy everything you know and love. How familiar.
The Mayor, who recent events have forced to moonlight as a militia captain, had several problems he wanted me to aid him with. Of course he couldn't do this without commenting about my being a member of the fairer sex. Somedays I feel like Aveline of Orlais died for nothing.
Their armor was in a truly dreadful state and desperately needed repair. Of course the only man who could do those repairs locked himself in his house drunk. It wasn't like he didn't have his reasons. His daughter was a made in the service of Arlessa Isolde and he doesn't know if she's alive or dead. I told him I would bring her back if only he would get back to work. I'll try, but I doubt she's still alive. Morrigan of course snarked about the whole thing. She tries so hard to appear mature but these antics reveal her to be all the more a child. Contrarianism for contrarianism's sake will get her nowhere. If the most "realistic" path was the darkest, the Darkspawn would have won long ago.
Their was this Dwarf named Dwin who had holed up with a bunch of mercenaries. The prick was perfectly fine letting everyone else die without bothering to do a thing. Those sort of people confound me. I could never live with myself after doing a thing like that. I fought hard at Ostagar, I fought hard to save my family. And yet I find I still cannot shake the sense that I could have done more. Even worse, when I offered him a personal reward, I thought I implied pretty well it was special trade arrangements with Highover after I retook the Teyrnier, he thought I was offering to sleep with him. Maker's breath. Have those dam stories gotten that far? Though in the end the threat of decapitation was enough to dragoon the dwarf into Murdoch's service.
The actual small boy I had to deal with just a bit later was far braver. He was planning on retrieving his grandfather's sword, the man had been a great Dragon Slayer. The lad was around ten. So obviously he couldn't lift the thing. I persuaded him to let us have it in exchange for giving his sister some money. If they survive they'll be in a position to rebuild their lives, or at least a better one than they were before, penniless orphans and all.
The story about his grandfather is quite curious as I had never expected the family of a dragon slayer to live in a place like Redcliffe village. I later asked Alistair if the Arl was protecting any other people's famous bastards. He didn't seem to think that was very funny. Sten and Morrigan both agreed the blade was of Dalish make. Very curious. Assuming we aren't torn apart alive by corpses this could make for an interesting story.
Another interesting story is the one Leliana was able to sniff out at the tavern. It seems Arl Howe, who is Teyrn Logain's creature, dispatched a spy to Redcliffe. All he had time to report was that the Arl was ill, and then events overtook things. Combine this with some rumors I heard about the Arlessa, and I very much doubt the Arl's illness was natural.
Morrigan found some barrels of lamp oil and the Bann has agreed to my suggestion that we set it up as a trap near the windmill. Now all we can do is wait until nightfall.
If only a scant few months ago you had told me I would be going up against walking corpses, I would have called you mad. Now I await the coming assault as if I was fighting Orlesians.
Me and Alistair spent the last hours of daylight talking. Mostly about old ghosts, like Duncan and my family. Alistair has always been my confidant amongst the party, we are after all the last Grey Wardens in Ferelden. His childhood was absolutely horrid. And yet he still loves this place. I've got to say, though he may play the fool, I can see in those eyes, ten times more of the strength and valor the tales ascribed to the Therin's than Caylin ever had, or at least he ever showed to me.
Alistair told me that the Arl always made it clear to him that he was not destined for the throne. And yet that very same healthy respect for power might make him a great King. I remember the tale of Ardal Cousland, who loathed King Valenderin for stealing his betrothed, and yet gave his life in defense of the King at the Battle of Loathering. Not because he had discovered any newfound affection for the man, but because he was the monarch and it was his duty. I on the other hand have no need for additional motivation. Whatever else he may be Alistair is my friend and I would gladly die for him.
I told him as much, I think that made things awkward. We eventually settled on a bet over who could kill the most corpses. We'll see in a bit.