The advantage of staying at Redcliffe is that we can finally get news of the outside world. The entire country's been thrown into chaos by Calien's death and the Bannorn has refused to bow to Loghain. It's civil war. And I'll give you one guess as to who the "Hero of the River Dayne"'s biggest supporter is. That bastard Howe now has the gall to style himself Teyrn of Highover. Nothing beyond vile cursing can express how I feel about this.
Loghain must have guaranteed that Howe wouldn't face retaliation for his vile act. They were planning this from the start. I wonder what dark secret's Loghain's heart held. Probably the same as Howe. Envy and arrogance combined with a treasure trove of viciousness is the recipe for a usurper.
Wynne urged me not to go down the path of vengeance. She said the time would come for Arl Howe to get justice but right now we needed to focus on the Darkspawn. But it was Alistair who calmed me down in the end, or I should say we talked each other down. I will do my duty but Howe will suffer in the end. I promised Alistair would get to finish off Logain. He left Howe to me.
So I've assembled my little army and we've decided where we are to go. We are following up a lead Morrigan found. Specifically she was able to purchase a Golem's control rod from a traveling merchant while we were off in the tower. Our package is in Honnleath. Morrigan myself, Griffon and Leliana will head to Honeleath while Alistair, Sten and Wyne will attempt to aid a convoy of refugees. Once we meet up we will attempt to head to Denerim by way of the Brecilian forest.
I hope Alistair understands. I believe we need a Grey Warden at the head of each detachment and I would never send him away solely because of my feelings, but I just need more time to think. But I can't bear to see him hurt. Both physically and emotionally. He seemed nervous about being in charge of his own group but I told him the truth, that I believe in him and if he had just a little bit more confidence in himself he could do amazing things.
I told Alistair that I'm looking for something beyond the physical and he agrees. If we both agree when we get back together than that settles it. It feels good to have a person to hug again.
Before we decamped I talked to Wyne. She asked some odd things about abominations. Specifically if they could retain their sanity and humanity. I told her that anyone with humanity probably isn't an abomination. I mean what do I know. I don't understand why such an accomplished mage would ask anything like that of me. Maybe it's because I navigated the fade?