Ch 3: In Which there are Witches

Olivia groggily opened her eyes and sat up… in bed. Which was confusing because the last thing she remembered was being under attack by darkspawn and passing out with three arrows in her. "Ugh," she mumbled. "Note to self- ditch the slave robes and get some armor."

"Ah, you're awake." A vaguely familiar voice sounded from the corner of the tiny hut where she seemed to be located.

"Morrigan?" said Olivia, squinting at the other woman.

"You remember."

"What happened."

"The man who was supposed to respond to your signal quit the field," said Morrigan with obvious disdain. "Your friend… he is not taking it well. As in really badly. I think he might have a mental breakdown."

"My friend? Alistair?" Olivia frowned. "What happened to the other Grey Wardens? And the king, for that matter," she added.

"They're all dead. Your friend has been going back and forth between denial and grief ever since Mother told him what happened. He's currently outside feeling sorry for himself. Mother is out there too; she wanted to talk to you when you woke up."

"I'd better go, then," said Olivia, climbing weakly out of bed and pulling on her ripped and slightly bloodstained robes with distaste that was only partially due to their condition, grabbing her backpack from where it was sitting beside the bed. "Thank you for helping me, Morrigan."

Morrigan didn't seem to know quite how to respond to that. "I… you're welcome. It was no trouble, really." Olivia got the feeling that people didn't thank Morrigan for things too often.

Olivia limped outside, where Alistair was staring moodily out over the pond, watched by Morrigan's mother. Possibly to prevent him from jumping in. "There, see," the old woman said to him. "There's your friend. You worry too much."

"You…you're alive," he said quietly, voice breaking on the words. "I thought you were dead for sure."

Olivia smiled a bit sadly. "Can't get rid of me that easily. I'm fine, thanks to Morrigan's mother."

"This is all so… surreal," said Alistair quietly. "If it weren't for Morrigan's mother we would be dead up on that tower."

"Yeah… and dying in a tower is what I joined the Wardens to avoid," joked Olivia weakly.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here," added the old woman. "It's rude. I have a name, you know."

"Sorry," said Alistair awkwardly. "But, er, we don't actually know your name…"

"Names are overrated. The Chasind call me Flemeth. I suppose you can, too."

"Wait…" said Alistair. "Flemeth? That Flemeth? You really are the Witch of the Wilds. Daveth was actually right." He seemed surprised, though Olivia wasn't quite sure to which part.

"I do know a bit of magic. It comes in handy. Rather useful for saving you lives, in fact."

Alistair had the decency to look embarrassed. "Thank you for that." His expression fell. "So. What now?"

"Well, seeing as you're Grey Wardens, it seems to me that you should be figuring out how to stop the darkspawn."

This seemed to upset Alistair. "We were! The king almost had them beaten! Why would Loghain go this?" he sounded miserable.

"Now that is a good question," said Flemeth. "Men's hearts hold shadows darker than any tainted creature. Perhaps he sees the Blight as just another army to be fought and ignores the threat leading it."

"The archdemon," said Alistair darkly.

"Well," said Olivia with false cheer. "It looks like we've got our work cut out for us, then."

"Alone? No Grey Warden has ever defeated a Blight without a gigantic army backing them up."

Olivia silently held up her backpack, still containing the treaties that Duncan had given to her for safekeeping ages ago. "In that case, I suppose it looks like we'll have to get one."

"The treaties!" exclaimed Alistair, realizing what she was suggesting. "That's right! The Grey Wardens can call on elves, dwarves, and mages for help. Not to mention Arl Eamon would never stand for this," he added.

Olivia blinked. "The Arl of Redcliffe?" she asked, confused.

"He wasn't at Ostegar, so he still has all his men. And he was Cailan's uncle. I know him. He's a good person and everyone in the landsmeet respects him. We could get help from him, too."

"Now you're thinking," said Olivia, unable to stop herself from being cheered by Alistair's enthusiasm. It was much better than the gloom of earlier.

Flemeth smirked. "Call me old, but this is beginning to sound like an army."

"Can we really do this? Just go out and build an army?" asked Alistair, sounding almost disbelieving at the idea of a solution.

"Why not?" said Olivia. She smiled. "It's not like we have anything better to do."

"So you're set, then?" asked Flemeth.

"Looks like it."

"Then before you go, I have one more thing to offer you."

At that moment, Morrigan appeared. "Dinner is ready, Mother. Are these two staying?"

"No. And neither are you. You're going with them."

"Oh, what a… wait, what?"

"You heard me."

"Thank you for offering," said Olivia, feeling awkward, "but if Morrigan doesn't want to come…"

"Don't I have a choice here?" Morrigan asked indignantly at the same time.

"No," said Flemeth bluntly. "You've wanted to leave the Wilds for years anyway."

"Do we have to take her?" complained Alistair. "I mean, outside the Wilds she's an apostate. Don't we have enough problems?"

"Maybe I should have left you on that tower if you didn't want any help from illegal mages," said Flemeth.

"Point taken."

"Mother, I'm not ready for this," wailed Morrigan.

"You must go, Morrigan," said Flemeth seriously. "Without you, they stand no chance and the Blight will destroy everything. Even me."

"I… understand."

"And you Wardens? Do you understand? I give you that which I value above all in the world. I do this because you must succeed."

Olivia nodded, a bit nervous at the seriousness. "I understand."

"I'll go pack," said Morrigan grumpily.

A few minutes later, she returned, carrying a backpack. "I'm ready. I suggest we stop at a village just north of the Wilds called Lothering, first, for supplies."

Olivia frowned. That reminded her. Nervously, she turned to Flemeth. "I know it's a long shot, but my cousins, Pandora and Carver Hawke… You wouldn't happen to know if they got out of Ostegar safely?"

Flemeth smiled mysteriously. "Oh, they did. They'll make it home just fine. Yes they will. Muahahahaha."

Olivia decided that she really didn't want to know what that was about. "Okay… I'm just going to ignore that ominous laugh for now and be grateful that my family is safe. While leaving. As quickly as possible."

She grabbed Alistair and Morrigan and practically fled into the Wilds, the sound of Flemeth's laughter following them.