"We will be traveling south through the hinterlands to the ruin of Ostagar, on the edges of the Korcari Wilds. The Tevinter Imperium built Ostagar long ago to prevent the Wilders from invading the northern lowlands." Duncan pointed at the ruins just visible in the distance. Barring unforeseen circumstances, they should be there well before sunset.

Lenore gave a low whistle when they actually reached the ruins. "It's taller than it looked."

He nodded to her. "It's fitting we make our stand here, even if we face a different foe within that forest. The king's forces have clashed with the darkspawn several times, but here is where the bulk of the horde will show itself. There are only a few Grey Wardens within Ferelden at the moment, but all of us are here. This blight must be stopped here and now. If it spreads to the north, Ferelden will fall."

They were nearly to the bridge when he heard a familiar voice. "Ho there, Duncan!"

He turned to see a man in ornate armor approaching, attended by several others. "King Cailan? I didn't expect -"

Cailan grinned broadly and spread his hands. "A royal welcome? I was beginning to worry you'd miss all the fun!"

Next to him, Saitada raised an eyebrow. Duncan stepped forward to greet the king. "Not if I could help it, your majesty." His voice was dry.

Cailan did not appear to notice. "Then I'll have the mighty Duncan at my side in battle after all! Glorious!" He gestured grandly, and then looked past Duncan to his companions. "The other Wardens told me you've found some promising recruits. I take it these are them?"

Duncan shot a look over his shoulder, then bowed formally. "Allow me to introduce you, your Majesty."

The king waved him aside. "No need to be so formal, Duncan. We'll be shedding blood together, after all. Ho there, friends! Might I know your names?"

Saitada crossed her wrists and bowed in the dwarven fashion. Duncan's lips twitched as the former princess stepped forward to address the king. "I am Saitada, your Majesty." She turned, and gestured to the dwarf beside her. "This is Brosca."

Cailan returned her bow. "It's good to see some of the honorable stout folk outside Orzammar."

Duncan hid a wince. Brosca shifted his feet slightly, but Saitada merely smiled. "You must not have met many members of the noble cast," she said, inclining her head.

"Sounds like there's a story behind that. You must regale me with it sometime."

Brosca gave Saitada a questioning look, but nodded. "If your Majesty wishes."

"I do. I'll make sure to have the finest dwarven brew brought up from the palace cellars... after we've dealt with the Blight, of course. I've been to Orzammar. King Endrin invited my father to a Grand Proving, long ago. How does Endrin fare these days?"

"My father was fine when I saw him last," Saitada replied.

Cailan blinked and stuttered slightly. He gave her a look as if he was just now seeing her for the first time. His eyes widened in recognition. "Well... it seems your story may be even more interesting than I suspected."

Saitada nodded. Cailan opened and closed his mouth, then looked over at the others. He blinked again. "You are Bryce's youngest, are you not? I don't think we've ever actually met."

"Yes, your Majesty." Cathiel gave a curtsy. "My name is Cathiel."

"Your brother has already arrived with Highever's men, but we are still awaiting your father."

"He's not coming." Cathiel's voice was quiet. "He died when our castle was taken."

"Dead?! What do you mean?" Cailan turned back to Duncan. "Duncan, do you know anything about this?"

"Teryn Cousland and his wife are dead, your Majesty. Arl Howe has shown himself a traitor and overtaken Highever Castle. Had we not escaped, he would have killed us and told you any story he wished."

"I... can scarcely believe it! How could he think he would get away with such treachery! As soon as we are done here, I will turn my army north and bring Howe to justice. You have my word."

"Thank you, your Majesty."

Cailan's voice was kind. "No doubt you wish to see your brother. Unfortunately, he and his men are scouting the Wilds."

"I am not eager to tell him, your Majesty."

"Of that, I have no doubt." Cailan sighed. "You will see him again once the battle is over, I am certain. I apologize, but there is nothing more I can do. All I suggest is that you vent your grief against the darkspawn for the time being."

"As long as Arl Howe pays, I'm happy."

Cailan glanced at the two elves, then, somewhat to Duncan's relief, turned back to Duncan. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I should return to my tent. Loghain waits eagerly to bore me with his strategies."

"Your uncle sends his greetings and reminds you that Redcliffe forces could be here in less than a week."

"Ha! Eamon just wants in on the glory. We've won three battles against these monsters and tomorrow should be no different."

Saitada gave him a second look. "You sound very confident of that." She flicked her gaze to Duncan, who kept his face stead.

"Overconfident, some would say. Right, Duncan?" Cailan laughed.

"Your majesty, I'm not certain the Blight can be ended quite as... quickly as you might wish." Duncan frowned. Now was not the time to have this discussion again.

"I'm not even sure this is a true Blight. There are plenty of darkspawn on the field, but alas, we've seen no sign of an archdemon." Cailan waved a hand dismissively.

"Disappointed, your Majesty?" Duncan exchanged another look with Saitada. The former princess managed to keep her face straight. Brosca's expression was more dubious.

"I'd hoped for a war like in the tales! A king riding with the fabled Grey Wardens against a tainted god!" He shrugged lightly. "But I suppose this will have to do. I must go before Loghain sends out a search party. Farewell, Grey Wardens!" The king jerked his head at his entourage as they made their way towards the bridge.

Brehan shot a look at Jerath, then another at Lenore. "So we just get ignored by the nobility?"

Jerath shrugged. "Better that way," he said.

Brehan shook his head. "If you say so."

#

Duncan led them across the bridge. "What the king said is true. They've won several battles against the darkspawn here."

Saitada shook her head, then looked down at the formations. "He didn't seem to take the darkspawn very seriously."

"True. Despite the victories thus far, the darkspawn horde grows larger with each passing day. By now, they look to outnumber us. I know there is an archdemon behind this. But I cannot ask the king to act solely on my feeling."

"What would you have him do?" Saitada asked.

"Wait for reinforcements. We sent a call out west to the Grey Wardens of Orlais, but it will be many days before they can join us. Our numbers in Ferelden are too few. We must do what we can and look to Teryn Loghain to make up the difference. To that end, we should proceed with the Joining ritual without delay."

Brosca hooked his thumbs behind his weapons. "A hot meal might be nice, first."

Duncan chuckled. "I agree."

Lenore quickened her pace to catch up to him. "What do you mean? What ritual?"

"Every recruit must go through a secret ritual we call the Joining in order to become a Grey Warden. The ritual is brief, but some preparation is required. We must begin soon."

"Why is this ritual so secret?" she asked.

"The Joining is dangerous. I cannot speak more of it expect to say that you will learn all in good time. Until then, you must trust that what is done is necessary."

"Is this anything like the Harrowing?"

"It is an ordeal." He glanced back at everyone. "I am sorry that you must endure another so soon."

"Wonderful." Cathiel muttered. "Let's get this over with, then."

"Feel free to explore the camp here as you wish. All I ask is that you do not leave it for the time being. There is another Grey Warden in the camp by the name of Alistair. When you are ready, seek him out and tell him it's time to summon the other recruits." He glanced at Cathiel. "Your hound can stay with me while I attend to some business. The Grey Warden tent is on the other side of this bridge. You will find us there, should you need to." He watched as they wandered off.

Saitada stayed next to him for a moment. "The king might not be taking this seriously, but someone is. The fortifications are sound enough."

"Loghain's influence," Duncan said. "I wasn't aware you had met Cailan before."

"Maric and Loghain too, for that matter," Saitada replied. "Though I was a child then." She smiled. "For the record, I've also met Empress Celene, and two members of the Magisterium."

"I will keep that in mind. Would you see if you can find Alistair? I need to speak with the mages."

"Of course."

#

Cathiel kept an eye out, but did not see any of Highever's soldiers. They must be in a different camp. She saw a man that matched the description of one of the other recruits attempting to proposition a female soldier. Cathiel hid a smirk as the woman shot him down.

He looked over and waved at her. "Saw you arrive with Duncan." He gave her a once over. "Well, you're not what I thought you'd be."

"What did you think I'd be?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Not a woman. Yet here you are." His tone was frankly admiring. "The name's Daveth. It's about bloody time you came along. I was beginning to think they'd cooked this ritual up just for our benefit."

She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Maybe they did."

"Just to give us a good scare?" He shook his head. "No, they don't really seem the type. I happened to be sneaking around camp last night, see, and I heard a couple of Grey Wardens talking. So I listen in for a bit. I'm thinking they plan to send us into the Wilds."

"Aren't there barbarians in the forest?" She thought back to what Aldous had said of the area, and felt a momentary pang for the old man.

"Chasind barbarians, yes. Cannibals. And witches, too! My home village isn't far, and I grew up on tales about the Wilds. Even been in there a few times... scary place."

"This seems like an odd place for an army to camp, then."

"I'm told the Blight started in the forest, so the army's here waiting for them to come out. Dangling meat in front of the bear, if you catch my meaning. It's all too secretive for me." He tapped the side of his nose. "Makes my nose twitch. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Like we have a choice."

"I wouldn't be here if I did."

"You take what you can get, right?"

"I'll watch your back if you watch mine."

He gave her a friendly leer. "Oh, I'll watch your back."

She laughed. "You're a charmer, I see."

"That's me!" He gestured at the camp, then offered her his arm. She smiled, and accepted.

#

Cathiel smiled at the roguish young man. He filled her in on what he'd overheard sneaking around the warden camp, and she returned the favor by telling him what she'd overheard during her travels.

"I think Saitada knows more than she's letting on, but if she was inclined to tell us, I think she'd have done it by now."

"She's something more than she seems, isn't she? Did you see her greet the king like an equal?"

"According to Brosca, she's the woman who should be ruling Orzammar. Second child of the king, way more popular than the heir apparent."

"Explains why she's here then. Someone wanted her out of the way."

Cathiel fiddle the lock a bit more and it snapped open. "More healing poultices. They really shouldn't be locking these. What if they are needed and nobody can find the key?"

"Good thing we came along." Daveth grinned.

"I bet there is good stuff in the king's tent. Or Loghain's"

"Someone would probably misunderstand our intentions."

"Good point." Cathiel straightened her lockpick. "What about the mage's encampment?"

"Could get us turned into frogs."

"True. Most of the wardens are out and about. Let's see if we can't figure out what this joining thing actually is."

#

Saitada looked up at the tents. She recognized the first sigil as Cailan's, but it took her a moment to recall the other. She walked to the guard, and spoke with him a moment. An older man stepped out of the tent. He blinked at her, then nodded. "Yes, what is it? Ah, you are Duncan's new Grey Warden, I assume."

"Yes I am," Saitada gave him a slight bow. He looked much the same as the last time she'd seen him, over ten years ago.

"Cailan's fascination with Wardens goes beyond the ordinary. Are you aware his father brought your order back to Ferelden?"

"Yes, I've heard that." Cailan had regaled her at length, in fact, to the point she'd seriously considered pushing him into the lava.

"Maric respected the Grey Wardens. They have an honored place in the hearts of our people. But Maric would have understood that it takes more than legends to win a battle. That's not an argument I'll repeat here." He narrowed his eyes at her. "You're no surface dwarf; I can see it in your eyes. Smart of the Grey Wardens to look for new recruits in Orzammar."

"Indeed. I remember you from when King Maric came to Orzammar. The rebel prince and the hero of the River Dane. Quite the legends yourselves."

Loghain blinked down at Saitada, then nodded slowly. "The young princess... Yes, I do remember you. I don't suppose you'll be riding into the thick of battle with the rest of your fellows, will you?"

"I don't know."

"If Cailan has his way, you will. Now I must return to my task. Pray that our king proves amenable to wisdom, if you're the praying sort."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then simply pray."

#

Jerath split away from the others easily. He'd only gone a short way before someone shoved a letter at him and instructed him to run it to the archery range, and be quick about it. Jerath rolled his eyes, but shrugged and headed in that direction. After handing the rangemaster the letter, he was handed a copper in return and called a good lad. He doubted the man had even looked at him.

He started to make his way back towards the center of the camp when he caught sight of a man dressed in fine armor. Rage beat at his senses, and he went still for a moment, forcing it back. The man was walking towards one of the towers. Jerath followed. No one looked at him twice.

The soldier entered the tower, Jerath only a few paces behind. He told the rage to be patient. He let the man get further ahead, dawdling like a lazy servant. The air around them grew a bit cooler as they descended the steps. The man entered a storage room. Here, at last, they were alone. Jerath moved quickly.

Behind him, the door closed with a small thud. The soldier turned around. "Medin send you?" he asked. He shook his head. "Told him I'd take care of it. What's he doing sending a midget knife ear anyway?"

"Medin didn't send me," Jerath said quietly.

"Yeah?" The man shrugged. "Who did?"

"Adaia," Jerath said, and let the rage out.

The soldier screamed.

#

Alistair grinned broadly as he turned and saw her. "You know, one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together."

Saitada shook her head and returned the smile. "I know exactly what you mean."

"It's like a party: we could all stand in a circle and hold hands." He shrugged. "That would give the darkspawn something to think about."

"Duncan asked me to find you, let you know we've all arrived."

"I heard, before I got shanghaied into delivering messages. Six new recruits."

"We picked up two more after we parted ways in Denerim."

Alistair nodded. "Anyhow, whenever you're ready, let's head back to Duncan. I imagine he's eager to get things started."

#

Saitada met him by the fire, Alistair in tow. Cathiel's mabari was curled up at Duncan's feet, obviously not sharing his mistress's feelings. "Where are the others?" Duncan asked.

"Brehan will be along as soon as he finishes telling a group of very wide-eyed young Fereldans a story of Fen-Harel. Those younglings are more scared of the tale than they are of the darkspawn. I convinced the quartermaster not to arrest Brosca, and he and Lenore are grabbing Ser Jory and will be along in a moment. Daveth and Cathiel are nearly done picking every lock in the camp. Not sure where Jerath got off too, I think he ran into people he knew among the camp laborers. And Alistair is right here."

"Why was the quartermaster arresting Brosca?"

"Something about tricking a messenger into giving him some knight or another's sword."

Duncan started to nod, then replayed the rest of her words. "Wait, Daveth and Cathiel are doing what?"

"Don't worry, they left all the command tents alone. Except yours, but I took the liberty of hiding your lockbox when I realized what they were doing."

"I appreciate that." He rubbed his forehead. "We'll need to have a word or two with them."

"Or at least get them to direct their efforts appropriately. I'd have preferred them to go to the command tents."

Duncan raised an eyebrow.

"Got a feeling. Made the mistake once of not trusting it, not going to happen again. There is an undercurrent here I dislike."

"Lot of men here. Some of the veterans and lords were once on different sides. Plenty of room for tension even without the wild-filled darkspawn nearby."

"I should study up more on human politics. I know more about Calenhad than Cailan."

Brehan joined the fire almost silently. Brosca led Ser Jory and Lenore up a moment later, apparently trying to explain to Lenore what a nug was so she could turn Ser Jory into one. Duncan turned to say something to Alistair, and noticed Jerath sitting quietly near the fire.

Daveth and Cathiel were the last to arrive, talking quietly to each other. Saitada glanced at them curiously when they approached. "You two find anything interesting?"

Daveth started, but Cathiel just responded, "some of the supply dispensations don't make sense."

Saitada nodded. "Aye, but we don't know the actual battleplan yet." Cathiel started to open her mouth. "But you've got an odd feeling too?" Cathiel just nodded.

Duncan frowned. "One of you might be wrong. Two... I'll see what more I can learn. In the meantime, there is a task ahead of you." He explained.

"Vials of blood and the treaties?" Saitada confirmed. "We can do that."

"Watch over your charges, Alistair, and bring them back safely." Alistair nodded in response. Duncan made eye contact with Saitada, who winked and also nodded.