Chapter 23

Life in the Keep slowly returned to a somewhat normal state. The Wardens spent most of their time training guard recruits for the various cities in Ferelden. Stroud kept a firm hand on the Wardens and Anders began to resent the new Commander more and more.

Nate was kept extremely busy as Arl. He looked down at the pile of requests from the nobles for various aid and shook his head. 'How did Beth do this without punching someone?' he thought and realized that for the first time in three months, he had actually thought about her without grieving.

He was thinking about this as Anders stormed into his study. "That's it. That's the last straw!" he fumed.

Nate sighed at his friend, "What did Stroud do now?"

"I have to get rid of 'Pounce!" Anders shouted. "It was bad enough when he shut down my infirmary, but to take away my cat!"

Nate stood, alarmed at the anger in Anders' voice. "Now, don't do anything rash..."

"Rash? I'll show you rash...I'm leaving!" Anders stood looking at Nate. "I'm going to leave the Wardens. I'll find some backwater town where I can set up an infirmary and have all the cats I want!"

Nate put his hand on Anders' arm. "Calm down. You can't leave. We need you here."

Anders slumped down in a chair. "No you don't. There hasn't been a darkspawn report in months." He sighed and looked at Nate with tears in his eyes. "I could have handled anything, but taking away the only thing she ever gave me..."

Nate sat in the opposite chair and swallowed the lump in his throat. "I know. What if you tell Stroud what 'Pounce means to you?"

"I did and it didn't matter." Anders said, dejectedly. "Would Delilah take him? At least then I'd know he had a good home."

"I'm sure she will." Nate assured him. "I just have to get permission to go into Amaranthine..."

"That's another thing, why do we need permission to do things?" Anders began to rant.

Nate shook his head, "Stop it! Even Beth wanted to know where we were. This isn't new. You're just upset and you need to calm down."

Anders stood and looked at Nate, "You've been a good friend, Nate, but I'm serious. I'm leaving tonight after dark."

Nate watched sadly as Anders stormed out of the room. He was torn between going after Anders or just leaving him alone. He shook his head and went back to his desk. Looking at the pile of paperwork, Nate sat down. He tried to concentrate on the pile of work in front of him, but all he could do was think about Anders and Beth.

...

It was dark. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, but the darkness did not go away. She heard the strike of a match and saw the flare of the flame as a candle was lit. She whispered into the gloom, "Velanna?"

"No. I'm Seranni, her sister. We met before, remember?" the elf asked.

"Yes, I remember. Where am I?" she wondered and tried to sit up, but the elf firmly held her down.

"You are still recovering. My Master saved you from the scavengers. Here drink this," and Seranni pressed a vial to the woman's lips.

She drank the liquid, the bitterness filling her mouth. Sleep took her over and she relaxed into it.

Seranni took the candle and left the room. She wanted to find her Master to let him know that the Warden had awakened.

...

Anders hesitated and looked back at the Keep, the first place that had ever felt like home. Without Beth, it was just another building. He shook his head sadly and headed toward Gwaren a seaport between Amaranthine and Highever. He had decided to leave Ferelden and go to the Free Marches. Maybe Antiva, Nate talked about that place often enough.

Lost in thought he continued walking through the forest. He paused when he heard a noise behind him and looked around to see if he was being followed. Justice stepped out from the shadows and said, "Where are you headed, Anders?"

"I can't stay here. The new Commander hates me and it's not the same without Beth," Anders looked at Justice. "Why are you following me?"

Justice hesitated, "I too cannot stay. The new Commander does not take me seriously. At least Beth would give me assignments that contributed but Stroud keeps putting me off."

"If you want to come with me, I don't mind," Anders said. "I'm not sure where I'm going but I thought I'd start by leaving Ferelden."

"Thank you," Justice said and pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head as they began walking.

...

Beth opened her eyes and tried to adjust to the darkness. She could sense she was in the Deep Roads and she remembered something about Seranni and the Architect. She sat up slowly and heard movement , then a soft glow filled the room.

The Architect looked at her and asked, "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes," she replied, "but I'm confused. How did I get here?"

The Architect sighed, "I believe it was too much to expect your fellow Greys to accept an alliance with me. The whispers I have heard is that they announced your death and abandoned you in the Deep Roads."

Beth frowned, "No. I can't believe the Wardens would sacrifice one of their own just because of an alliance I made with you."

"Whether or not you believe it, I found you in a Thaig deep in an unused portion of the Deep Roads. I brought you here and tended to your wounds which were already healing," he stood and looked at her. "I apologize for creating your situation. "

"Are you keeping me captive?" she asked.

"Of course not," he said as he turned to leave. "You may leave whenever you wish."

Beth watched as he left the room, the glow dimming with his departure. She heard voices in the hall and swung her legs over the side of her bed. She was stiff from laying and slowly began to stretch and work her muscles. She stood and swayed, but steadied herself against a wall. The voices in the hall had ceased and the flickering of a candle came closer to her doorway.

Seranni looked in and said, "Let me help."

"No," Beth said. "I need to judge myself," and she hesitantly took her hand off the wall. She was able to slowly walk towards the door and turned to Seranni. "Where is my armor?"

Seranni opened a drawer of a chest nearby and placed Beth's armor on the bed. Lighting a second candle with the first, she said, "I will leave you to dress. When you go out into the hallway, turn right and follow it to the main chamber. I will wait for you there and lead you to wherever you wish to go."

...

Justice waited patiently while Anders sat eating his meager meal. Anders watched his companion, he had gotten closer to this quiet spirit during their travels and was worrying. Kristoff's corpse was not responding to the spells Anders was placing on it.

"What are you going to do when Kristoff's body can't hold you any longer?" he asked.

Justice looked at Anders a moment, "I will just disperse."

Anders hesitated then said, "I've been thinking...what if you merged with me?" He watched Justice's reaction.

Justice looked at Anders, "You would do this?"

"Yes, we're friends. I don't think it's right that you were pulled from the Fade and I enjoy your company," Anders looked off into the woods, "I've actually been thinking about this a lot and I want to help you."

"Isn't merging with me against the mage's code of honor?" Justice asked.

"Code of honor!" Anders snorted, "Mages have been kept prisoner in Circle towers to prevent merging with demons. But you aren't a demon, you are an honorable spirit that I would be honored to join with."

Justice nodded, "You are an honorable mage, who stands up for what he believes. Yes, I agree to a merge."

...

Nate stood in front of the nobles. He hated these meetings even more than the paperwork. Varel sighed watching Nate address the concerns brought to him. Nate was doing his best, but he clearly had not had any training in diplomacy. Varel thought about Beth and how easily she could go from Warden-Commander to Arlessa. He looked over at Stroud, who was standing stiffly off to one side of the hall. Stroud seemed to have the Wardens' best interest at heart, but he refused to use the Wardens to do anything that wouldn't be considered Warden business.

After the last noble left, Nate tugged at the collar of his dress shirt. "I will never get used to doing this," he muttered.

...

Beth entered the small village in the Free Marches. She pulled her cloak tighter around her armor, not wanting to stand out among the farmers of the village. She entered the tavern and went up to the bar.

"Whatcha want sweetie?" the female bartender asked.

"Ale," she ordered.

"'kay then," she said and placed a mug of ale in front of Beth. "You got the coin for this, I 'spose?"

Beth put a few coins on the bar, took her mug and found a quiet corner to sit and listen. The tavern wasn't overly full, but there were enough people for her to feel inconspicuous. Most of the mumblings she heard involved slavers, they seemed to be the menace in the Free Marches. There were scattered beast reports, but nothing unusual.

A couple of men in full battle armor sat at a table near her. They ordered from the waitress and began talking in hushed voices.

"Yeah, well, we have to stay clear of Kirkwall, too much political upheaval between the Mages and the Templars."

"I know, but we need to deliver these goods to Athenril. We're supposed to meet some guy named Hawke on the road near Sundermont. We won't have to go into Kirkwall."

"Who is this guy?"

"I don't know. Some lackey working for Athenril."

Beth sighed, she wasn't going to get any information here. She finished her ale and, leaving a coin on the table, left the inn. She went to the small Chantry the village housed and checked their notice board for any work. Seeing none, she left the town, following the road to the next village and whatever the future held.

The End

...

I hope you enjoyed this story. I enjoyed writing it. There may be a sequel in the future. Thank you for reading and please comment.