"And so we burned. We raised nations, we waged wars,
We dreamed up false gods, great demons
Who could cross the Veil into the waking world,
Turned our devotion upon them, and forgot you."
Canticle of Threnodies 1:8
Morrigan, Lothering
By the time Morrigan had returned to the tavern with Mhairi they were already too late, Richard was gone. Any evidence of the confrontation had been removed and the crowd were already back in, but the room went suddenly silent when they spotted Morrigan again.
"Tell me what has become of Richard."
Silence, no one wanted to own up to being witness to the events that unfolded especially to a witch of the wilds. It was a difficult choice; face the ire of Loghain or the wrath of an apostate.
"You mean the apostate, yes. Loghain's men took him, presumably to Denerim." Out of the crowd walked a red haired Chantry sister.
"Then that is where we must go. We are not leaving Richard behind, regardless of what you say Warden."
"We cannot march on Denerim and demand Loghain release him, there's already a bounty out on my head, to go to Denerim would be suicide. Even if I could I wouldn't, we have a higher calling if we don't stop the blight then we'll lose him regardless."
"What you say makes sense, but I still don't like it."
With that Morrigan stormed out of the tavern and made her way out into the village square, where she just stood waiting. A part of her wanted it to be a bad dream, she hadn't realised that she had grown so attached to Richard. Feelings were only of a fleeting nature and in the long run didn't really matter, this was new territory and she wasn't sure whether she liked it or not. Richard had just been a distraction at first, but they had grown close she could see it now. How they always went for a midnight hunt together, even in their animal forms they were closer than before. As much as she wanted to go after him, she knew that the Warden made sense, if she didn't help defeat the blight then neither her or Richard would survive. But she would get her Richard back.
"Here you are. It's time to go, we've got what we came here and more."
Mhairi strolled of with two new people in before them. One of them was a rather large man, a Qunari by the looks of things and the other was the Chantry sister who had interrupted earlier. The direction that Mhairi took them was out of Lothering and towards the imperial highway. Whilst they walked Morrigan's mind wandered, as much as she didn't want to admit it she feared for Richard. He knows what could happen, Loghains men could just kill him, or Loghain would kill him for being associated with Grey Wardens, or even worse he'll be taken back to Kinloch Hold. All scenarios would mean that she would never see him again, the Richard that she had come to care for.
"Morrigan, have you been listening to a word I've been saying?"
"No I have not. Was it important?"
"Fairly important, yes. Depends do you want to know our next destination?"
"If I must."
"We're going to find the Dalish first. There's usually a clan in the Brecillian Forest this time time of year, so we'll try there."
"You do know how big that forest is? It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"Not necessarily, before we arrived at Ostagar Duncan went to one of the clans within the Brecillian Forest. I believe we may still find them there, if we're lucky."
"Luck is it? We might as well depend on a shiny pink griffon riding out of the Chantry."
Mhairi ignored the jibe and set of f in the direction of the last known whereabouts of the Dalish.
Mithra, The Dalish Camp
The nights were getting longer in the Brecillian Forest and normally the clan would have moved on by now but due to the troubles they were confined to their camp. The troubles started years ago, but they had never before followed them. It was a trying time, their numbers were falling and they now had nowhere to go. Being a Dalish hunter Mithra was tasked with protecting the clan at all times. Whether that be from the current troubles, any natural problems or the Shemlen. Normally the Shemlen were the biggest problem and if any would appear they could be dealt with, but with the recent troubles any Shemlen would be a bigger problem than usual. As a Dalish hunter she could merge into the forest and be hidden from Shemlen sight, which is exactly what she was doing now.
"The Dalish aren't here Warden, we're lost roaming around this dark dismal forest."
At the mention of her people, Mithra's ears perked up. They were actively searching for her people and did they say Warden. From her position she could see the mismatch group of people walking towards her position, three humans and a Qunari, an odd match for certain. She could see the outlines of her fellow hunters closing in on the group, but they wouldn't act, not until she gave the command. There was something different about this group though and she couldn't quite get her head around it. Not many people actively searched out for the Dalish let alone a Qunari and that woman definitely said Warden. The only people with a title of Warden were Grey Wardens and they weren't to be trifled with. It needed further investigation.
"Halt. These lands are Dalish."
"Told you we'd find the Dalish here." Why the armoured woman would be looking for the Dalish, none of this made sense.
"Why are you looking for the Dalish?"
"We are Grey Wardens. We have come to gain the help of the Dalish during the Blight."
"Prove it. You could be lying. How do I know that you are who you say you are Shemlen?"
"Your keeper will be able to sense the taint, he'll be able to prove it."
She knew that what the Shemlen said was true and these were odd times. The Keeper would be the better person to discover the truth, but at the same time if anything happened to them once inside the camp it would be her fault and hers alone, but she had to do it.
"Very well, I'll take you to the Keeper. Don't do anything rash, our bows will be on you at all times."
The Keeper would know what to do. But she would stay with the Shemlen at all time, even if they didn't know it. The new arrivals would be her problem to deal with and she would see it through.
"Keeper, these people say that they are Grey Wardens."
"Leave them with me Mithra, return to your duties."
Her duties now meant watching over the Shemlen and that is what she did.
Mhairi, The Dalish Camp
Mhairi listened intently to the plight of the Dalish and the troubles they were going through. As much as it saddened her to hear them, there was nothing they could do to help. They needed the help of the Dalish but it looked like they had none to give. So when the subject was brought up the Keeper, Zathrian, immediately shot it down and spun a fancy tale of werewolves. As much as the tale was amusing it didn't help matters, there was no help coming.
"Perhaps you could help Warden."
"How exactly do you propose I do that?"
"Hunt down the spirit of the forest, slay it and bring me back its heart. Using the heart I'll be able to break the curse and cure my people."
"And how would I find this spirit? Without having to search the entire forest, in case you haven't noticed it's rather large."
"I know where it dwells. I can get Mithra to show you the way."
"You know where it dwells, yet you haven't been in to finish it yourself. You're a mage are you not? Surely you could have gone in there yourself and ended this, ages ago."
"I could have but I, like the others, would most likely have perished as well, leaving my clan with no leader."
"Fair point. If we help will you give us the aid we seek to end the blight?"
"You have my word."
Mhairi agreed to Zathrians request and Mithra was swiftly sent for. The party left within the hour and were soon heading into the heart of the forest. The forest was unusually quiet, there were no bird calls no chirping crickets no anything. The forest new of its troubles and was forewarning anybody that ventured in. It wasn't until a pack of darkspawn attacked that the eerily quiet forest was disturbed. They came quickly and attacked as an even force two to each party member. The Warden and her party fared well and had soon dispatched their combatants, it was the Dalish Mithra who was struggling. A fine hunter and protector of her clan she was, but when it came to darkspawn she was unprepared. Nothing strikes as ferociously as darkspawn; a darkspawn doesn't tire or react to wounds like a normal person. They're a force to be reckoned with, which Mithra had not anticipated. She needed the help of the Shemlen but an unfortunate arrival of an ogre put that glimmer of hope to rest. The combat was quick and eventually she dealt with the attacking darkspawn but ultimately too late. She had managed to obtain an injury during the melee and the taint was spreading within already.
"Mithra, your tainted."
"I know that Shem. I will still fight up until I can no more."
The further into the forest they went the more resistance they met. A Grand Oak and a hermit held sway over the path into the heart of the forest and an acorn was needed for the rhyming tree. The boon was found and the way forward was cleared. The path forward was clear and no resistance was met but Mithra was succumbing to the taint quicker than expected.
"Mithra, we need to stop. You're not going to last much longer."
"I can still carry on Shemlen."
"No you can't. We need to sort this out now. Unfortunately there's only one thing we can do at the moment and you're not going to like it."
"Warden?"
"The only option we have before us, is for one of us to take your life, before you become blighted and corrupt the land and anything you touch around you. It's not going to be pretty but it's the only way."
"There is another way Warden. You could always put her through the joining."
"We could if we had a mage who knew the ritual, but they were all killed at Ostagar. So unless your hiding a Grey Warden mage somewhere Morrigan, its useless."
"Not a Grey Warden mage no. But I can perform the ritual."
"You? How do you know the ritual, it's kept secret even from most of the Wardens. Only the mages knew it. And you're not a Warden."
"I have my ways, Mhairi. Now do you want to do this or not, my offer will only last so long."
"Mithra, what do you say?"
"I'll do it."
The potion was concocted straight away, the ingredients already in Mhairi's pack. The words were spoken and Mithra drank from the chalice. Her convulsions lasted a short while and she was soon lying still.
"She lives. Ferelden now has its second Warden."