Day 2 (night):
I met a couple of new Shem today, though by far, the most noteworthy one must be the one by the name of Alistair. He was… Nothing like I expected from the Shems, or the Grey Wardens. All those I have met today, with the exception of the king, have been serious as the grave, though it is understandable.
Alistair on the other had was rather happy-go-lucky, and he didn't even comment on the fact that I was an elf, only that it was rare for us to join the Grey Wardens. Not because they didn't accept us, it was more because we Dalish don't want to. If anything, it seemed as he was more afraid that I wouldn't accept him.
Despite our racial differences, I find myself liking him quite a lot. Even as shocking and painful as the joining was, with the death of the two other humans I met today, namely Daveth and Seer Jory, Alistair managed to distract me from the pain as strategies were discussed, constantly making small jokes and comments to make me laugh. It was a hard trial to go through though, watching two good men fall to the ground. Poor Daveth, he was willing to give his very life to end the possible blight… Shame that he had to give up for the blood. And Seer Jory, not able to carry the burden of the Grey Warden.
Alistair suggested that I should not think too much of them. This was the price the Grey Wardens had to pay. If anything, he said I should honour their memory by being the best Grey Warden possible.
He is a wise one that Alistair, even if he is a little strange.
Though I must now go and prepare for the battle that is coming. This battle will be big. I hope everything will go well.
***
Day 3:
All is lost…
At one moment, I was preparing for the Joining, once again battling darkspawn and even drinking their tainted blood. Duncan explained to me just how it worked, but I can scarcely believe it…
Nor can I believe the battle that took place only the gods know how long ago. All those soldiers, mercilessly slaughtered by the darkspawn. And all because that treacherous dog Loghain pulled out of the battle! What man can do that and let his king die?
Only I and Alistair survived the battle, saved by a woman that we saw earlier in the Konkari wilds. Her mother, going under the name of Flemeth, sent her with us as we travel on to seek help in our battle. We still have the treaties and Alistair suggested that we travel to a town called Redcliffe to speak with king Cailan's uncle.
I am afraid though. It is only the two of us now, plus a witch that doesn't seem like she wants to be with us one bit. She suggested that we go to Lothering for supplies, seeing as we have little more than what we wear now. I am just glad that the pouch containing my few personal belongings, this diary included, was still fastened to my belt.
For now I suppose we will have to follow her suggestion and see what we end up with. The gods know we need all the help we can get.
***
Day 5:
Alistair and Morrigan are not getting along. We've been travelling for two days now and I don't think they have shut up about each other once. Morrigan is the worse though, Alistair is still in shock over loosing Duncan. His mood though makes him snap at her, which is well deserved, in my opinion. When they are not tossing random insults at each other, they are scowling at one another behind my back. I like Alistair, he is a good man for a Shem, but sometimes I just want to hit him over the head and ask him to shut up and snap out of the depression he is in.
I don't dare to hit Morrigan.
At least I have the Mabari dog to keep me company; at least he shuts up… I should think of a name for him soon. It was fun to see him come running though, another survivor of the battle in Ostagar. Perhaps that means there are more.
We arrived in Lothering earlier today, but we couldn't stay very long. We barely managed to get one hot meal before we were tossed about for different reasons. For one, Loghain has put up a bounty on our heads, wanting us dead on sight. This makes us a rather tempting target for both farmers and soldiers. Our salvation came in the form of a chantry woman named Leliana, who claimed that the "Maker" had told her to come with us.
As Alistair said; we are filling up on the crazy.
She wouldn't take no for an answer either so in the end we brought her along.
Just to make it even more interesting, we managed to save a Quanari named Sten out from a cage. We got the impression that he would be a good ally instead of him being left to die in a cage. We also agreed that this giant would crush our heads if we don't pay attention.
After getting blessed by the revered mother, we left Lothering with our supplies and a little money from doing a couple of tasks for the local people. Our good bye to this little town was dealing with a minor darkspawn attack. I just hope the dwarfs we saved during that won't tag along with us as well…
***
Closing his journal, Theron let out a small sigh before glancing around at their small make-shift camp. Three people had suddenly turned into five, not counting the Mabari, and while it gave them more of an advantage to get supplies, they also drew more attention while wandering at the road. It wasn't hard to notice them when three humans, one quanari and a Mabari dog was lead by an elf.
Rubbing his forehead, carefully so he didn't get ink on himself, Theron started thinking about what the heck they were supposed to do now. He was truly wondering if he was even fit to lead this group anywhere, but Alistair had more than happily handed him the reins. It didn't seem like he wanted the responsibility anymore than he did.
"You look like you have quite a lot on your shoulders."
Looking up, Theron gave Leliana a faint smile before motioning for her to sit. Besides Alistair, Leliana had proved to be one of the people he preferred to speak with. She made for pleasant talking, if one didn't think about the fact that she claimed to hear voices.
"One could say that," he replied as soon as she sat down, carefully straightening out the white and red chantry robe. The poor girl hadn't even had time to change before they had been chased out of Lothering, only grabbing the most important of her belongings. He would have to make sure that she got something more suited for the road later…
"Well," she started before flashing Theron a bright smile. "How about tossing out your ideas and I will see what I can do to help you. Unless you'd rather want to discuss your tactics with Alistair, of course, seeing as you are the only remaining Grey Wardens."
Theron snorted before picking up a map from besides him, one of the few things he'd managed to snatch up in Lothering. "I wouldn't trust him to lead us to lunch at this point, he's already made it quite clear that he will just follow my lead," he mumbled before nudging his finger against the map. "I am quite tempted to go to the east and see if we can find the Dalish, but it's a bit to close to Denerim for my taste… Redcliff seems like the most logical choice since its closer by… And since we'll be in the area, visiting the tower of Magi and Ozhammar seems like the way to go…" Sighing, Theron lowered his head, his long hair covering his face. "Of course, I can be way out of my league and be planning the most idiotically of tactics…"
Leliana chuckled before patting Theron's back. "I think you are doing a good job so far. And what you just said made sense to me. Go where you feel it's logical to go, no?" Then she winked before standing up again, dusting off the seat of her robe. "Of course, you should not listen to the woman that hears voices in her head, no?"
Feeling his face flare up, Theron peaked up at her from behind his hair. "… You heard that, didn't you?"
Leliana smiled and waved her hand. "I took no offence, I am merely jesting. I suppose it does sound strange, claiming to hear the maker in a dream. I can understand. Though I appreciate the attempt at understanding."
"Well," Theron started while scratching the Mabari's ear as it came to lay down beside him. "If anyone knows how it is to be an outcast, it must be us elves. I have never experienced much… Hatred towards my people myself, except from the stray shems we happened to run into as we travelled, but I have heard the tales from the few city elves that happened to come across us." Looking up, he gave a weak smile before shrugging his shoulders. "So who am I to judge? People have the right to believe in what they want and not be frowned upon because of it."
Leliana chuckled before flashing Theron a warm smile. "I know you say you are young… But you already have more wisdom in you than many. I can tell that you think a lot." Then she winked before turning to leave. "Just watch it. Too much thinking gives one grey hair, no?"
Chuckling, Theron gave Leliana a wry smile. "Thanks, I'll heed your warning."
Opening his journal again, Theron carefully uncorked his vial with ink and dipped his quill in it before starting to write.
"In addition to what Alistair said earlier; Even if we are filling up on the crazy… There's more wisdom in all of us than you can find in any scholar.
We are the outcast and thus we know."
***