P12
The sands of the desert shifted in the wind as the Grey Wardens traversed. Every second passed seemed like a grain in an infinite hourglass. Lady Holly and Alistair struggled to continue their trek as the weight of their armor held them down. But as luck would have it, there were some ancient ruins not too far off.
"We can rest there and take shade under any intact structure." Lady Holly said. Her voice was raspy and dry. Alistair said nothing but nodded in agreement instead. The pair walked with a bit of haste to spare less time under the hot sun. "Be cautious though. These ruins are falling apart but there might still be inhabitants." Lady Holly unsheathed her sword and Alistair copied. The pair strayed silently into the ruins, glancing around with caution. The tiny ruined walls that bordered the horizon seemed impossibly larger from the other side. A steep city covered in moss and smashed architecture gave life among the ruins. There were still some aspects intact like a murky waterway system that webbed through the streets, pillars that held up roofs of sandstone, and statues with relics unlooted. Lady Holly walked carefully into the street while Alistair watched. Nothing happened. Yet she could see some bones sticking out of the sand dunes that swept the roads. Her sword was sheathed and she gave a motion to Alistair that the coast was clear. Alistair gave one last scout of the area before joining Lady Holly in the road. "I noticed a tower a few blocks from here. We can take shelter there for the night." Alistair said while pointing yonder. "Loot any burnable items you can find so we can stay warm during the night." She added. "Do bones burn?" Alistair asked curiously while glancing down at the skeletal hand by his boots. "Bones aren't wood, Alistair." "Yes, but do they burn?" "I don't know. I'm not going to light some hand on fire to find out." Alistair took the opportunity to make light of the situation. "Why not? He or she'd be giving us a hand." Lady Holly squinted her eyes at the jokester then kicked sand over the hand in the ground. "No bones. Look for dry wood or parchment. Most of the city is still intact so there's hope that we may be able to get a fire started by nightfall." Lady Holly wandered away from Alistair, heading towards an open hovel while the other Grey Warden headed in opposite direction.
"Gah!" Alistair nearly fell back in surprise. Lady Holly quickly turned to face the commotion. A tiny monkey was beating the Gray Warden on the head with a frail stick. "What the hell is it? GET IT OFF!" Alistair shouted while turning to cover his head with his hands. "It's just a monkey." Lady Holly rolled her eyes at her partner's failure. But suddenly, she noticed the monkey was wearing a tiny red hat. "Abu?" She asked. The monkey stopped beating Alistair when it noticed it's name called. Abu charged towards Lady Holly and stomped on the ground as if ecstatic. "Where did you come from? Where have you been all this time?" Lady Holly sank to her knees to get closer to Abu. But the monkey only continued to spaz. "Maybe he needs to be kicked?" Alistair suggested. "Maybe YOU need to be kicked."
Abu grunted in annoyance and ran off. "Well, that was random. I vouch for not following him." Alistair fixed his hair and shrugged his body to shift his armor comfortably into place. "It's for the best. He'll come around I'm sure. Let's just get that fire started up in the tower." Lady Holly wandered away to explore the ruins for burnable items. Alistair soon followed.
As night descended, the two Grey Wardens had enough items piled high at the top chamber of the tower to start a bonfire. With a little knowledge she picked up from some Dalish elves in her youth, Lady Holly started a small blaze with two stones. The fire grew and sustained off the pile of parchment, sticks, tattered cloth, and other random relics. Alistair sat up close to the bonfire, holding out his hands to keep warm as the nocturnal desert brought a chill to his bones. "So, how much longer do you think it'll take to reach Mozenrath's kingdom?" Alistair asked. "Probably a couple more days. We've already come a great distance so far." Lady Holly replied as she sat beside him. "Things haven't turned out the way it was expected. I just assumed this was going to be a normal 'catch the apostate' mission. Never thought I'd be made a Grey Warden out of it. When we return, they better give us a medal for all we've been through! …And some ale!" Alistair leaned back, resting his hands under his head as he gazed up through a hole in the ceiling. Lady Holly lied beside him and sighed. She contemplated on everything that had happened and felt a little uneasy. Wanting comfort, she turned over to wrap an arm around Alistair's torso. Her face buried into his neck as she rested against him. Alistair remained motionless. "I'm going to have nightmares about that monkey…" he whispered aloud. Lady Holly scrunched her eyebrows and muffled a chuckle into his neck. "Just go to sleep." She said while laughing.