Title: Ghosts
Author: May Chang
Warnings: general, AU
Pairings: mention of Shepard x Ashley, Cousland x Zevran
Disclaimers: Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect are the property of Bioware
Author's Note: Shepard is a Paragon/Earthborn/War Hero/Infiltrator.

Ghosts

Part Six

Shepard had to admit he enjoyed training with the templars, even though the blades that half of them used were big enough to cleave him in two. Still it was good to do something other than running and target practice with a bow. He started through his cool-down exercises, deciding what to do next.

A bath is definitely in order, Shepard decided as he stretched. And breakfast. He sighed, turned to start a quick jog around the courtyard and walked into armor. Startled Shepard stepped back to see that he'd walked into the templar who didn't wear helmet.

"Sorry," Shepard apologized, "I didn't see you there." The templar tilted his head slightly before he spoke.

"First Enchanter Wynne would like to speak with you." Shepard blinked, looked down at himself and then back at the templar.

"I don't suppose I can get cleaned up first?" he asked.

"Of course," the other spoke and smiled faintly. "You can get some breakfast as well, the First Enchanter would understand." Shepard nodded and decided to forgo the jog, going to his room to clean up. He could hear the templar following after as he headed back inside. He entered his room, turning to see that the templar had stationed himself outside his door before Shepard closed his door.

Shepard took a quick bath, shivering a bit when he stepped out of the bath. Drying himself off, Shepard got dressed and caught his reflection in the mirror. He narrowed his eyes, running a hand over his head. His hair had grown a bit and Shepard frowned, wishing he could find someone who could cut it off. He hadn't let his hair grow this long since he'd joined the Alliance and frankly Shepard felt he didn't look good with long hair. Shepard rubbed his cheek, looking down at the razor on the dresser, and decided that it was okay to go a day without shaving.

He left his room, the templar following him, as Shepard headed towards the mess hall. The training left him starving and sore - it was one of the most intense training he'd had, and that was saying something for someone who made it through N7 special forces training. Shepard picked up a tray - warm, fresh bread with strawberry preserve, eggs, sausages and a mug of tea - before he headed over to an empty seat by the windows. When he was done with breakfast Shepard got up and put the tray away before he walked over to the templar from before.

"Where's the First Enchanter's office?" he asked.

"Follow me," the templar replied. Shepard nodded and talked after the templar out of the mess. "Are you alright, sir?"

"Sorry?" Shepard looked at the templar before him. "Oh, with the training today. Yes, I'm fine."

"No, I, uh, I meant yesterday. You did not seem well after lunch yesterday," the templar said, looking back at the commander. Shepard rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a bit awkward.

"Ah," he said softly. "Just... just thinking about home." The templar nodded and looked forward again. Shepard didn't bother saying anything else and after a few more minutes he was in front of the door of the First Enchanter. The templar knocked on the door.

"Yes?" Wynne called out.

"Shepard is here to see you," the templar announced. There was a pause and then the door opened. Wynne smiled at Shepard and then looked at the templar.

"Thank you, Cullen," she said with a smile. The templar nodded and took his position by the door. "Please come in, Shepard."

"Can I do something for you, Wynne?" Shepard asked as he entered the office.

"I do hope so," Wynne said as she went to take her seat behind her desk. She gestured for Shepard to take a seat and he sat down. "Greagoir is most impressed by your combat abilities."

"Really?" Shepard leaned back into his chair. "I actually got the impression that he wasn't." Wynne laughed, sounding genuinely amused by that.

"Greagoir has never been good at complimenting people," Wynne said. "But I've worked with him for a while, I know when he's less grumpy than usual." Shepard chuckled at that.

"Ah, but let me continue. Greagoir would like you to join two of his templars and a mage to check on a village a few days from here. Before you ask why it's because of your marksmanship. Your guardians have reported to him that you're very good with the bow."

"I'm better with a crossbow," Shepard said with a smile, leaning back in his seat. Wynne nodded.

"I'm sure you're quite bored with all those books," Wynne continued, "and you have said before that you're a soldier from your world. I wouldn't be asking you this, but we're still recovering from the attack." Shepard nodded before tilting his head.

"The Tower was attacked?" Shepard asked, puzzled. "Why would anyone want to attack a place in the middle of the lake, filled with mages and big guys with big swords?" Wynne chuckled.

"No, this attack was... from the inside," she replied sadly. Shepard frowned, leaning forward.

"Mutiny?" he asked quietly.

"In a way. Do you know the reason why templars are always watching over mages, Shepard?" Shepard shook his head and Wynne continued. "It is because we mages are dangerous."

"I got that," Shepard acknowledged.

"Do you?" Wynne said. Shepard lifted an eyebrow and Wynne continued. "We mages draw our power from the Fade, and it is because we draw our powers from there that those that reside in the Fade are drawn to us. We have a high chance of being possessed by the demons that live there."

"So... the templars, they're here to make sure that you don't get possessed," Shepard slowly said.

"That is part of the reason. The other is blood magic," Wynne said. "Blood magic is forbidden in the Circle as using it is to make a pact with demons." Shepard nodded, remember reading some fantasy stories where the antagonists would make a deal with the devil for power. He rubbed his chin as he gave Wynne a thoughtful look.

"The attack, was it by the mages who used blood magic?" he asked.

"Yes," Wynne replied and her eyes lowered. "We lost many good people that day. Most of the blood mages were turned into abominations and were dealt with by Aedan and the others." She was silent for a moment, as though she was reliving the moments before she looked back up at Shepard.

"We don't have enough templars right now," Wynne resumed, "and Lachlan is willing to go with the templars to help. He specializes in healing and earth magic so he will be very useful."

"I'd be happy to help," Shepard said, straightening in his seat. Wynne smiled and stood up from her seat, and Shepard followed suit. "But are you sure you want me to help? Things have a tendency to explode when I'm around." Wynne laughed, sounding a bit sad.

"I know how that is, Shepard," Wynne replied. "Being around Aedan was like that as well, though there was less explosions and more pointy edged objects. Well, let's not keep Greagoir waiting." She walked out of her office and Shepard followed, glancing at Cullen who fell in step behind the two. After a few minutes they were in front of Greagoir's office. Cullen took his position at the door as Wynne knocked on the door and entered when Greagoir called for them to come in.

"Shepard. Wynne," Greagoir greeted gruffly, looking up from his desk. Shepard looked at the desk, seeing a lot of papers there and wonder what the knight-commander had to do that resulted in all that paperwork. "Wallace, Aoibhe and Lachlan should be here soon." There was a knock on the door and Shepard turned to see two templars - one male and one female - and a mage entered the office.

"Sir, you wished to see us?" the female templar asked. Greagoir nodded as he stood up from his desk.

"Shepard," Greagoir said, "this is Aoibhe. She and Wallace are going to a village that's nearby. There have been some reports about demons. We think it's the few demons who had been able to escape the Tower before we could finish purging the place."

"Should I know anything about these... demons?" Shepard asking, nearly tripping over the word. It was a concept that was just so foreign to him, like the ideas of darkspawn, magic and dragons. He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a bit self-conscious as Greagoir seemed to scrutinize him. "I've fought men but demons and monsters are a little out of my league."

"Understandable," Wynne said with a nod. "Most men would have trouble with fighting abominations and demons."

"Aoibhe and Wallace will explain on the road," Greagoir said gruffly. "The situation is of high priority so I would like you all to be on your way soon." Shepard caught Wynne rolling her eyes at the Knight-Commander as both Aoibhe and Wallace saluted him and left the room. Lachlan and Shepard both gave a slight bow to Greagoir and Wynne and followed the templars out of the office. Aoibhe and Wallace were waiting outside and both he and Lachlan stopped before them.

"Meet us at the lobby once you finished packing," Aoibhe said. Shepard nodded and walked away, rubbing the back of his neck as he walked up to his room. It took him a moment to realize that Cullen wasn't following him; in fact it would seem that he was without guards now. He wondered if perhaps the Knight-Commander had finally begun to trust that Shepard was human as he entered his room and quickly packed, slinging the pack over his shoulder. Dagger strapped on his side and his crossbow on his back, Shepard left his room and made his way to the lobby.

Lachlan was already there, waiting. He gave a shy smile at Shepard and he gave the mage a nod. Moments later Aoibhe and Wallace arrived. Wallace stopped and gave Shepard a critical look-over.

"You don't have any armor?" Wallace asked. Shepard shrugged.

"I wasn't expecting to get into a fight," he replied. "If you have any light armor..."

"We'll pick up some armor for you when we're on the road," Wallace said dismissively. Shepard nodded and followed the others out of the Tower. Strangely enough he found himself looking forward to the mission.

The splintmail armor fit well on Shepard. It also let him know that he seemed to be...smaller than before. Shepard rubbed the back of his neck, wondering how he had missed this. He chalked it up to the fact that he didn't really want see the scars all over his body.

Shepard had seen Wallace in the courtyard in the morning, and Shepard had to admit that the man was big. Suited up in the templar armor made him look massive and quite intimidating. He had short dirty-blond hair, a full beard and green eyes, and wielded a sword and shield. Shepard had the feeling that Wallace was trying to be Greagoir, being gruff and short with him and the others.

Aoibhe, on the other hand, was a pretty woman with dark brown hair and brown eyes. She was half a foot smaller than Wallace, but her armor was tailored to her size so she didn't look like she was swimming in it. Instead of a sword and shield Aoibhe had a greatsword on her, and Shepard couldn't help but wonder how she was able to wield a weapon that was almost two feet longer than her. He had figured that Aoibhe would be just as stoic as all the other templars in the Tower, but fortunately she seemed to have some sense of humor.

Lachlan was an elf, almost the same height as Aoibhe but definitely smaller in terms of muscles. Long black hair and green eyes, he definitely looked like someone from a fantasy novel. He seemed rather docile being around the two templars, and Shepard figured it was due to the fact that he was in the company of two templars. Shepard also had the strangest feeling that the mage was staring at him a little too much.

A crush, I bet, Shepard thought with amusement. He hadn't thought about relationships since he'd arrived. There had been some good-looking women and men who were equally attracted to him much to Shepard's embarrassment. In all honesty Shepard was surprised by how open-minded the people of Fereldans were when it came to same-sex relationships - they mostly passed it off as a quirk of character.

The village they were going to was a three-day journey and on the second night they made camp by a lake. Aoibhe was the first to take a bath, and while she was bathing Shepard collected firewood as Wallace set up the tents. Lachlan had begun heating water for tea when Shepard returned with an armful of dry wood. The three of them sat at the fire, listening to the splashes from the lake and drank black tea. A few minutes later Aoibhe strode back into camp, dressed in a loose shirt and pants and drying her short hair.

"That was great," Aoibhe said with a content sigh, taking a seat down next to Lachlan. She eyed Shepard and gave him a smile. His stomach flipped; Aoibhe was definitely attractive to Shepard andwow, this was awkward. He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling his face reddening before he got up.

"I'll go get cleaned up," Shepard said awkwardly as he walked over to his tent and grabbed a towel and a change of clothes. He walked off, conscious of both Aoibhe and Lachlan's eyes on him. Good to know he still had some effect on the libido of men and women. When he got to the banks of the lake, Shepard stripped down and walked into the water, wincing at the water. The water was cool but bearable, and Shepard dived in when he was hip-deep.

He hadn't gone skinny-dipping since he was sixteen and still running with the Reds. He had gone with few other girls and boys there, and Shepard shook his head as he remembered that he'd also lost his virginity that day too. He made his way back to the bank and grabbed the wash-cloth before he turned to go back to finish washing.

"Maker's breath!" Shepard jerked, turning to see Lachlan and Wallace both staring at him in shock. He hadn't even heard them approaching, and he looked around before he looked down at himself.

Oh.

"What happened to you?" Lachlan asked. Shepard shrugged as he continued into the water to finish bathing.

"Explosions, shrapnel and being set on fire," Shepard calmly said. He gave Lachlan a lopsided grin. "It was a bad day for me."

"I'll bet," Wallace muttered, eyes still roving over the commander. Shepard took the opportunity to dive under the water and pop back up to the surface, shaking his head. Wiping the water off his face and slicking his hair back, Shepard glanced over in time to see Lachlan's red face and looking uncomfortable.

"I'll, uh, I'll wash in the morning," Lachlan blurted out and quickly made his way back up to the camp. Shepard swallowed the urge to laugh, allowing himself to just shake his head in amusement. There was some splashing as Wallace walked into the water to his hips, dunking himself into the water and coming back up, wiping his face off.

"You were on fire?" Wallace asked. Shepard nodded.

"To be honest I was unconscious at the time," Shepard said and stopped. He may have been unconscious when he was on fire, but he had been conscious when he felt the air in the suit leaving, the heat as he fell through the atmosphere, the panic he had felt as Shepard realized that he was going to die.

"Shepard?" He looked up at Wallace who was giving him a concerned look. Shepard must have had some sort of expression on his face if Wallace was looking concerned. He shook his head and started back towards the banks of the lake.

"It's nothing," Shepard said over his shoulder. "I'll meet you back at the camp." He dried himself off, pulled on his clean clothes and walked back to camp.

The village was deserted when they arrived. Immediately Wallace and Aoibhe had their blades out, looking cautiously about. Shepard pulled out his crossbow, readying it as Lachlan cast some spell on himself, causing his skin to look like it was cracking.

"Where is everyone?" Shepard asked quietly as he scanned the area, the roofs of the houses, behind him.

"Don't know," Aoibhe replied in a hushed tone. "And I don't like it."

The whole situation was like a horror movie in the making to Shepard as he and the others made their way through the village. He did not like the feel of the setting at all, unreasonably expecting to see thorian creepers or husks to come out of nowhere with their horrible shrieks. Almost on cue a terrible shriek echoed through the deserted village, causing Shepard to turn and aim his bow at the sound. He didn't see anything that could make that sound.

"Andraste's flaming sword, this is not good," Lachlan breathed. "Perhaps we are too late."

"The villagers may be safe," Shepard said. "They could be hiding somewhere in the village or the Chantry."

"Let's go to the Chantry then," Wallace said, taking the lead. They slowly made their way through the village, Shepard still scanning the roofs for anything. There was another shriek, echoing through the deserted village and causing the commander to grit his teeth. They finally made it to the Chantry, taking in the torn-open doors. Aoibhe and Wallace shared a look before they started into the Chantry, followed closely by Shepard and Lachlan.

The Chantry was a wreck and Shepard spotted what appeared to be blood-spatters on the walls and floors. Things were not looking good for any surviving villagers to him. The benches were broken and flung about, and from what Shepard could tell the altar in the back had been badly smashed.

A sudden shriek pulled his attention to a dark being with huge arms and surrounded by dark fog. It had seen them and was making its way slowly towards them. Another being, no, two more of those demons, came out of nowhere and came at them with a shriek.

"Oh, that's not good," Shepard said just as the first demon gave another shriek and launched itself at the group.

Next chapter: ACTION ACTION ACTION WHEE!