Title: Ghosts
Author: May Chang
Warnings: general, adventure, AU
Pairings: M!Shepard + Ashley, M!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 Nine
Shepard collapsed onto the bed at the inn, groaning in relief. Three more thuds sounded in the room as Wallace and Aoibhe both sat down heavily onto their respective beds and Lachlan flopped down on his. Holding off demon attacks as Lachlan worked to close the portal had been long and brutal. The only thing to compare the whole situation with was when he, Kaidan and Wrex had ran through the Citadel, battling their way through loads of geth to reach Saren.
Lachlan had managed to close the portal and Shepard, Wallace and Aoibhe were able to get rid of the last of the demons quickly after that. Wallace checked to make sure that the Veil was firmly closed, Lachlan at his side in case, as Shepard and Aoibhe checked on the villagers. The people had been understandably confused as to what happened to them and where they were. In any case after Wallace deemed the Veil close, they led the villagers out of the caves and back into town where the people insisted that the group spend the night, free of charge.
Shepard groaned again before he sat up and took off the splintmail. He was looking forward to getting cleaned up and a good meal. Rooting through his bag, Shepard pulled out the cleanest shirt he could find and pulled off the one he was wearing. One critical sweep of the shirt told Shepard that he needed a bath if only to get rid of the dirt and blood off of him. It also told him he needed to sew up the tears in the shirt.
There was a knock on the door opened and a maid entered with an armful of robes and towels, her mouth opening to say something before she froze. She paled as she looked at Shepard and took a moment to collect herself.
"The, uh, the bath is ready downstairs, sirs," she said, looking instead at Wallace, Aoibhe and Lachlan. Shepard rubbed the back of his neck, watching as the maid handed out the robes and towels to the others and hesitated before handing a set to him. "We can launder your clothes if you leave them up here."
"It'd be nice to have clean clothes," Aoibhe murmured as she and Wallace stood up to divest themselves of their armor. The maid bowed and after a quick look at Shepard left the room. The commander just gave a sigh before he sat down and pulled off his boots. Sliding the robe on and facing away from the others, Shepard pulled off his pants and tied the robe closed before he turned. Lachlan was ready to go, but the templars were still getting their armors off.
"Lachlan and I will go down first," Shepard said. There was a grunt of acknowledgement from Wallace, and with the towel in hand Shepard left the room, followed by Lachlan. He was looking forward to getting cleaned.
The bathing room was a large room with wooden walls to separate the four tubs from one another, and a curtain to give the user some privacy. Shepard chose the farthest one from the door and closed the curtain. Spotting the soap and small washcloth, Shepard took off his robe and hung it before he eased himself into the steaming bath. He gave a content sigh at the hot water, the first hot bath he had in a long while. A quick dunk under water and Shepard sat up, wiping the water from his face before he started washing up.
Shepard's mind wandered while he was washing up. He thought about the portal, wondering why it had felt like it was calling him to go through. From what he read and heard, the Fade was mostly filled with spirits and demons, so for it to call to a mortal being such as himself was unexpected. As he started to wash his hair – man, I haven't had to wash my hair since I joined the Alliance, he thought ruefully, I wish I could just shave it off – he puzzled over if there was a connection between him, the Fade and the demons unable to see him.
Another quick dunk under the water to rinse himself off, Shepard climbed out of the tub and toweled himself off before pulling on his robe. Tying it up, he opened the curtain and stepped out to go back up to the room.
The main room went quiet as Shepard passed through, and the commander puzzled over what had made the occupants nervous as he gave a quick glance over. With a mental shrug Shepard continued up the stairs to the room. Aoibhe and Wallace's armor were there, telling him that they were most likely taking their baths now. On Shepard's bed, there was a set of clean clothes laid out, his boots brushed clean by his bed. It looked like the maid had taken their clothes and armor for cleaning.
He had just pulled on his pants when the door opened and a quiet gasp sounded. Shepard looked over his shoulder to see a male servant holding his splintmail armor. The man had turned pale at the sight of Shepard and the commander rubbed the back of his neck, figuring it had to be the scars.
"No need to be frightened," Shepard said, causing the man to start. "It only looks bad." The man opened his mouth, snapped it shut and handed over the armor to Shepard which he took. He quickly left the room, leaving Shepard feeling rather confused.
Dinner was mutton stew and warm, fresh bread and the group dug in heartily. Taking a drink from his mug of ale, Shepard noticed that the people were looking over at them; more specifically looking at him.
"Did I miss something?" he asked quietly to the others. Wallace looked up, looked out at the people in the dining room then back at Shepard.
"They think you're the Hero of Ferelden," he replied. Shepard blinked, looked over at the other diners then back at the table.
"Oh. Oh crap. I forgot about that," Shepard said, placing his forehead in his hand as he leaned against the table. Wallace gave an amused snort while Aoibhe chuckled. Lachlan looked at Shepard with a frown, studying his face before he gave a shrug. "How did you find that out?"
"The maid from before came up to take our clothes," Aoibhe answered. She took another spoonful of stew before she continued. "Apparently some of the people in the inn were from Lothering. They remembered seeing Aedan Cousland there with His Majesty during their Grey Warden days before the town was wiped out by the darkspawn. The maid was there to see Cousland's body get a hero's funeral."
"Oh." Shepard rubbed the back of his neck. "Damn, so she saw a ghost."
That also explains the fellow with my armor, Shepard thought. It had been awhile since anybody had mistaken him for Aedan Cousland and all of a sudden Shepard felt rather self-conscious. After a moment he gave a shrug and continued with the meal.
The whole thing can hopefully be explained in the morning.
Shepard bolted upright in his bed, breathing hard as his heart thundered in his chest and in a cold sweat causing him to shiver. Something was screaming at him, calling for him desperately, needing him. He hadn't felt this way in a long time, not since he'd arrived, but now it began to haunt him. Something had happened after the whole portal incident that caused the visions to start up again. His head falling into his hands, Shepard tried to slow his beating heart as he wondered why the visions began again.
Actually now that he thought about it, Shepard wondered why the visions were slightly different from the visions he had before. There were visions of the Reapers, but at the same time there was something else, something like...
A call for help? Shepard thought. He puzzled over it, wandering why he was hearing it and frighteningly enough if there was a Prothean beacon in Ferelden. He had a distinct idea of where the call was coming from and he gave a quiet sigh before he looked at the other occupants in the room. Luckily they were all still asleep and Shepard laid back down again, staring at the dark ceiling.
It was going to be a long night, he decided, and if he was going to be having visions again, it was going to be a long time before he would have a decent night of sleep.
Aoibhe and Wallace weren't in the room when Shepard woke up. Neither was Lachlan for that matter, but all of their belongings were still in the room. Shepard knew he'd always wake up at six in the morning, his internal clock never letting him oversleep, so he sat up and sleepily gave the wall across from him a blank stare for a moment. When the walls gave him no answer Shepard got out of bed and got dressed. Their clothes had been returned to them while they were at dinner, cleaned and surprisingly repaired.
The need to go search for the beacon tugged at Shepard as he pulled on his boots, and the commander puzzled over it. He was unsure about looking for it as the last few times he'd encountered a beacon Shepard's brains seemed to get more scrambled. Liara had helped with unscrambling parts of the messages, as did the Cipher, but damn did he have headaches for weeks.
The main room was quiet except for a young man who was probably the innkeeper's son and the maid from last night. The maid looked up as Shepard walked in and her eyes widened before she looked away. Shepard suppressed the urge to sigh before walking over to the young man.
"Yes?" the man asked, looking up. His expression changed from sleepy to shock before Shepard could say anything. "Maker's breath! You're Aedan Cousland! But you're suppose to be dead!"
This time Shepard did sigh.
"No, I am not Aedan Cousland," Shepard said, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. "I just look like him."
"...really?" the man asked, sounding skeptical.
"Really," Shepard replied. "My name is John Shepard and I'm just... passing through."
Sort of, he thought privately.
"Are my companions still at the Chantry?" he asked. The man nodded, though he still gave Shepard a doubtful look. "Right, thank you." Shepard then turned to leave the inn, ignoring the staring young man and the frightened maid. Outside Shepard absently looked both ways, rubbing the back of his neck as he turned towards the Chantry. The morning air was slightly chilly and it felt like the beginning of fall on Earth, a thought that made Shepard want to frown.
Earth had always been a touchy subject for him; Ashley once asked about his life on Earth and he had side-stepped the question. When he met Finch by Chora's Den the commander could feel both Kaidan and Ashley's eyes on him, surprised to hear that Shepard had ran with the Tenth Street Reds. Both of them wanted to ask Shepard about it, but he stonewalled them, not wanting to tell them about his past.
Shepard didn't like himself much back then.
He met the others at the door to the Chantry. Aoibhe and Wallace were both in full armor, looking sternly on as the people filed out of the Chantry. Lachlan looked bored but he gave Shepard a smile as the commander approached the three.
"Morning," Shepard greeted with a nod. The two templars merely nodded as Lachlan chirped out a good morning to Shepard. The back of his neck prickled as Shepard felt curious looks thrown his way and heard the sound of whispers passing between people, most likely talking about how he looked liked Aedan. Shepard did his best to ignore it as he chatted quietly with Lachlan and enjoyed the morning air.
"Right, I am starving," Aoibhe announced when the last of the townsfolk were gone. Her stomach rumbled in agreement and Wallace rolled his eyes as Lachlan snickered. "I am so ready for a nice hot breakfast." They started back towards the inn and Shepard mulled over how he was going to break the news.
"Are there going to be templars coming here?" Shepard asked curiously as they entered the inn. The young man at the desk looked up and Shepard ignored his stare as he and the others sat down at a table. A serving girl came by with clean plates and cutlery, quickly took their orders and walked away.
"The Reverend Mother sent a letter today for them," Wallace said. "For now Aoibhe, Lachlan and I will stay and help out. Hopefully the templars will be arriving soon from Redcliffe.
"You may have to go back to the Tower by yourself, Shepard," Wallace continued. "I'm sure that you want to get back to searching through the library." The serving girl returned with four steaming mugs of tea and two baskets full of fresh bread before leaving and returning with plates of sausages, eggs and potatoes. Wallace fished out some coins and handed it to the girl who gave them a slight bow and left them to their breakfast.
"Actually I've got some business elsewhere," Shepard started slowly as he stabbed some sausages and placed them on his plate before he picked up a piece of bread. "Out, uh, out east." He ripped off a piece of the bread and chewed on it as the others looked up to give him a curious look.
"East?" Aoibhe asked, sounding puzzled. "Why are you going east? And where in the east?" Shepard picked up his mug of tea, taking a sip as he tried to figure out how to explain his need to go east.
"I have to go east," Shepard said after a moment. "I think there was lot of trees and... people with tattoos on their faces." Wallace, Aoibhe and Lachlan all stopped eating, the mage going pale by the description. Shepard frowned, not liking the way they looked.
"You want to go to the Brecilian Forest?" Lachlan asked quietly.
"Yes?" Shepard replied. "I think I have to."
"Have to?" This time it was Wallace who asked. "Is it because of the portal?" Shepard chewed on another piece of bread, his eyebrows furrowing as he thought about it.
"I think the portal may have something to do with it," Shepard said slowly. He thought about telling them about his visions, unsure if they would believe it or not. Luck had been on Shepard's side that his team and Captain Anderson had believed in him and his visions. In the end he decided against telling them about his visions before and only the vision he received last night. "I think there may be answers in the east since I had a dream about the portal and where I could find some answers."
"Are you sure your answers are in the Brecilian Forest though?" Lachlan asked. Aoibhe and Wallace had started eating again while Lachlan didn't touch his food. Shepard just gave a shrug as he ate.
"I'm guessing that the Brecilian Forest is not a good place to be," Shepard said.
"Well, the Dalish won't like you poking around in their forest," Lachlan replied primly. "They don't like humans at all and may shoot you on sight."
"Story of my life," Shepard muttered. He gave a smile at the mage. "Well, I'll figure out something when I get there. You should eat something before Wallace and Aoibhe eat all the food." Wallace snorted while Aoibhe grinned. Lachlan just gave Shepard a concerned look before he started eating again.
East. That was all Shepard knew, just that he had to go east.
After breakfast the commander had gone up to their room, packed up his belongings, donned his armor and armed himself. He paused, suddenly realizing one important thing.
Money.
Huh, Shepard thought. The whole time he'd been in Ferelden Shepard hadn't really paid for anything. He didn't buy anything in the markets when he was in Highever because he didn't need anything. Food hadn't been a problem since he ate with Fergus and the mages when he was at the Tower, and when he was on the road the others were the ones who supplied the provisions. Even the armor Shepard wore was bought for him by Wallace.
"Something wrong?" Shepard turned to see Aoibhe at the door and he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling rather embarrassed.
"I just realized that I'm broke," Shepard said with a grin.
"Broke?" Aoibhe walked in, looking him up and down with a frown. "You don't seem like you're injured." Shepard blinked, confused for a moment before he shook his head.
"No, no, not injured," Shepard said with a laugh. "I'm, uh, I don't have any money. I didn't really think about it until now."
"Oh. That can be a problem," Aoibhe said with a nod. "Good thing Wallace noticed then." She tossed the commander a pouch which he caught. The sound of coins clinking told Shepard what was contained in the pouch. He looked at it then back at the templar, raising an eyebrow in question.
"Your travel funds," she replied with a smile. "It's not much but it's enough for provisions."
"Thanks," Shepard said. "Least I don't have to procure the coins the hard way." He smirked as Aoibhe lifted an eyebrow in curiosity. After a moment she shook her head.
"You sure you want to head over to the Brecilian Forest by yourself?" she asked. "The roads are a little more dangerous these days." Shepard rubbed the back of his neck and gave a shrug, knowing she was right to be a little more than concerned about his traveling alone.
"Yeah, I think I should be fine," Shepard said. "Can't hit worth a damn with a blade, but I can shoot straight." Aoibhe nodded, still with a doubtful look on her face. She then gave him a smile.
"One last thing then," Aoibhe said. Shepard quirked an eyebrow and before he said anything, the templar leaned in and kissed him on the lips. She pulled back and smiled at him. "Be safe Shepard."
"...yeah," Shepard said, a little stunned as he watched Aoibhe left the room. "Sure."
It took Shepard a good two weeks to reach the Brecilian Forest. During his travels he managed to come upon a few villages and also met a few bandits on the road, the latter he was able to circumvent most of the time. They weren't attacking anyone at the time and were apparently not very perceptive – with the exception of Liara as she wasn't trained to fight to start with, Shepard's team would have noticed Shepard within minutes. The one group that Shepard hadn't been able to avoid was towards the edge of the forest. He managed to lose them in the forest before they fearfully pulled back out.
Pretty sure they'll think I'm going to die by the Dalish, Shepard thought as he caught his breath behind a large tree. Looks like I better keep on my toes. He pulled the hood of his cloak over his head, thankful that he had at least had the foresight to bring that along when Shepard left Highever. The forest was definitely a lot cooler than when he was out in the open.
The feeling of the beacon continued to pull east for him. Pulling out his crossbow Shepard carefully made his way through the forest, eyes skimming for anything out of the ordinary. It had been a long time since Shepard was in a woodland territory, seeing as most of the worlds he'd been on have been turned into cities or farmland. If he wasn't going through hostile territory Shepard would have liked to take the time to admire the area.
There was no fire that night as it might signal the Dalish of his presence. Instead Shepard spent the night up a tree to avoid any predators on the ground and to give him a good view for incoming hostiles. He didn't sleep well at all, plagued by the Prothean visions, from both his world and this world. Still if he had slept like most people Shepard would have missed the stunning sunrise.
Damn, that's a sight, he though in wonderment. You don't see get to see that anymore. It made Shepard think about the Skyllian Blitz all of a sudden and he shifted his crossbow a bit. It had been the longest day and night of his life, but the next morning the sunrise had to be one of the most beautiful thing he'd seen, right before the Alliance finally arrived to drive back the rest of the pirates. Shepard roused himself from the memory, climbed down the tree and went back to his own mission.
He found what appeared to be a huge camp later that day. Shepard crouched down, checking his area for any guards before he moved to higher ground. So these were the Dalish elves. Shepard looked down at them from his position before looking up again, trying to get a sense of where the beacon was. It felt vaguely like it was coming from the east, and unfortunately it meant passing through the Dalish camp. Shepard wished he had his omni-tool if only to be able to use his tactical cloak; if he used it at the right times he could get by quickly and probably before the time ran out.
He scanned the camp, pulling his hood off so that he could see the area a little better. Looking for the best way to skirt by the camp without raising the alarm Shepard blinked when a flash of red caught his eyes. Shepard leaned forward a bit, squinting to see.
Isn't that—?
An alarm sounded in his head and Shepard jerked back in time for an arrow to embed into the tree where his head moments ago. Crossbow up, the commander found three Dalish elves with their bows trained on him and looking ready to kill.
Damn, he thought. This isn't good.