Chapter 22:
They left the tavern and headed to the Chanter's board where Leliana said there was a job to take down some bandits. "I heard the chanters are offering a nice reward to whoever does." Sylina took the job off the board and they headed in the direction of the bandit's last whereabouts. They passed the tents of the refugees and people stared at them as they passed. When they were on the outskirts of town, Sylina saw a cage with a huge giant in it. She stared open mouthed as she walked up to it. The man was twice her size and his skin was grey. When she neared the cage, the man turned to her and she saw his eyes were purple. She shivered and just stared.
"I have nothing to amuse you with human," the man in the cage said, and Sylina jumped back.
"W-what are you?" she asked, staring up at him. She had never heard of giants with purple eyes before, and she had read a lot of books in the library.
"A prisoner obviously," the man said, frowning down at her.
Leliana came up to Sylina's side. "The revered mother said he slaughtered an entire family, even the children." Sylina gasped and stared up at the giant man.
"It is as she says," the caged man said solemnly. "I am Sten of the Beresaad, the vanguard, of the qunari peoples."
Sylina blinked. A qunari. She had never read anything about the qunari. She knew they existed, though only in passing. They were new to Thedas, only arrived two hundred years ago, and she didn't know if there were any books in the Circle library that talked about them at all. "I am Sylina, of the Grey Wardens. It is a pleasure to meet you, qunari."
The man blinked at her and frowned. "A Grey Warden? With manners I am not accustomed to in your land. My people have heard legends of the Grey Wardens...it appears not all legends are true."
Sylina hid a small smile. She didn't blame the man – she didn't think she was very impressive for a Grey Warden. "This is a proud and powerful creature, to be trapped as prey for the darkspawn. If you see no use for him then I suggest we release him out of mercy," Morrigan said, coming up to Sylina's other side and looking at the giant man.
"Ha. Mercy? I would never have thought you would know what mercy is," Alistair said from behind her.
Morrigan shot him a glare. "And Alistair should take his place in the cage."
"Yes...that is more what I expect from you," Alistair said, smirking at the mage.
"Leave me to my fate Grey Warden," Sten said, looking past her. Sylina shook her head, but abided by the qunari's wishes and left. The five of them made short order of the bandits which were close by Lothering's outskirts and they headed back to the chanters to get the reward. As they walked back into town, Sylina found her gaze go back to the caged qunari.
"Leliana?" she asked, walking next to the woman. Leliana looked at her. "Would the revered mother release the qunari if we asked? Perhaps he will come with us and help."
Leliana frowned and pulled her hand through her hair. "I could ask her. I am sure if I tell her that he will be helping to stop the Blight she might consider it. When we go to the chanter's board I will stop by the Chantry and ask."
Sylina nodded and, after collecting the gold for taking care of the bandits, the five of them walked into the Chantry. Leliana went to the back while Sylina, Morrigan, Alistair and Hesper stayed near the entrance. Sylina walked toward one of the candle stands and took one of the unlit candles. Pulling on a small amount of mana, she lit it and put it beside the others. "For the Grey Wardens," she whispered then sent a silent prayer to the Maker to take them to his side.
"Can I help you, my lady?" Sylina jumped and turned around. A templar was standing alarmingly close to her. She frantically looked around and saw Alistair talking to a knight on the other side of the Chantry. Morrigan was nowhere to be seen. Hesper appeared by her side and growled up at the Templar. The man looked alarmed and stepped back. "I did not mean to frighten," he said, putting his hands up in a soothing gesture.
"I-I am sorry, Ser templar. You merely startled me," Sylina said, though her heart was hammering.
"I am Ser Bryant, commander of the Lothering templars. Is there anything I can help you with?" He was watching her with a curious eye – as if measuring her up – and she remembered she had pulled on her mana to light the candle. She gulped and shook her head, wanting nothing more than to leave the Chantry. She went to walk past him and his hand came up and caught her arm. He did not squeeze, but held it firmly. Hesper growled deeper.
"There you are! Sylina I want you to..." Alistair was walking toward her with another man trailing behind him when he saw her and the templar. His expression hardened immediately. "Is there a problem here, templar?" he asked, his voice steel. Alistair's hand drifted to his blade as he fixed the templar with a glare.
Ser Bryant let go of her arm and she walked over to Alistair. He stepped between her and the templar. "I suggest you move on. We want no trouble here," Ser Bryant said, looking from Alistair to Sylina. Then he walked back toward the interior of the Chantry. Sylina saw him call over two templars. He began to give them instructions.
"We should leave," Sylina said, stepping back toward the Chantry doors. Alistair nodded and Sylina saw Leliana walking toward them with a smile.
"I got the key," she said, smiling from Sylina to Alistair. Seeing their expressions, she frowned. "Is something wrong?"
"Come on, let's go," Alistair said, heading for the door. Sylina turned to see Ser Bryant watching her as they left. Once outside, Alistair turned quickly to Sylina. "This is an old friend of mine, Ser Donall. He is a knight from Redcliffe."
Ser Donall nodded to Sylina. "A pleasure to meet you my lady," he said. They continued walking away from the Chantry. Ser Donall stopped. "Alistair, I must head back to Redcliffe, I fear this quest is for naught. Hopefully when I return the Arl will be better. I bid you all farewell." Alistair nodded to him and the knight turned and left.
"What was that about?" Sylina asked as they walked toward the caged qunari. Morrigan appeared from behind a cottage and walked behind.
"Ser Donall was sent on a mission to find the Urn of Sacred Ashes, Andraste's final resting place. The Arl is sick and no one has been able to cure him yet." Alistair was frowning and Sylina looked up at him, biting her lip.
"The Arl of Redcliffe, Arl Eamon?" she asked. Alistair had said he knew this Arl and that he was a good man that they should seek out in the fight against Loghain. But if the Arl was sick...
Alistair sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Yes. I can't believe he would fall ill. I only hope he recovers quickly."
Sylina nodded and they finished their walk to the cage. As she came closer, she noticed Sten watching her. She walked up to the entrance and looked up at the giant man. "I can let you out. I have the key to this cage," Sylina said, watching for his reaction. She saw him stare at her and frown. If he reacted further, he did not show it.
"I did not think the old woman would part with the key. Will you let me out then, Grey Warden?" Sten asked, watching her.
"I will, if you promise to help me fight this Blight." Sylina had decided that even a murderer did not deserve to be ripped apart by darkspawn, and that this man, this giant, could help her against those same darkspawn, if he was willing.
Sten nodded. "Release me and I will follow you against the Blight. In doing so I will find my atonement." Sylina nodded and motioned for Leliana to open the cage. When she had, Sten walked out and looked down at the mage. "I would prefer if we did not linger here."
"Then we are on the same page, Sten. However, I think we should get you some armor and a weapon before we continue," Sylina said. She had Alistair and Leliana go back to the merchant and pick out a broadsword and some armor. They came back quickly and their company walked away from Lothering and toward the imperial highway. They had been walking for a few hours, Sylina thinking quietly, when she heard a shout. She looked up and Alistair was unsheathing his blade.
"Darkspawn," he said and Sylina grabbed her staff. They came upon several darkspawn who turned to them the second they saw them. They charged and the party dispatched them easily. When the last died she heard a shout and turned. Two dwarves emerged from behind crates. Sylina's face broke into a huge grin.
"Dwarves!" she shouted, pointing at them. Alistair came up to her. He had darkspawn blood staining his armor and some on his face. She wrinkled her nose at him, but didn't stop smiling. Sylina walked up to the two dwarves grinning, "Alistair, look. They're dwarves!"
Alistair was trying to hide his amusement, but was smiling. "Yes, they are dwarves. I take it they do not come to the tower often?" Sylina shook her head, gazing down at the little men. They looked so interesting to her, with short bodies and barely any neck. The older one approached her and smiled.
"Well, thank you, kind stranger, for saving us. Name's Bodahn Feddic, merchant and entrepreneur. This here is my son, Sandal." Sylina descended into giggles. She put her hands on her knees and became short of breath, but she couldn't stop laughing.
"I think that means you are welcome, Ser dwarf," Alistair said, coming up to her side and shaking his head. He was grinning at her all the same.
The older dwarf looked at Alistair. "Don't suppose you are going the same way as us – wouldn't mind having company that can fight on our travels."
"Uh-well it's a bit complicated..." Alistair began.
"Oh yes, you should come with us!" Sylina said, her eyes wide. She was short of breath and smiling. "We will protect you from darkspawn."
The dwarf shook his head. "Not sure I want to get involved, but thank you for the kind offer. Come on, boy. Let's collect our things and head on." The younger dwarf nodded and turned back to the crates. Sylina frowned. She had liked the dwarves, and was very interested in getting to know the other race she knew so little about, besides qunari.
She turned to Alistair frowning. "Why'd you tell them it was complicated? It would have been fun to have dwarves travel with us. And he's a merchant!"
Alistair's brows furrowed. "Possibly because it is complicated…? We don't even know where we are headed yet, remember?" Sylina scowled at him and turned to walk away. Alistair sighed and followed her.