Denerim was busy, business as usual. Evaria kept her head low, trying to blend in with the crowd, keeping an eye out for mages and templars. Her phylactery was in Denerim somewhere, and finding it before the templars was her only chance to escape them for good.
She hoped.
Along the road, Evaria had stopped in a small village, ditching her recognizable robes and trading them for plain clothes she stole from a laundry bask. She felt guilty; but she'd had no other choice.
She turned a corner, heading toward the market district, when a sound to her left caught her attention.
"State your business here," said a severe voice, belonging to a woman standing outside of the chantry.
Evaria pressed herself against a wall, pausing to listen to the conversation between the sister and the templar.
"I was told to bring this phylactery here for safe keeping," said the templar, holding a small wooden box.
"I didn't think we were expecting a phylactery delivery," said a younger sister, standing near the severe woman.
"He's late," said the first sister, her hands fisted on her hips.
"I was held up on the way here," said the templar. "Darkspawn attacked on the road. I almost didn't make it at all."
Evaria glanced skyward. Thank the Maker. Everything had a good side, even the Blight. She unglued herself from the stone wall, walking casually toward the templar. She had just reached him and the sister when someone ran down the street toward Evaria, bumping into her, sending her crashing into the templar before landing on the ground.
The force was just enough to make him stumble, dropping the box as he attempted to hand it to the older sister. The box fell hard, and Evaria was certain she heard what lay within shatter.
"You fool!" Yelled the templar. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?"
"S-Sorry," stuttered Evaria, climbing to her feet, her heart pounding in her chest. "I didn't mean-"
The templar raised his hand, intending to strike her, but the older sister stepped between them. "Calm yourself!" she cried. "The maker teaches us forgiveness; show it here."
The templar growled, but lowered his hand. "Get out of my sight, before I change my mind!"
Evaria nodded, then turned and ran in the opposite direction, finally stopping for breath at the other end of the market district. She leaned against a wall, one hand over her heart. Maker, she needed to get out of Ferelden.
"Hey, what are you doing there?" asked a voice to Evaria's right. She looked up to see two city guards standing there, staring at her.
"I don't recognize her," one of the guards said. "What should we do with her?"
"She's an elf, right? She's probably lost. Let's just stick her in the Alienage," the other guard answered.
The first guard shrugged, and as one, the two of them moved in to flank Evaria.
"Wait, you don't understand," Evaria protested as they dragged her to a gated opening in a nearby wall. "I'm not from Denerim, I'm just-"
The guards weren't listening to her. "I hear the battle at Ostagar is taking place tomorrow," the first guard said to his companion.
"I'm glad we're up here instead of down there," said the second guard. "I hate the thought of fighting those darkspawn. I hear some of them are as big as a house."
"Yeah, blue and ugly things," agreed the first guard. "I feel sorry for those poor fools in the south."
Evaria couldn't get a word in edgewise, so she gave up. For men having such a casual conversation, their hold on her arms was tight, and before she knew it, Evaria was wandering the streets of the Elven Alienage.
When she came to a large, old tree in the center of the alienage, she stopped. Something tugged at her insides, and Evaria was sure she should know exactly what she was looking at, but couldn't quite figure it out. It left her feeling just a little hollow. She took another step forward, willing herself to remember something.
"Hey, get of here! You should know by now you're not welcome," snapped a red haired Elven woman, who stood near the great tree. "Wait, you're not a human. Sorry about that; we've been a bit on edge here lately."
"Don't worry about it," said Evaria. "I know how that is."
"I don't think I recognize you," said the woman. "I'm Shianni."
"I'm Evaria, and I'm not from around here," said Evaria. "The guards seemed to think I'm lost, and just threw me in here."
"You're not exactly stuck here," said the woman. "Why not just walk back out?"
"They're already suspicious of me. I can't afford that kind of attention right now."
"Oh, I understand," said the elf. She broke into a wide smile. "I know of another way out, though. Come with me."
Shianni led Evaria through the streets of the alienage, past several rundown buildings. As the passed a templar, Evaria's steps faltered, and Shianni looked at her. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
Evaria shook her head. "No, not at all."
Shianni followed her gaze to the templar. "He won't bother you. I think he's blind. You have a problem with templars?"
"No, I don't have a problem with them," said Evaria, quickening her pace to match Shianni's. They just have a problem with me.
Shianni was silent as they came to a part of the alienage that was even more neglected than the rest of it. Shianni gestured to an alley that ran along the back wall of the alienage, where enough debris had collected to form a kind of stairway.
"None of the guards know this place is here," said Shianni. "The docks aren't very far away. You can leave Ferelden behind in no time."
"Thank you so much for your help, Shianni," said Evaria. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."
"Think nothing of it," said Shianni. "I'm always glad to help a fellow elf trying to avoid those shemlen fools. May the Creators watch over you, friend."
Evaria scrambled up the wall, sitting atop it for a moment to catch her breath. Bracing herself for the fall, she slipped off the stone wall, landing in a disheveled heap on the ground. Evaria stood and brushed herself off before heading in the direction of the docks.
Evaria didn't have a single coin with her. There was no way she could pay for passage away from Ferelden. Instead, she scanned the vessels, looking for one that looked the least protected. She would have to stow away.
One of the ships only had a few men standing beside it on the dock, talking amongst themselves. Carefully and quietly, Evaria snuck aboard, hiding herself amongst some barrels.
Evaria didn't know long she had sat there, enjoy the few moments of peace she had stolen, before she heard the sound of footsteps approaching her hiding place.
"Well, well," said a voice above her. "What do we have here?"