Theron of the Dales

Chapter Two: On Looting, Loyalty, Regret, and Becoming a Grey Warden

Theron couldn't understand why the humans were having trouble catching up to him after a battle. His curiosity finally made him pause after a battle and watch. Theron's gaze settled on the shemlen Alistair for a time as the human slowly wiped his sword clean. A shuffling noise drew Theron's attention to the bodies of the fallen; he was amazed to see the other two shemlems seemingly searching for something on the bodies. Alistair spoke making Theron startle as he hadn't heard the man move closer to him. "They are looting the bodies." Theron gave the man a puzzled look. "You know taking stuff that will be useful or that can gain us coin from selling it."

"You do this?"

"Well I haven't personally but it is a well known practice among adventurers."

"I have never even thought of such a thing." Theron found himself astonished by the whole concept of taking from the dead.

Alistair shuffled his feet and then cleared his throat before speaking again. "Like I said I do not practice it myself; preferring to get my gear in a more civilized manner. If you are trying to survive or obtain the best gear possible and you do not have the advantage of coin or connections to improve your gear by more moral means; looting makes sense."

"Interesting," responded Theron thinking about the opportunities in the past that were now lost to him.

"Yes… well they appear finished. Let's get a move on, shall we?"

Theron leaned against a tree waiting on the others to catch up to him. The Grey Warden Alistair caught up with him before the others and the human stood staring at him for a moment before moving closer and leaning too close for comfort on the same tree. Theron refused to move despite his discomfort at the shemlen's seemingly purposeful invasion of his personal space. "I thought you were all about helping and healing, Theron."

"I am." Theron didn't even look at Alistair as he spoke and his tone was unemotional and abrupt, almost if speaking to Alistair was a chore for him.

"Then what was that about with the injured soldier. He was wounded and needed our help."

"He is a human." Theron seemed to expect Alistair to understand what he meant but Alistair just shook his head.

"And that prisoner you killed? Do you consider that helping and healing?"

"He was a human." Theron had wondered if Alistair would say anything about his slaying the prisoner in the camp, he had expected it to be a more direct conversation not a statement used to… Understand him?

"So what… you are saying because they are human that you have no charity towards them?"

"Humans are not clan." Theron still felt himself puzzled as Alistair continued.

"What about Duncan then? Suppose he needed your help. Would you help him?"

"Yes."

"Duncan is human. You said you owed him because he saved you. You would help him?"

"Yes."

"Do you know what loyalty is, Theron?"

Theron suddenly felt a familiarity for Alistair's method it was similar to the one Paivel used to instruct him and the other young elves. Preposterous, the shemlen is actually trying to teach me something. Theron didn't answer for a time and then said calmly. "I do."

"Don't you think that you should show your loyalty to Duncan by helping the people he is trying to help?"

Theron frowned as he turned to look at the human. From the start Alistair had perplexed Theron. Alistair made jokes at the expense of his own kind; he even went so far as to mock them. He had thought the man didn't know what loyalty to your own kind meant; but here is that same man, telling Theron he is the one that doesn't understand loyalty. Theron hadn't been surprised when Alistair had helped the wounded soldier because Theron would have done the same thing for his clan. "What are you trying to tell me?"

"I'll make it simple and hopefully clear for you. You owe Duncan your life. You pledged your loyalty to him. His mission is to defeat the darkspawn and all of these people, human or elf, are helping him in his mission. Because you are loyal to Duncan, that makes these people your responsibility as well. You're loyalty to Duncan can be proven by helping these others as you would help your own clan."

"I understand what you are saying. I will endeavor to prove my loyalty from here on."

The two didn't speak of it any more because the others had caught up and they still needed to find those documents.

The witch led them to her Mamae and Theron did not fear her as the humans seemed to but there was a familiarity to her almost as if Theron knew her from somewhere. He couldn't imagine when he would have met her. She too seemed to know him or at least had been expecting him. When her eyes met his he could sense the agelessness of the woman and realized it was akin to the agelessness he had sensed in the eyes of the wolf which had brought him to his clan. He was fairly certain they were not one in the same; however, it left a doubt in his mind about her. She readily gave up the warden treaties to them after she had her say. Theron left her side feeling as if there was more she could have told them.

Theron began to follow the other three out of the wilds when he felt her; his grand mamae wolf. He told the others to go on and he would catch up with them and then he moved quickly to her. She stood waiting for him and she spoke to him in the language of wolves telling him that she had scented the trail of his destiny on one of the humans he had been in the wilds with. She told him to be wary of the coming night before looping off into the wilds with her pack following. Theron felt sadness that he was referring to the pack as her pack and not his. He knew that his time with the Dalish Elves had changed him but not that it had separated him from his feeling of belonging with the wolves. He gave a call out and suddenly a large male wolf appeared from nowhere and settled at his side. He was amazed and when he told the wolf he did not need him right now the wolf disappeared as quickly as he had come. In awe of this ability to call nature to him he stood unmoving until he heard a noise behind him. He quickly turned, notching and arrow and drawing his bow with lightning speed as he did so. He was surprised to see Alistair standing before him. How had the large man come so silently through the underbrush? 'He's the one. Do not slay him or your life is forfeit' Theron lowered the bow as her words came to him and then he stepped pass the human. The two returned to camp and Duncan in silence.

Theron could feel something surging within him. It was different than the feeling that just the taint had given him; it was more like a power similar to the power he had felt when he had summoned the wolf. A tool Master Ilen would have told him; one whose effectiveness and strength depended on how the individual chose to use it. This new power seemed different than his new ability to summon the wolf; it was not something that rested in his mind but instead it filled his entire self, his entire body. He could feel the power drawing him towards the others but as Duncan and Alistair moved away from him and then each other he felt the pull split and as his body integrated more of the brew into his system in the not far distance he felt a stronger pull of multiple others like himself. Suddenly a headache hit and Theron swayed; when Theron recovered he could no longer feel the pull. He puzzled at it for a time but then he shrugged it aside and went to learn how to sell this loot the others had gathered. As he sold the items his mind kept returning to the other two recruits who had perished in the joining. He had this uneasy feeling when he thought of them, it was a while before he recognized the feeling as regret; regret that he hadn't bothered to even ask them about themselves. He thought of Alistair then and he surprised himself when he thought of asking his fellow junior warden about the men. What are these new emotions and thoughts filling his head? These intrusions upon his calm were upsetting to say the least. Theron gave himself a quick mental shake and went to look for Alistair.

Alistair joked at the expense of his King when Theron approached him but he seemed to realize that Theron needed to talk he smiled warmly. "What can I do for you, fellow Grey Warden Theron?" Theron asked what Alistair knew of the lost recruits and Alistair seemed embarrassed that he was only able to give Theron the most basic of information about the two. It would appear that Alistair and Theron both would live with the regret of not taking the time to learn more of those lost to them. Theron left Alistair's side and went to join Duncan.