Leaving the warehouse, Anders and Izarre returned to the market stalls to fetch Nathaniel from his sister. The Rogue stood there like a lost child waiting for his guardian to fetch him from the streets. As soon as he spotted white hair in the compacted crowd of refugees and merchants, he jogged up to catch up with his Commander.
"There you are," he smiled towards the younger man. "You'll never believe it! She seems happy, but then she said Father deserved to die! I still can't believe it!" Looking a bit dumbfounded, Izarre narrowed his eyes to repeat what he had been saying this entire time.
"…Your father murdered my entire family because he was jealous. How many times do I have to tell you this?"
"I thought he had his reasons. It was a war, for Andraste's sake!"
"The only war was against the darkspawn, Nathaniel! He came to our house that night saying he had troubles moving his army to meet the King and told us to send our troops ahead so he could actually move his army into our home and massacre everyone! If there was a civil war amongst the people of Ferelden, Loghain and your father started it only after what occurred at Ostagar." Frowning at the revelation, the eldest Howe stood there with his lips pressed together.
"…Before I went to the Free Marches, he was never...how could he change so much?"
"Do you really believe that someone wakes up one day and decides to betray his friends? You are naïve. That sort of rooted evil sits inside for a long time. He never was who you thought he was."
"…I suppose not. Now please…let's get back to our business. I need to think. Delilah told me where the inn is. We should head there to look for the missing Warden." Agreeing, Izarre let him lead the way to the tavern where Oghren was already occupying one of the stools. Seeing his company walk in, the Dwarf took his leave from the bar and met the other Wardens at the door.
"So eh, that Kristoff fellow was here alright. Got a key to his room and chatted it up with the hot set of bosoms over there," he pointed at the hostess. "Says he was married and didn't make any attempts. What a waste, right? At any rate, he had this map in his room with a place circled called uh…" It took a second for the Firebeard to remove the map from the inside of his chest piece. "I…uh…here it is," he pointed with an armored finger. "Blackmarsh. Sounds fun."
"We should do a few rounds in the city first," Nathaniel added. "Delilah said there are a lot of scared people here. They are scared of the darkspawn, bandits, wildlife, you name it. The smuggling is out of control and there are even rumors of apostates."
"More than us?" Anders quipped with annoyance.
"…All I'm suggesting is that we take our time and visit the Chantry. If there are merchants we can help, it would make our Order look a lot better and bring in more confidence from the local considering the only Grey Wardens left to fight the recent surge of darkspawn are only the four of us."
"There were just two of us last time," Izarre laughed bitterly as he shook his head. "Alright, you make a valid point. Let's split up then. Nathaniel, take Anders with you to search for the smugglers and Oghren and I will head to the Chantry. We will meet back here at sunset to rest for the night." Agreeing, the pairs split off in an effort to figure out what was making the city so uneasy. At the Chantry, Izarre ran into Wynne, who was on leave from the court to attend a mage gathering. He explained to her what had happened with the Templars in regards to Anders to which she made a disappointed, but unsurprised face. In return, she told him of her trip and asked to find another missing mage who would be needed at the meeting as well before taking her leave. Meanwhile, Anders, Nathaniel, and Ser Pounce-a-Lot visited the shadier places as they looked for a way to breach the smugglers' hideout.
It didn't take to find the entryway and clear the bandits out. Afterwards, Nathaniel helped himself to their supplies, pocketing a custom lockpicking set as well as a few specialized bundles of arrows before reporting it to the guards. He also met up with the hunters who had found the darkspawn tunnel and handed their map over for Anders to carry. Back at the tavern, the two sat down over a few pints of ale as they were finally allowed to relax. After discussing some new ideas and strategies as how to proceed into Blackmarsh, Nathaniel decide it was a good enough time as any to bring up a very obvious issue that would only get worse if allowed to carry on. "You should stop, you know. Before things turn ugly."
"I've only had one pint," Anders laughed. "Two isn't going to kill me."
"Not that. Your behavior, I mean, around the Commander." Raising an eyebrow, the Blond looked confused.
"My behavior? But I haven't done anything. Those Templars came after us and…"
"Your flirting, Anders. You may try to laugh it off as a joke, but it's a more than a bit obvious that you're actually interested in him. Your eyes, they linger." The raised mug rested a moment on the Mage's bottom lip before it was turned to be drank from.
"No, it's not that," Anders' said in a slightly defensive tone as he put the mug down on the old, worn wooden table. "It's just that he's a mage like me…but more like you. I mean, he's a mage that didn't grow up in the Circle and fights like he's been trained by the Crows. I'm just…curious, that's all. About his magic."
"It's not his magic you've been staring at." Ander let out a sharp laugh at Nathaniel's prodding and sarcasm.
"…Alright, fair enough, but it's alright to look, isn't it? Granted he's a bit on the short and pretty side, but that adds to the charm. Who would guess that some tiny, cute thing would have absolutely no fear of anyone or anything? When that Templars came back to take me in, he told them to shove off and to complain to the Divine herself if they had a problem with it. The damsel-in-distress always falls for the handsome prince, right? It's natural."
"You're no damsel, Anders," Nathaniel shook his head. "And you seem to only cause distress. He may be a prince, but he's a prince married to our King. Happily or so I'm told. Delilah says that his Majesty brags about the Commander every chance he gets."
"Hm, yes," Anders grumbled in reply. "When the King stopped by the Keep after the darkspawn attacked, they couldn't keep their hands off each other." There was a noticeably pout there as he thought about it.
"And you're no King. I'm only telling you this for your own good.
"It's just for fun, old boy. I know nothing will happen but..."
"But nothing. You're right where you are. Nothing will happen ."
"You don't have to be so bloody…Oh. Commander. Hello," Anders grumbled as he forced his expression to change after the other two Wardens came in to join them. Without a word, Izarre sat down next to him and promptly stole the man's drink to finish it off. Oghren did the same to Nathaniel, but the Rogue found it less appealing than Anders did when he drink was stolen, especially after the Dwarf belched loudly when it was empty. "Long day?"
"I dislike hunting down other mages," Izarre muttered before sighing. "But they are for the most part crazed by the time we find them. Already using blood magic and possessed by a demon. It's a mercy killing in the end, isn't it? You're not killing the mage, but the demon that has stolen their body and using it to harm others."
"The Templars would have everyone think we are all walking demons though," Anders huffed. "Though…yes, if a mage is possessed, there isn't anything left by the demon." To that, Izarre made a face as he looked through the other mugs to see if there was anything to drink left.
"I'll be damned if a demon takes me. I'll kill that son of a bitch first. Bah, I'm heading to a room. We leave at sunrise. Do what you wish, but keep that in mind."
"We have two rooms ready, Commander," Nathaniel said. "Shall we pair off?"
"Oh, right. Oghren gets his own room and you two can pull cots to stay with me."
"Why does he get his own?" Nathaniel asked with a raised eyebrow. "Because you've known him longer?"
"…Do you want to share a room with him?" To that, everyone looked to the still belching Warden as he made his way back to flirt with whoever would have him.
"…Point taken. Have a good rest." As Izarre got up to leave, he turned to Anders with a smile that forced the Mage's heart to skip a beat. "Could you join me?" Nathaniel's jaw nearly dropped and Anders quickly got up to follow, but not before giving a smirk to his surprised friend.
"Yes! Of course! Don't wait up, Nathaniel!" he replied and quickly chased after the white ponytail as it went up the stairs and into one of the back rooms. Once inside, Izarre took a seat on the bed and Anders began to undress as fast as he could.
"…Why are you stripping down?" Izarre asked with a disapproving frown. "I need to ask you for a favor…"
"A…favor?" Bewildered, Anders stopped short of removing his pants entirely and left them undone with his boots off and his overcoat hanging off a bent nail on the wall. "What do you mean a favor?" Looking away, the shorter of the two stood with a painful blush across his cheeks.
"I need you…to teach me how to use magic." Anders' expression suddenly fell flat and he put a hand to his forehead.
"You mean, you asked me up here to teach you…how to mage? That's it?"
"Well, yes. Why else would I call you away from the others? Magic can be dangerous, especially since I do not know how to use it properly. You grew up in the Circle, something you don't enjoy talking about, and no one else would understand or worse, find me unfit to lead if they knew I didn't have control over my powers. We are…friends…so I hoped that at least you wouldn't…laugh."
"..You are worried the others would lose their respect for you then?" To this, the Commander nodded as his green eyes lingered on the stained floor.
"..If you do not wish to teach me or go back to the Keep, I would understand, but I hope to learn from you. I cannot do much and I fear in order to defeat this threat, I will need to do more. A lot more…so, please do not leave and teach me instead." Even though Anders was standing there half in the buff with a quickly deflating mood, he couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the Commander, even if there was a huge misunderstanding on his end. Still, his feelings stirred whether he wanted them to or not.
"…No, I understand," he sighed and took a seat on the larger of the two beds in the room. "You didn't grow up in the Circle, so you never had proper training. Surely, your family didn't have any other apostates running around either." Sitting down next to him, Izarre shook his head.
"I am…adopted, if you did not know. The Teryn of Highever was not my true father, but does that mean you'll help me?" Looking over, Anders melted a little at the look he was being given and nodded with a grin.
"Of course! Now I've already seen a bit of your magic. You specialize in frost, which is your default state. Most mages have specialties. For example, I can heal things. While I can do a bit of destruction magic as well including frost and fire, my go-to, as it were, is always healing and protection. I've noticed that when you need your magic, it comes in the form of weapons…"
"Ah, I can also do ice bubbles."
"…Ice bubbles?" Nodding, Izarre held out his hand to create a frozen glass orb to explain what he meant. While it served no purpose, it was pretty to look at. "Oh, that's just adorable, but we can use that to teach you better focus. Attempt to retract that magic back into yourself." With his hand still extended, the Commander gave it a try, but after a few frustrating seconds, the orb exploded into snow instead. "…And I'm glad that didn't turn into ice shrapnel or I'd be missing my eyes right about now. So, practice that in your downtime. You're trying to force it back in, but it's a simple matter of releasing your hold on it and it should absorb back to the source. Try to imagine a sponge full of water. If you squeeze it, water comes out, yes? But if you release it, then the sponge will soak the water back up." The younger Warden's face lit up as he realized what Anders meant, quickly making a new orb but this time, rather than focusing, he relaxed himself and the orb dissipated into nothing. "…Wow, that was fast. You're a clever one, aren't you?"
"Of course," Izarre smiled as he felt pretty good about himself. "You can return now if you wish to share more drinks downstairs. I will…remain here and practice. You have been a great help. Thank you, Anders."
"Well, I'm already nearly down to my smallclothes, so I might as well stay and watch at least…if you don't mind?" Shaking his head, the magical novice continued to clench and flex his fingers to summon his element and released it without blowing anything up. With his pants still on, the other Mage decided to curl up in the bed he was already on, eventually falling asleep being more tired than he believed. Waking up, he saw the sun shining through the window and Izarre standing near it with his hair down, leaning against the glass to peer out into the world.
There were the sounds of people from the tavern downstairs moving around, the smell of meat grilling from the kitchen, and shuffling from the streets as shops began to open. Underneath the old blanket, Anders felt a contentment he had never really known before. He was no longer in the tower and no one was chasing after him. It was a nice warm feeling that even came with a strong arm curled up around his body and gentle breathing on the back of his neck.
"…Nathaniel," he groaned as he came back into the reality of things. "Get off me already."
"…Ten more minutes, love. I paid for the entire hour…"
"NATHANIEL!" With a push, the Mage knocked the other man to the floor.
"Hm? What? Anders? Maker, why are you yelling? It's barely morning…" As the two bickered, Izarre smiled in amusement as he pulled his hair up.
"Get dressed, the both of you. We head out in an hour." After armoring up and fetching Oghren from sleeping in the middle of the bar's floor surrounded by empty bottles and mugs, the group set out to Blackmarsh. It was a dismal place, covered in swamp gases, dead trees, and barren strips of broken land. Coming to the entrance of it, there was even a rickety old sign which read: Beware! The Blackmarsh is haunted!
"They say this marsh was once inhabited, until one day everyone disappeared," Nathaniel smiled at the idea. "My father used to tell me stories about the Blackmarsh when I was young. He said evil magic killed everyone here. This was just before the rebellion; a great mystery at the time. They never found out why happened here. Once the monsters appeared, the marsh was abandoned."
"Everyone always blames evil magic for every single problem," snorted Anders with his arms crossed. "Though the Veil is thin here…Perhaps something came through…"
"They never found out what happened here. Once the monsters appeared, the marsh was abandoned. It may sound silly, but I used to dream of coming to the Blackmarsh and setting things right. Little boy dreams."
"You're here now, aren't you?" Izarre asked.
"So I am. If someone had told me I'd end up here, I would have laughed at them, but times change. When I was in Kirkwall, I thought I would return to Ferelden and take command of my father's garrison. Now here I am, a Grey Warden and fighting both darkspawn and demons! Interesting, isn't it?"
"Stick around, Howe. It happens all the time."
"Ha! And the fun never ends, I suppose? Good to know. Anyway, the haunted marsh awaits. Shall I scout ahead?"
"No, we should stick together," the Commander shook his head. "It's fog heavy and if the Veil is thin. I rather not lose you to an illusion or an ambush. Stay close everyone. Anders, could you light the way?"
"Ah, right. That's me, a glorified lamppost." There was a bit more sighing before the staff was illuminated to pierce the darkness ahead. There were already blighted wolves in the area which were caught off-guard by the bright magical glow since it pulled them from the safety of the shadows. Up a stone-carved flight of stairs, they finally saw one of the barriers created by the Fade being torn apart as Anders predicted. Putting a hand out, Izarre attempted to touch it, but had it grabbed before his fingers could reach. "Don't. It may suck you in or worse. We need to find out whom or what did this to reverse the damage."
"Can we even do that?" Oghren asked. "Can you just…put a cork in it like a leaky barrel?" Making a face, Anders frowned and shook his head.
"We have to find what created it first, but I doubt the marsh will ever be healed entirely. We can at least try to stop whatever is pouring out though." Looking to the Anders, Izarre retracted his hand and pulled away from the grasp to take lead once again.
"If the darkspawn want whatever is here, we either have to find it first…or kill them and take it for ourselves. Come, let's find an alternative route to…wherever this is leading to." Continuing through the broken village, there were notices posted to warn people about the town and its Baroness leader. Just outside the large, ancient manor that was seated in the middle of the village, they stumbled across the body of a recently slain darkspawn. Kneeling down, Nathaniel attempted to determine how old the kill was.
"By the looks of the tracks and color of the blood, I'd say it wasn't too long ago. A few days maybe? Tracks lead in this direction," he pointed closer to the closed off gates in the distance. Izarre felt uneasy about where they were headed, but nodded as he continued to follow the trail, but between the Veil tears and stone walls, it felt being in a maze as he was sure they were being hunted by unseen forces lurking and waiting for them to be cornered. His suspicions were founded after being attacked by a small group of giant spiders. From one of their bellies, Izarre managed to salvage a rocking horse toy which they had either eaten from the trash or there was a child playing with it when they were attacked.
Oghren was the one who took it and cleaned it off with an old rag. "A baby's plaything," he frowned as he looked at it with a mixture of anger and sadness. "My lad is just about the age to play with this…which means whatever killed everyone here also took the life of the poor body who used to own it. Do you mind if I…keep it, Commander?" Before he was answered, he had already tucked the toy away into his pack as if not wanting to think about it anymore.
"There's a tent up ahead," Nathaniel soon pointed out in the distance. "Might have been Kristoff's camp, but look at how the dust's been settled. It hasn't been used for days, same time around the dead darkspawn. More tracks lead up that hill." After reaching the hill's peak, Izarre slowed as he began to see fleshy pods here and there along the walls. His skin crawled as the tainted blood in his system began to burn, an effect everyone else began to experience as well when a pod suddenly spurted open. It covered his face with slimy bits of blood and gore and from the ooze crawled a fat, bug-like creation. The horror growled at the Wardens first before it shrieked out a warning cry, alerting the other skittering creatures to emerge from their capsules as well. Stabbing the first one in its mandibles, Izarre jumped back to a more defendable position.
"Take them out!" As ordered, Nathaniel removed his bow from holding and began to use the arrows he had stolen from the smuggler's to stop the insects further down while Oghren took his axe to the pods themselves, killing the spawning monsters before they could make it out of their meaty eggs. Anders stood next to Izarre while casting massive walls of light and fire to both blind and burn the attackers before they could get too close. Any that were dazed were immediately sliced apart by the Commander's manifested double-sided ice blades. When the area was clear, there were curled up scarab-like shells remaining on the ground.
"Why would we suddenly be seeing new forms of darkspawn?" Anders asked. "This isn't even a Blight." Kicking over one of the dead things, Izarre noticed something glinting in the light and ran down to see what it was. His companions followed him only to stop and take notice of the dead Grey Warden there. As the party gathered, their skin began to creep once again as it they were surrounded, caught in a trap.