Conner's life had been spared.
Alistair and Duran had asked questions; just what had happened? why would the demon leave without a fuss? Elissa had been in no condition to speak of it, it didn't seem right for some reason.
They had left the arlessa to clear things out between Conner and the girl and had proceeded to clear the castle of what few undead that remained. It was tiring work, and while Duran and Alistair seemed more than eager to deal death, Elissa just felt drained. She wanted nothing more than to find a bed and sleep for days.
As they cleared the house Elissa had thought of the spirit which has possessed Conner. Elissa was of cause happy that the boy had been spared, though having raped a young girl – unwilling or not – had removed all sympathy for him. The spirit was much the same. Was it truly a demon, or had everything it said been true? Elissa was unsure and the promise that the spirit would look in on Conner had complicated things even more. What if the same problem happened in a year, or ten? If Conner was a mage the spirit might become even more powerful – having captured their group without much effort meant that if it grew stronger then very little might be able to stop it.
And what if the spirit had been telling the truth, what if it was simply a being forced into service? Was that how mages got their power? Enslaving spirits of the fade? Was demons simply a product of vengeful spirits, who had every right to be angry? Elissa hoped not, but she could not leave it at that, she should not! Surely as daughter of one of the most powerful people, in addition being a Gray Warden, meant that she should know these things, have an opinion. If the Circle was truly basing all their power on enslavement then she had very little sympathy for any of them.
Elissa recalled her comment to the prisoner, a mage surely, back in the dungeon. To return when it was safe... She shook her head. She suddenly didn't feel like it.
The three of them left the castle to the arlessa and the healer, agreeing to give word to Teagan and the town. They had been offered rooms, but having seen how befouled the castle was by all the death they had politely declined, instead agreeing to see the arlessa before they left town.
As they entered the village it became clear that an undead attack had indeed taken place, about ten had been killed and many more injured. They found Tamlen in the chantry along with a number of other wounded, his bleeding had stopped but his wounded leg had turned almost black from the hip down. The local healer had attended his wounds but only a mage could do more. Lyra had just returned to the castle as the servants had been running to the village - followed by a few undead – which she and the soldiers had fought. A few of the soldiers had been badly wounded though and she had helped them return back to the village. To her shame, Elissa had not spared the elven girl a thought since they had parted, though she was glad that the girl was safe.
They had gotten a room at The Sleepy Goose, an inn which had been happy to provide them with room and food, despite that they had 'lured' the undead to attack, as some townsfolk thought it. They had even been taken a warm bath and Alistair had taken the liberty to shave while they were doing this personal hygiene thing. His armor still smelled like he couldn't believe, he had almost forgotten to notice it before, but fresh out of a bath it had been all too clear. It had been left outside on a small terrace, along with the group's weapons and the others' armor. It had been the first time he had seen Lyra or Tamlen in anything other than armor, which had been a strange site. The only clothing they had taken with them seemed to be far too big for their otherwise small frames though he had not thought more of it as hunger had called. Both Lyra and Tamlen had chosen to take their dinner in one of their rooms leaving Elissa, Duran and Alistair to eat down in the common room. Duran had left strait for the bar though, eating and drinking there while Alistair and Elissa had taken a table in a corner, away from the eyes of the local folk.
"Please!" Alistair begged once again after he had finished his meal, hoping to convince the headstrong girl to tell him what happened in Conner's room.
"No." she said simply, pushing the remainder of her food around on the plate.
"At least tell me what happened to the demon."
"It said it would leave" Elissa sighed pushing her plate away. "and you saw Conner..."
"And you believed it?" Alistair asked feeling his worry grow. Demons didn't leave, but they might have moved to another host and he dreaded what might have happened back then.
"I did, and I still do" she replied, resigning, not putting up more of a fight.
"Demons lie you know!"
"It could also have killed us all, but it didn't! Think back, did it seem like it was lying to you?"
He had thought back, it did not strike him as a lying type – but this was a demon, it might have been lying through it's teeth from all he knew. "No, but that doesn't prove anything in the least."
"Nothing is ever certain, Alistair" she remarked, an eerie glimmer of recognition sparking in his mind. She was starting to talk like a demon! "Enough with your glares Alistair! I am going to bed, goodnight!" she snapped with such a bite that he would be surprised if she didn't slam the door to her room.
Elissa did not understand the real problem, or maybe the demon had already possessed her, but without more knowledge how could he be certain? Striking down a child was horrible – striking down a Gray Warden was... unthinkable. He had acted rash in Conner's case and was determined to learn from it. He would resign to observe Elissa, perhaps speak with someone at the Circle or the Chantry about such things.
It was stupid, he was stupid, she was stupid and the world was most certainly stupid. Why did nothing ever turn out to be as simple as whacking a mace into someone's guts enough times?
Alistair took a few coins from his purse and left them on the table. Coin was another problem, he was paying for the food and lodgings but what little he had was soon going to be spend and he had no idea what to do when they ran up. Duncan would have known, but as a new Gray Warden he had always turned to Duncan if he needed advice or money. The Wardens were not a rich order but they had enough to cover some expenses, but now that the senior Wardens had left Ferelden he had no clue how such things worked.
A knock on the door woke Tamlen from his sleep.
"Alistair?" Lyra asked as she opened it, her book lying discarded on her chair right next to his bed. "Please" She stepped aside, allowing the man inside.
"How are you holding up Tamlen?" Alistair asked. Tamlen was beginning to respect Alistair a great deal. The human might not think it, but he had a knack for fighting as well as for getting a job done – it was easy to see why Duncan would have thought the man a worthy addition.
"I am fine" Tamlen said, his mouth horribly dry. In honest he didn't feel any pain. When he had complained about it, Lyra had made a herb mixture and added it to his food. He was tired but admittedly he felt no pain at all – nor much else for that matter.
"I am glad to hear, when does the healer say you can walk?" Ever a practical man. Tamlen tried to hide his grin.
"In two days, if I take it easy, though it depends on my leg as well, she says." The healer had been infuriatingly vague about it.
Alistair nodded. "I was also hoping to speak to you for a moment, Lyra"
The girl nodded "Of cause"
Alistair gave Tamlen a glance, perhaps thinking it best to talk in private but continued none the less. "My moneybag from my backpack has gone missing, and Duran has already spend his all his money..." He trailed off, letting it hang in the air.
"We have some money, if you need Alistair..." Lyra offered. They had used human money even back in their clan, though much had been gifts and trades rather than actual buying and selling. The majority of Lyra and his wealth had come from her nimble hands, while their trader had been selling goods in the human settlements. She never took the full purse, but she had a certain way of easing the weight from the richer merchants.
"If you could spare a bit it would be great"
Tamlen reached down to his own bag and untied their own moneybag, which had, unsurprisingly, grown slightly heavier since he last checked.
"Here you go." Tamlen said, offering the bag of coins to Alistair.
"Thank you, I best pay the innkeeper for the rooms, he started to doubt when Duran couldn't pay his tap."
Tamlen nodded. "You can go with him Lyra, I'll be fine, maybe you can help him find the bag?"
She kept silent, just nodding and went out with Alistair, casting a lingering look at Tamlen before closing the door behind her.
Tamlen sighed, glad to be afforded a bit of time for himself. Lyra had insisted on washing him as they had moved him from the Chantry. Back there only his wounds had been treated, though much of the blood and rotted flesh had still been present on the rest of him as they had found an inn that would allow them lodgings. The bath had been so many things at the same time. Everything had hurt back then,.. walking down to the washroom, stripping, even just sitting in the bathtub had been a trial, but then there was Lyra...
Tamlen swallowed a lump in his throat. She had been helping him along each step of the way, even helping him remove his clothing... They had seen each other naked before, in the wilds. You don't always have time for modesty and when the chance presents itself, it helps with a bath... but this had been different. They had never been close while naked. Even in the tub she had helped where he allowed her to, washing his back, carefully rubbing his legs... She had actually managed to turn the swirl of pain he was in into something... rather nice.
It had been so pleasant and yet they were not bonded. It was improper, it was a shemlen thing to do. While he had enjoyed it, the attention and the feel of her fingers, it had been wrong. Perhaps it was being around humans... Were they quickening? Tamlen dreaded the idea. If things were right, then elves should be secluded from the quickening influence of humans. The rashness of things were unbecoming of their people. Lyra had always been too kind, never really standing up for herself and so he had to do it for her. Much as he had with the other members of the clan when it came to humans.
He thought back to the day of the Mirror. Perhaps he should have just killed them, it had been so much easier if he hadn't waited to ask Lyra her opinion. She had been making sure there was no other shem around. He could have told her that the humans had threatened him and the clan, it would have been self defense. If he had killed them then he wouldn't have insisted on seeing the cave. Somehow humans always lead to trouble.
The story of Lyra's parents returned to him unbidden, there was indeed many reasons to hate humans! He sighed, trying to calm down a bit. It didn't do to dwell on such things, only to learn. What was the lesson that fated day? He tried to ignore the obvious; 'Don't rush into things'. Maybe it was 'kill the humans before you get yourself tainted by a mirror' he mused or maybe just 'don't let the humans drive you to impatience'. A part of him would have liked the last one, though, looking back it had not been impatience but something else.
Tamlen let the warm and softness of the bed get to him. He had never actually tried sleeping in such a thing before. In their aravel it had always been slightly different, hammocks being favored in his own family's aravel.
Maybe the lesson should have been 'listen to your feelings' – he had the most unnerving feeling back that day, ever since he stepped into the cave. Tamlen blushed up to his ears, with a stupid grin on his face, burying himself under the sheet. Listen to your feelings, if he had done that, then he wouldn't have been the only one in the bathtub earlier.
