Mintara was much smaller than Denerim, but it had a certain grandeur about it, and it was... neater than the Fereldan capital. At least, that was the word that came to mind when Amell compared the two. Denerim had grown organically from a fishing village, to a trading town, to an important city, and that showed in its messy, narrow alleyways and oddly-angled streets. Mintara had actually been burned down three times along its tumultuous history. And each time it was rebuilt, larger and grander and more opulent than it had been before; so it became known as the Ever-Returning City. And its bridge, a great gray behemoth of a thing, as wide as ten streets and taller than any building in Mintara, was the last relic of the Tevinter Imperium, built to last until the entire world would be retaken into the embrace of the Maker and offend the eye with its unnecessarily-detailed stonework.
The architecture of Mintara was delicately decorated, unlike the hideous bridge that loomed over it. There was a stark elegance about the buildings, with their neatly square towers and sculpted arched windows. Framework was done in black wood, and the odd carving appeared on corners, repeating patterns that seemed to have some meaning other than decoration. Houses had narrow balconies holding myriad of potted plants, and the windows all had shutters, and they were all painted in soft colors or pastels, but remarkably diverse shades. Amell had never seen a pink house before, and though she found the notion amusing, she had to admit that it did not look as bad as she'd expected. Shops did not have signs, but their advertisements were painted directly onto the sides of buildings, along with lists of products and services in a flowing, organic script. Official buildings had metal plaques nailed just beside their doors, efficiently informing the people of their function. The streets were all cobbled, from one end to another, even some of the alleys.
The caravan had to camp just outside the city, but people soon spread out into Mintara, resupplying or simply taking in the sights.
"Revered mother Allina lives on the other side of the river," Sorrel said, pointing towards the bridge, its tapering spires visible in the distance.
"Ah, yes," Amell murmured, staring in the indicated direction. "She's Lady Adavina's advisor, you said."
Sorrel nodded slowly.
"What are you and Dyson going to do? Where are you going to go?" Amell asked, more out of curiosity than anything.
"Oh, I don't know. The orchards in Nevarra really do need workers," she shrugged. "Or maybe we'll pass over into Tevinter. I understand it's not as dangerous and frightening as the Chantry may have lead me to believe."
Amell smiled thinly at this. There was no humor in the situation, but she'd become a cynic where the Chantry was concerned.
"Anyway, I, uh... have something for the revered mother," Sorrel added, rummaging around in a satchel and taking out a folded piece of paper. It had been sealed with cheap candle wax.
Amell took the paper and stuffed it in a pocket.
"I'll make sure she gets it," she assured.
Sorrel nodded thoughtfully and they remained in awkward silence for a time.
"So, goodbye?" Sorrel offered hesitantly.
Amell opened her mouth to say something, but she shook her head and pulled the other woman in a hug. Sorrel returned the gesture after a few moments.
"Take care of yourself," Amell said, picking up her bag. "And keep Dyson out of trouble."
"Ah, that'll be quite a task," Sorrel chuckled. "And you take care of yourself as well. I am relying on you to catch this maleficar."
"Well, if I won't, who will? The templars?" Amell grinned.
Sorrel seemed ready to reply, but she suddenly stopped herself when she glanced over Amell's shoulder.
"I'll tell him you said goodbye," Amell offered, knowing exactly what had startled the woman. Honestly, after a few weeks on the road, one would think Sorrel would have gotten used to Sten by now.
Author note: To be honest, I haven't had much inspiration to finish this fic because now the second game is coming out and nixing many of my speculations. I've been delaying because I don't know if I should just stop until I play DA2, or just screw it and label this AU. I've been writing WoW fic lately because, well, I'm more comfortable with WoW lore than I am with DA canon. But I have been thinking about this fic lately, so it's not abandoned. Yet.