Chapter 11: Decisions, Decisions

Delia found the quartermaster and bartered for some healing potions and injury kits while she sold some of the objects found along the road. Across from the quartermaster she noticed the mage's chest that the prisoner told her about. Deciding it wouldn't be a good idea to open it in daylight, she planned to take a walk in the evening. Just then she heard a catcall behind her. She spun around to see a handsome, tall, dark haired young man leaning against a tree.

"The views are gettin' better all the time here," he said to her, smiling broadly. "The name's Daveth. I'm going to be a Grey Warden, so you can trust me to help you with whatever you need. Your desire is my command."

A woman soldier walked past him and huffed in disgust. "Daveth, you use that exact same line on every woman in camp. Get it through your thick skull that there isn't a woman in all of Ferelden that would trust you with anything. If I were you, miss, I would run as far away from this one as you can."

Delia laughed. "Thanks for the warning. Unfortunately for me, I'm also a Grey Warden recruit, so I guess that I will have to learn to live with this one. I must warn you, Daveth, I have been trained personally by Duncan and am under his personal protection, so keep your distance. Think of me as your long lost sister and I'm sure we'll get along well enough."

Daveth looked a bit deflated. "Ah, believe me when I say that there is no possibility that any sister o' mine could look as nice as you. But I suppose it'll have to do for me. At least I can follow your lead and have something nice to watch!"

"You better get moving there, Daveth." An older knight walked up to them. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ser Jory, knight of Redcliff and another warden recruit."

"My name is Delia. It is a pleasure to meet you, ser knight."

"Daveth, the other recruit, a lad named Aeden, just found me and said that Duncan would like us at the warden fire. Come along with me."

The two men said their goodbyes to Delia, and she decided it was time to search for the Junior Warden. As she walked toward the northeast corner of the ruins where the soldier from the bridge had directed her, she heard two men arguing. Walking up a ramp, she saw a dark haired mage arguing with a blond haired warrior.

"And here I thought we were getting along so well. I was going to name one of my children after you; the grumpy one," the warrior teased the mage.

"Enough! I'll speak to the woman if I must! Get out of my way, fool." The mage abruptly pushed the warrior aside and stormed off.

The warrior looked at Delia and grinned. "You know, one good thing about the blight is how it brings people together."

Delia was speechless. The man in front of her was handsome, and the way he smiled at her made her stomach flutter! She suddenly realized he said something to her and so she stammered, "Sorry, what?"

"Oh, nothing, just trying to find a bright side to all of this. Wait, we haven't met have we? I don't suppose you happen to be another mage?"

He had a lopsided smile that made her heart skip. She grinned at him and replied, "Don't worry, I'm no mage. I can honestly say I've been tested for it and failed every time."

"Good, less being yelled at for me then, although the day is still young. My name is Alistair, and I am the Junior Grey Warden. May I help you with anything? You seem to be lost."

"I was looking for you, actually. My name is Delia, and I am one of Duncan's new recruits. He asked me to find you have you return with me to the camp fire."

Alistair looked puzzled. "Another recruit? I knew he recruited a man from Highever; where do you hail from and how did he find you?"

"It's a long story, he found me in Highever as well, but I need to prove myself before he will allow me to participate in the Joining. Duncan wants you to help him test me."

"Well, it must be an interesting story, Delia. I look forward to hearing it when we have a chance." He looked at her and tried to size her up as a fighter. She didn't look like a seasoned warrior by any means, and he couldn't understand how Duncan could have recruited someone who looked as fragile as this woman. "Anyhow, whenever you are ready, I suppose we should head back to Duncan."

"That argument, with the mage, what was that all about?"

"Ah, well the Circle is here at the King's request and the Chantry doesn't like that one bit. They just love letting the mages know just how unwelcome they are. Which puts me in a bit of an awkward position. I was once a Templar."

Delia felt her throat constrict. "This handsome man is part of the Chantry? Oh, the Maker can't be that cruel, can he?" she thought to herself. Quietly she answered Alistair, "That would be awkward."

"I'm sure the Reverend Mother meant it as an insult, sending me as the messenger, and the mage picked right up on that. I would have never agreed to deliver it, but Duncan says we're all to cooperate and get along. Apparently they didn't get the same speech." He grinned at her again. "Pretty girl; I hope he doesn't really intend for her to go through the Joining. It would be sad if she didn't make it." His eyes suddenly went sad and his grin faded.

Delia noticed the gleam leave his eyes and wondered what it meant. "I look forward to traveling with you, Alistair," she said quietly.

"You do?" he answered in surprise. Huh, that's a switch." His hand swept through his hair in what seemed to be a nervous gesture. "If you have any questions, ask away. Otherwise, lead on!"

The two walked toward the Grey Warden tent. Delia found herself to be self-conscious around the young warden.

"So, Alistair, tell me a little about yourself. How did you become a Grey Warden?"

"Well, as I said, I was training to become a Templar when Duncan recruited me about six months ago. The Chantry raised me and becoming a Templar was a decision made for me a long time ago. Duncan could see that I wasn't happy and figured that my training against mages could double for fighting darkspawn. Now here I stand before you, a proud Grey Warden. The Grand Cleric would never have let me go if Duncan hadn't forced the issue. I'll always be grateful to him."

"You speak fondly of him."

"I spent years in that Chantry hopelessly resigned to my fate. Duncan was the first person who cared what I wanted. He risked a lot of trouble with the Grand Cleric to help me."

"You didn't want to join the Chantry?" Delia looked at him questioningly.

"It just wasn't for me. Oh, I believe in the Maker well enough, but I never wanted to devote my life to the Chantry."

Delia inwardly sighed in relief. He wasn't pious after all. "Tell me about Duncan."

"Duncan is the leader of the Grey Wardens in Fereldan which he would say doesn't mean much as there aren't many of us here. Yet. Beyond that he's a good man, a good judge of character. I owe him a lot."

He looked at her. "What about you? What do you think of him?"

She looked at the ground, and her expression went deadly serious. "I owe him as well. He saved me, in a way that is actually similar to how he saved you. If it weren't for Duncan, I would be forced into a life that I really couldn't bear."

Alistair looked at her with sympathy. "Her story must be horrid, indeed. She looks so sad… I will have to find a way to make her look happy."

They arrived at the warden camp fire and greeted Duncan.

"Ah, Delia, you found Alistair, did you? Good, I'll assume you are ready to be tested." He looked at Alistair, a slight tinge of annoyance in his eyes. "Assuming, of course, that you are quite finished riling up mages, Alistair?"

Alistair blushed. "What can I say? The Reverend Mother ambushed me. The way she wields guilt they should stick her in the army!"

Duncan raised his eyebrow. "She forced you to sass the mage, did she? We cannot afford to antagonize anyone, Alistair. We don't need to give anyone more ammunition against us."

Alistair glumly looked at the ground. "You're right, Duncan. I apologize."

Duncan scanned his eyes over the four recruits. "Right now, I would ask Jory and Daveth to take this list of supplies to the quartermaster. You must purchase the supplies and bring them to my Second in Command, Jarveth at the main warden camp. It is imperative that they receive these supplies today, so you had best get to work. You'll have to make several trips and I cannot spare any other men to help you."

Jory took the list from Duncan and the two headed toward the quartermaster.

"Now, I need you, Aeden, to spar with Delia so that Alistair and I can formally evaluate her progress. Alistair, Delia never fought before I recruited her, but she has worked diligently and I believe that she has potential."

"She never fought before? You mean she's only trained since Highever? You can't possibly believe that she would be ready to battle darkspawn?"

Delia's face flushed angrily. "Why don't you wait until you have seen me fight before you judge me? I am no warrior, it's true, but I think that I could take you down, Templar."

Alistair laughed. "You think you could take me down? Well then, why don't you spar me instead of your regular partner? We'll see if you're actions match your boldness."

Now it was Aeden's turn to chuckle. "Yes, Duncan, let Alistair fight her. I'm sure that he will be able to evaluate her skills better that way instead of simply looking."

Duncan's eyes twinkled. He knew what Alistair was in for, as Delia's eyes sparkled mischievously. "Aye, let's see what you can do against Alistair." He handed the two their sparring weapons and stepped aside.

The two circled each other, sizing the other up and waiting for an opening. Alistair attempted the first blow, but Delia deftly avoided him. She allowed her body to instinctually use the fighting forms Duncan taught her, and before long Alistair was sweating and looking frustrated. He was striking his sword all over the place, but she always seemed to dance aside! Then suddenly, as his sword swung around in front of him toward her torso, she dropped to the ground and swung her legs around, catching his legs in back and easily dropping him to the dirt. Before he even realized that he was down, she was sitting on his chest, her practice dagger at his throat.

"Do you yield, Alistair?"

Duncan laughed aloud. It was the very same maneuver she used the first time he sparred with her and had also underestimated her quick thinking. Alistair looked at Duncan with a surprised look on his face, and then looked up into Delia's face. Suddenly he blushed. A woman was sitting on top of him, Maker help him! He threw up his hands.

"I yield, I yield! Get this mad woman off of me!"

Delia stood up, brushed herself off and offered her hand to Alistair. He took her hand and he stood, brushing the dirt off his legs.

Duncan slapped his hand on Alistair's shoulder. "Perhaps, my boy, I should have warned you. Delia may not be powerful, but she is very observant and fast. She's certainly not the person to have in the front of a party as she would easily be overwhelmed, but he can be an asset when it comes to fending off attackers that would try to flank you. Her mind is quick and her feet are nimble. I actually think that she would be very good at stealth and will teach her that in time."

Delia looked at Alistair with a mischievous grin. "I hope I didn't hurt you, oh mighty Templar."

Alistair was embarrassed. "No, I'm fine, thank you for your concern."

"All right, you two shake hands and put this behind you. I'm interested in your opinions, Alistair and Aeden. Aeden, you have seen her progress. Do you think she has achieved enough to take part in the Joining?"

Aeden grinned at Delia. "I know that she saved us from the bandit on the road. She's one of the most intelligent people I have met, and she definitely uses her intellect to her advantage. I believe she has proven her abilities."

"And you, Alistair? You never saw her fight before and have no preconceived ideas. What is your opinion?"

Alistair looked directly at Duncan. "I would have to say that she has great potential. There is still a lot of work to be done for her to be a polished fighter. For my part, I will not underestimate her a second time." With that, he looked at Delia and gave her a quick wink.

Delia blushed. Aeden noticed the quick exchange and was suddenly unnerved. What was going on between Delia and the warden? He wasn't sure if he really wanted to know.

"Well, Delia, I guess that settles it then. Tomorrow you will join the other recruits in the preparatory tasks. You will take part in the Joining." Duncan looked at her with a warm, sad smile. He was proud of her, but silently prayed to the Maker that she would survive.