Finally out of that hateful village! It's going to get a little bit crazy. Just a little bit, and it's a good crazy. To the guest who reviewed, more fluff is coimg. I know you all love it. Love you all!

*Looks at review count. SWEET BABY JESUS! Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I feel like we should celebrate somehow. I'll think of something for next chapter okay! *Give cyber hugs to everyone.

Bioware owns the idea, not the running-with idea.

Explanation II: Abigail

We sat on the outskirts of the village near Sten's cage, waiting for Alistair and my dog to come back, with or without the key. Leliana wasn't to keen on the idea of freeing Sten, but agreed that it would be too cruel to leave him in the cage. If Alistair came back keyless, she would attempt to free him herself.

"Oh?" I asked wickedly. "How do you intend to accomplish that?"

"With these," she answered confidently. She grabbed a small pouch from her just packed bag and opened it, revealing small metal instruments of varying size and shape: lock picks. That shut my stupid mouth. She just laughed at my expression. Before we had left she had literally run to grab her things. She met us with full leather regalia like mine, but more feminine. Where mine was full bodied, hers had a skirt and showed a lot of skin at the top. I wasn't sure how that was going to protect her.

I filled her in on the whole story after I stopped feeling embarrassed, about Ostagar and what planned for the treaties.

"He isn't human is he," I jerked my head toward the cage. "Do you know what he is?"

She nodded. "They are called kossith; the original keepers of the Qun, the philosophy the Qunari live by."

"Fascinating," I muttered. "The violet eyes are…almost disturbing."

"Indeed. When they brought him to the Chantry, on of the guards said it was like he could see into his soul."

I couldn't help agreeing with her. In an utterly childish moment, I decided that it probably helped him in staring matches.

"I don't believe it," Morrigan declared.

Alistair and Helíos strutted out of the village, both heads held high like they were kings. Alistair focused on Morrigan and grinned like a little boy, his hand waving slowly. A shine flashed in the air. He had the key.

"He got it!" I jumped up in excitement. I knew it was silly, but I needed that feeling; something had gone right at last.

"Hey," he smiled at my enthusiasm. "Shall we go free-" he looked at Leliana beside me in confusion and stared back at me for an explanation.

"Oh, this is Leliana. She has offered her services to help us."

"You must be Alistair," the red-head was obviously amused. "Pleasure to meet you."

"The story of your meeting must be riveting," Alistair replied.

"Later," I took the key from his offered hand. "We have a giant to save."

I figured we must have looked odd to the creature, the strange party coming to rescue him but his expression was as unchanged as ever.

"And so it is done," his voice was heavy. "I will follow you into battle, and doing so, I shall find my atonement. May we proceed? I am eager to be elsewhere."

"I have something for you," Alistair said. At my interested look, he smiled. "You don't think I was just going to let the new member join without a matching outfit did you?"

I wasn't sure how he had managed to fit the armour into his pack, let alone armour that would fit the kossith, but it worked. When he put it all on he seemed to change, like he was more comfortable. The large two-handed sword did not please him, but it was all Alistair could afford. But it worked, and not a moment to soon either. We had not gone a mile out of the village when we were attacked by desperate men trying to attain the large bounty on Alistair's and my heads. We had to defend ourselves, and I hated every moment of it.

The peace didn't last long. Darkspawn had ambushed two people and we were just in the right place at the right time.

"Mighty timely arrival my friend. I'm much obliged," a voice drew my gaze closer to the ground. I stared, rather rudely, at the first dwarf I had ever laid eyes upon. He was definitely short, and was very bearded.

"It was no problem," Alistair said in the silence I had created by gawking.

"Hi," I finally said gracelessly.

"The name's Bodahn Feddic," he continued easily as if I wasn't being strange at all. "Merchant and entrepreneur. This here is my son, Sandal. Say hello my boy."

"Hello," he said simply. He sounded like a boy with special needs. He too was a dwarf-obviously- with blonde hair, sans beard.

His father kept talking. "Road's been mighty dangerous these days. Mind if I ask what brings you out here? Perhaps we're going the same way."

"The road we'll be traveling is going to be quiet rough," I said bluntly. It seemed as if I had finally gotten my voice back.

"Nothing but honesty, hard trait to find these days. I'm afraid my boy and I will be traveling differently then. Allow me to bid you farewell and good fortune, though." He waved and then both dwarves set to work on cleaning up the mess the darkspawn had created with their cart.

"Common spellbound," Alistair said as I stared a bit more. "That cannot be the first dwarf you have ever seen."

"Yes, actually," I said in a huff. He just rolled his eye and muttered something to the effect of "I couldn't tell".

The sun set not long after that, so we made camp and I cooked something simple that wouldn't take long. It had been an exhausting day to say the least.

"Good boy," I praised Helíos as he sat for me. I gave him a partially cooked chicken, hoping it was enough for the large dog.

Someone coughed and I jumped as I saw Morrigan and Alistair watching me expectantly.

I cleared my throat. "Can I help you?"

"You promised an explanation for your outlandish terms and behavior," Morrigan said. She frowned at the dog. He was making quite the mess.

"Uh, yes, while we are eating. Could you guys get the others?"

"Guys?" Alistair repeated. "Last time I check Morrigan is a-"

I held a hand to cut him off. "I know, it's an "outlandish term" I use," I said with a sigh. This was the part I had been dreading for a while, but it had to be done.

Everyone gathered about the fire, bowls in hand, studying me. I took a few spoonfuls before starting, my stomach was turning, but I had to eat. I didn't know where to begin, but once I started, it became easier.

"Um, alright, I guess I need to tell you all, since we are going to be traveling for a time. I was not born here in Ferelden. As you all may have noticed, I use words that you do not and I have been told that I have an accent." Alistair nodded. "To be completely honest, I wasn't born in Thedas either. My home world is called Earth, my country is known as Canada." Blank stares followed that. "You will not have heard it before, and never will from anyone else. Last year I fell in a cave during a party with friends. When I woke up I was in a small shack in a forest with critical injuries. I could barely walk, let alone get out of a cave. That's how I meet my first elf. He took care of me and taught me everything I know." I left Tanin out, not wanting to bring up those memories again. "I am a stranger here, that's why you need you to know, because I don't want to screw something up. I'm not qualified to live here, let alone stop a Blight."

I was on the verge of a minor breakdown. Helíos must have noticed because he laid down beside me and rested his large head in my lap. I petted his head gently and tried breathing deeply while I waited for everyone's reactions.

Morrigan spoke up first, re-crossing her legs lazily. "Mother told me once that there are other places like ours besides the Fade, but I never imagined that it would be so like our own, with humans living there."

"You believe her?" Alistair sounded conflicted. I had hoped he would understand, I was sort of hurt that he didn't.

"I'm not lying," I defended childishly.

"Then," Leliana paused. "If what you say is true, you must have lost so much. Your friends, your family, your home, everything."

"Yes, all I ever loved," I breathed.

"You're really telling the truth," Alistair said.

He still didn't sound convinced, so I grabbed my pack and found what I was looking for. I got up, much to Helíos's displeasure, and plopped my old phone into his hands.

Everyone gathered around him to see the alien object. Leliana ran her fingers over the cracked screen lightly before speaking. "What is it?"

"Before it broke, I used it to communicate with others," I explained. "You see, they would have one that looked similar or the same, and with these two objects we could talk to each other no matter how far the distance between us."

"Magic," Sten stated.

I shook my head. "It seems like it, but no. It's just a tool, like a hammer, just a very advanced tool."

Alistair looked up from the broken "tool". "I…I don't understand."

I pursed my lips together lightly, not sure how to better explain everything. "That's okay." I finally said. "You don't have to. But now you all know. That is what's important." I took back the phone, and put it in its protected pocket.

"All of this, though intriguing," Morrigan said slowly, "does not explain your earlier questions about the templars."

"I'm not quiet sure about it myself. You told me I reacted oddly when you and Flemeth were healing me. I have experienced things with magic like that, though on a smaller scale. When you cast spells, or any mage for that matter, a pleasant pulse moves through my head. When I am near templars, it's like a knife is slowly being pushed into my brain. But that has depended on the situation on how powerful the feeling is."

"This never occurred before in you homelands?"

"I never had to feel it. In my old home there was no mages or templars. No elves, dwarves, Qunari, or darkspawn either."

This bothered the group. I could tell that Alistair especially was having trouble wrapping his head around it.

"Strange," Leliana looked into the fire before speaking again. "I wonder if the templars magic blocking abilities can somehow block you in some fashion."

I didn't miss the sudden change back of subjects, but didn't bother with it. "Well, it's better then any of the ideas I had."

"Oh?" Alistair asked.

"I didn't have any."

"Damn. I was hoping to make fun of you."

That was the end of that conversation. Leliana and Sten volunteered to watch, so I just spread out my roll to sleep, not bothering on putting up a tent. I was super tired.

Before I fell asleep, I thought I could hear humming. I must have been hearing things because it sounded a lot like someone who could not have been there.

Amber.