It's still dark when Neria wakes me. We quietly gather our things, load them onto Bodahn's wagon which he's brought around to the estate gates, and set off for Redcliffe. We reach the outskirts of the town in a record three days, barely stopping to rest on the way. We don't even set camps up properly; instead, we place our bedrolls close to each other around the campfire, and about half of us are on watch at a time, scanning the area for darkspawn.
For good reason, too: our camp isn't attacked again, but we have to stop more often now, so that darkspawn ahead of us can be taken down. Our group's fighters aren't always fighting by themselves either anymore; there's several local militia groups patrolling the roads, trying to keep the darkspawn away from the towns and villages that haven't been ransacked yet. A man in full plate armour meets us at the bridge leading to Redcliffe castle, after yet another darkspawn skirmish.
"It's…it's you! The Grey Wardens!" He exclaims, relieved. "Andraste's mercy that you got here when you did! I thought for sure those monsters were going to get me!"
Neria looks around. "Where is the arl's army? He told me to meet him here."
"In the castle, I think. The arl ordered everyone in the village evacuated there this morning, just before the darkspawn arrived. I thought I could make it to my home and back before they got here, but it took me too long to get down here. Thank the Maker you arrived!"
"You should get to safety."
"Would that I could, but there were darkspawn headed towards the castle gates, too."
Neria nods. "Alright. Stay here with our group, then, we'll deal with it. Alistair, Leli, Morrigan, come with me, everyone else stay here."
"Is it wise to remain in the open?" Wynne points out.
"We can wait in the tavern, my lady, it's right over there," the man offers.
Neria and the others return a little while later to lead us the rest of the way to the castle. Arl Eamon, Bann Teagan and another man I don't recognise are waiting for us in the main hall.
"It's a relief to see you again, unharmed," the man says. "And Alistair, whom I have not yet had the pleasure to meet, although Duncan did mention you several times in his correspondence with me. Ah, I apologise, I should call you Your Majesty, now, shouldn't I?"
Alistair's ears grow pink. "Err…no, no I wouldn't say that. Not yet, anyway."
"As you wish. Now, to the matter at hand: the darkspawn that attacked Redcliffe were relatively few in number, I'm afraid. It was assumed the horde was marching in this direction… but that is not true."
"Riordan tells us that the bulk of the horde is, in fact, heading towards Denerim," Arl Eamon continues. "They are perhaps two days away from the capital."
"What?" Alistair exclaims, alarmed. "Are we sure about that? I mean…. If that's true…?"
"I ventured close enough to 'listen in', as it were. I am quite certain," Riordan confirms.
"Has word been sent to Denerim?" Neria asks.
"Word has been sent, but they need more than warning," Arl Eamon answers. "They need our armies."
"There is, I'm afraid, one other piece of news that is of even greater concern," Riordan adds gravely. "The archdemon has shown itself. The dragon is at the head of the horde."
"Maker preserve us!" Bann Teagan exclaims.
"But we can't reach Denerim within two days, can we?" Alistair asks, panicked. "It's too far."
"We must begin a forced march to the capital immediately, with what we have." Arl Eamon decides. "Denerim must be defended at all costs."
"I agree," adds Neria. "We've gathered an army—let's use it."
"The horde must be defeated, but the archdemon is our true target. When the archdemon falls, the horde it commands will scatter, retreating back into the Deep Roads. And only the Grey Wardens can defeat the archdemon. That is why we must go, now," Riordan explains.
"Then we march," Alistair muses. "And hope the army we've collected here gives us the chance we need. Arl Eamon, how long before the army can set out?"
"By daybreak tomorrow."
"Then let's get them ready. I won't let all those people die without giving them a chance."
"If it's up to the three of us, how are we supposed to defeat this archdemon?" Neria asks, looking between Alistair and Riordan.
"I was wondering that, myself," Alistair admits.
Riordan looks surprised, to say the least. "Then… you don't know?" He sighs. "Of course not. You are both new recruits, Duncan wouldn't have expected… Perhaps you two should meet me before you retire for the evening. There are… things we need to speak of."
"I will give the orders to prepare at once, and in the meantime, I will have someone show you to your rooms," Arl Eamon says. "I will notify you the moment we are ready to march."
"That would be appreciated," Alistair says gratefully. "We should all rest, while we have this chance. It may be our last for a while."
As instructed, I sleep the day away. When I wake a few hours later, it takes me a moment to remember where we are, and I notice the sconces in our room have been lit. It must be evening already, then. I venture out into the hallway; I can hear voices coming from further down the corridor, so I go to investigate. Neria appears from Morrigan's room, closing the door quickly behind her.
"Neria?"
"Faellathi!" she yelps, startled. "You're awake! Actually, no, that's good. I need to talk to you. About something important."
"Why were you leaving Morrigan's room in such a hurry? Did you have an argument?"
"No, no, nothing like that, it's just, Morrigan and Alistair are going to have a baby," she blurts out, half-hysterical.
"What?! Why would they want that?"
"Shit, I shouldn't have said anything, SHIT I shouldn't be saying 'shit' in front of you," she rambles. "Uh, well, it's hard to explain, I don't exactly understand myself but, Morrigan's baby is going to stop whoever manages to kill the archdemon from dying in the process themselves."
I am completely lost.
"…What? How?"
"It's hard to explain," she stresses. "It's some kind of magic, I don't know, ask Morrigan later, if you want, but that's… that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. Come, let's go to our room, this conversation has to stay between us," Neria walks over, taking my hand and leading me back to our room.
She sits me down on the bed, and pulls up a chair to sit in front of me. "Now, I need you to listen carefully," she begins.
"You're scaring me, Neria, what's going on?"
"Just listen. In a few hours, most likely, our army will be marching to Denerim to fight the darkspawn horde. We're going to kill the archdemon, and end this Blight," she says, sounding like she's trying to convince herself more than me. "You're going to stay here, in Redcliffe castle. When the time comes, Morrigan is going to come back for you, and you'll leave together. She's going to take you to a friend- do you remember Isabela? Zev's friend, the ship captain we met in the broth—tavern?"
"I remember, but—"
"You're going to go with Isabela, on her ship. She'll be your way out of Ferelden, and she'll watch out for you, alright?"
Wait, out of Ferelden?
"But I was there when we met Isabela, I don't remember you mentioning anything like this?"
"You fell asleep right there at the table after a couple of hours, but we were there for a long while. You missed a lot of the conversation."
"Oh… But what about you, are you going to meet us later?"
"No, da'len, I will have to stay here- as a Grey Warden it will be my duty to help rebuild the Order in Ferelden."
"But why do I have to leave? Couldn't I stay with the Dalish, instead?"
"Dalish clans only accept one or two mages each, da'len, and I don't know any clans who are without a mage. If we had more time, maybe, but we don't, and… I don't know what's going to happen next. Whether or not we can stop the Blight, you know it's not safe for you here anymore. Eventually, someone could recognise you, and that's a risk you cannot afford to take," Neria's voice cracks.
She's right, and I know she's right, but…
"I don't want to leave you," I say in a small voice.
Neria sits next to me on the bed, and pulls me into her lap. "I don't want to leave you," she whispers into my hair. "But I have to, because I need you to survive. Promise me you'll do as Morrigan tells you?"
"Promise."