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Chapter 3

After days of traveling we finally make it to the Village of Redcliffe. Though the sight was deeply depressing. Looking around everyone had a defeated look on their faces. None of them even seemed to have noticed me or that anything might be amiss. Looking around the village more I spot a young man in splintmail armor talking to one of the locals. Walking closer I see that he has the most beautiful amber eyes and honey blonde hair. Plastering on a smile I walk up to him.

"Hello. Might I ask what is going on here? And where is everyone?" I ask sweetly. A slight blush rises in his cheeks as I lightly bat my eyelashes at him.

"Oh well umm as it seems the dead have been coming back to life and attacking the villagers. You know just a typical Tuesday," the man says with a laugh. I give him a quizzical look that only slightly stops his laughter. "You are not from Ferelden are you? I don't recognize your accent."

"Really a typical Tuesday is the dead raising. Well sounds like a typical day where I'm from if you are lucky," I say with a slight chuckle. It is his turn to give me a strange look.

"Really? What if you are unlucky?" he asks crossing his arms with a slight smirk.

"You get eaten by a dragon," I reply with a small shrug. The look on his face tells me that he doesn't know wither to believe me or not.

"Eaten by a dragon? Really now? Let me guess on Thursdays you have tea with giants," he counters laughing. I find myself laughing with him at this.

"Of course not. You would never find a tea cup big enough for a giant," I retort. A big smile plasters on his face at our little banter. A tugging on my cloak reminds me of little Tate. The man looks down Tate and smiles.

"And who might this handsome lad be? A younger brother perhaps?" the hopeful look on his face causes me to smile lightly.

"I found him abandoned in Amaranthine and so I brought him with me. Thought I might be able to find a good home for him somewhere," Picking up Tate I hug him tightly to me. "Since he didn't seem to have a name I decided to call him Tate."

"Well I'm sure once this whole mess with the dead raising and such you could find a family for the boy," the man states. "Oh how rude of me, I never got your name. My name is Alistair."

"My name is Areana," I say with a small bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you. So how exactly are you dealing with this little problem of yours?"

"Well as it turns out the arl's son is possessed by a demon. So we are getting the Circle of Magi to help rid him of the demon. So my companion is currently at the Tower trying to gain aid for this and to help defeat the Blight," Alistair says with a smile.

"Isn't defeating the Blight the job of a Grey Warden?" I inquire with a slight frown. Looking at him once again I try to imagine him as a fierce slayer of Darkspawn.

"Ah yes I guess as with you not being from Ferelden then you wouldn't know. I am a junior member of the order. Well I guess now the senior since there are only two of us left in Ferelden..." his voice fades off.

'No! No way! Why did he have to be one of my targets?' I internally cry. 'What am I thinking? I am the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood. Not some sniveling little girl with a crush. Sithis commands that I take this man's life!' I chastise myself.

"What happened to all the others?" I whisper sadly. A few unshed tears burn his eyes but he quickly bats them away.

"There was a battle. A big one at Ostagar. The King's army was massacred, King Cailan died on the field with his men. He had been betrayed by his most trusted general. Teyrn Loghain." the murderous look in his eyes shocks me. The amount of anger and hatred just for the name of the man is almost overwhelming.

'Wait. Did he say Cailan? What happened to Maric?' I slightly panic on the inside, wondering what became of my husband.

"Ah Alistair there you are," calls a feminine voice with a slight accent. Looking in the direction of the voice I see a beautiful young woman with red hair. Unlike all the other women she is in armor and not a dress. The sleek bow strapped to her back shows that she is an archer and would be slightly hard to deal with if she decides to get in the way of my mission. "Who is your friend?"

"Oh Leliana you're back. This is Areana. She sure did pick an excellent time to come to Ferelden," Alistair says with a laugh. "Now tell me where is Aedan?"

"It is a pleasure to meet you," the red head, Leliana, says to me. A suspicious look crosses her face briefly but soon disappears. "He is at the castle with the Circle mages. But Alistair, there is something you should know. On the way back from the Tower we were attacked by an assassin. Now obviously he didn't fulfill his mission but we need to be careful. Also Aedan decided to bring him with us..."

'Ah so the Crows have made the first move, and just as I thought, they failed.' I think gleefully to myself.

"WHAT?! Now we are bringing assassins with us?" Alistair exclaims loudly. "What is he thinking?" The girl only sighs and shakes her head softly.

"Alistair, that's not all. From what Zevran, the assassin, told us, there is another one on their way to deal with you and Aedan. Apparently this one is much more dangerous than him or even the master Crows. You two need to be careful," concern was written all over her face as she relayed the news to him. A frown deepened on his face and his eyebrows furrowed.

Looking over I see more people coming this way. Most likely companions of Alistair and this young woman. One person in the group looks oddly familiar but I just declare it a passing thought. Another is an elf with a strange tattoo on his face. That must be the assassin. Beyond them there were two mages, that will be difficult, a mabari war hound, just need to conjure my familiar for that, and a giant of a man. He looks like he could pose a big problem. Best to get the Grey Wardens alone. My thoughts begin to plan a way of attack. Looking down at Tate I smile and see him playing with a little girl. A strange sadness envelops me as I see her take him over to where her family was resting.

'He found a family that can look after him,' I small tear falls down my face at the sight but I quickly brush it away. No one seems to notice it thankfully. Soon I am almost surrounded by Alistair's companions.

"Well it was a pleasure meeting you Alistair, but I really must get going," with that I start to walk away from the village but am stopped by the assassin grabbing my wrist.

"What a beautiful, exotic flower we have here. Tell me, where are you from my dear?" the assassin inquires looking me straight in the eye. I glare at him as I try to free myself from his grasp.

'Thank Talos I opted for wearing my armor instead of a dress,' I think as my brain quickly starts to catalog where everything is. 'There is no way I can reach for my sword without them noticing and my dagger is in my boot. Guess I just going to have to use the small dagger hidden in my glove.'

"That is such nice and expensive armor for a simple traveler," the assassin continues. By now everyone is watching with get attention to what is going to happen next.

"Well you can never be too careful these days it seems. What with assassins running around," I counter. A sly smile graces my lips as I look over his shoulder. Following my gaze he sees a huge luminescent wolf. A scowl mars his features and I take his diverted attention as a time to free myself. Using my free hand I use a spell that sends him flying away from me. Being the assassin he is he quickly gets up, draws his daggers and starts to attack me. Barely having time to draw my sword he cuts my arm.

A slight hiss escapes my lips as I do a quick healing spell and the wound closes. The look of shock on his face is priceless when I send a continuous stream of fire his way. Not letting him get close by attacking him with ranged attacks of fire and ice he is forced to take Leliana's bow and shoot arrows at me. Dodging the arrows proved easier than I thought it would be. Sheathing my sword quickly I use magik in both hands. With deep concentration I call forth the spirit of Lucien LaChance to help me.

Finally his companions also join the fray. Having served in the Rebellion I was used to having to watch for many different people at a time. My opponents soon started to close in on me and I was starting to tire.

"You are very skilled my dear," the assassin calls out to me as he rushes in. Pulling out my sword I block his attempts. I smile at him causing him to pause. Using his slight pause to my advantage I take in a deep breath.

'Seems it's time to bring out my secret weapon.' I think to myself with a slight laugh. "FUS RO DAH" I Shout causing him to go flying backwards and hit his head on the side of the cliff. Almost everyone stops attacking when they see that.

"Maker's Breath how did you do that?!" Alistair exclaims. Looking over at the rest of them I see them all take a step back. It is then that I notice that the red headed woman was gone. Using my senses I probe the area for her. It wasn't until she knocked me out that I found out where she was.

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-Kiro