Promises of the Grey

celestia193's Author's Note: Kakashi is nosy, Sasuke curses up a storm, and Obito squirms. If you haven't looked up a list of Thedosian curses, I highly recommend it. They're hilarious.

Chapter 8

"Huh, this place looks pretty fancy." Naruto's wide blue eyes gaze up the side of a giant ivory tower that looked more like a palace than the last circle he'd been to. He hated the last circle he'd been to. The Templars there were just assholes who liked to hurt the mages. That's why he'd left as soon as Cullen had raised the call to arms. "Did you like studying here?"

"That's a complicated question." She pauses as though debating her answer. "I loved learning about magic and I was relatively fortunate compared to some other mages, but I doubt anyone truly enjoys being put on a leash."

"Yeah…" Naruto's gaze darkens slightly. "No one like a leash." Though it wasn't just the mages that had been on leashes. At least Cullen held his now, made sure that Naruto and the others got the lyrium they needed and didn't withhold it to punish them for not hurting the mages properly. "…I'm sorry about that, you know?"

She smiles at him. "You had scarcely more control over the situation than I did. You don't have to apologize to me." It was a sweet gesture, but a fruitless one. "I will warn you though that most Mages will not see things the same way I do when it come to you."

"I know." Naruto was used to it, but he did notice that a lot of people softened up a bit when they actually got to know him, rather than glaring at him from across a courtyard. "So…how do we get into this place? Spell? Password? A key? Nobody's home now, right?" After the circles rose up, Naruto would be surprised if anyone had actually come all the way back just to hang out in a deserted tower.

"There is an incantation. It will do you little good since you do not have magic in your veins, but I'd ask you to cover your ears all the same." She trusted Naruto, but it wasn't' good practice to let others hear the incantation that Fiona had entrusted her with.

"Alright, alright." Naruto covers his ears, totally familiar with the fact that some circles kept their entry procedures secret even from Templars from other circles. He even averts his eyes so that he doesn't see her lips or hand move. But he does see when the doors start to swing open, revealing a truly palatial interior. Was everything gilded with gold in this place? "Wow…" He removes his hands from his ears as his eyes widen. "Nice place."

"Thank you and yes, it's beautiful." Hinata nods in agreement. Still, a beautiful cage was just another cage. It might be more pleasant to look at than most places, but there was no denying that. "Shall we?"

"Yeah, sure." Naruto bobs his head about, taking in the sights as he ambles on inside. "So, I heard that here in Orlais you guys can live outside the circles sometimes. Did you stay in your tower a lot or with your family?"

"That's true, but I stayed in my tower mostly." She blinks faster than was necessary in an effort to prevent any forming tears from falling. Naruto's question was asked with the most innocent of intentions, after all. "I rarely left save for going to buy supplies and visiting Skyhold. My family knows that I'm a mage. Going back and forth would have been too painful."

"Oh…" Naruto glances at the First Enchanter sadly as they start climbing the grand spiraling staircase that wrapped around the inside of the tower. "Do you miss them?"

She tilts her head at his question. The man was the picture of innocence despite his vocation, it seemed. "Of course, I do. I still write them, though. In that regard, I'm luckier than most."

"Yeah, I guess." Naruto could definitely think of people a lot less lucky than the kind mage walking alongside him. "Do they worry about you joining up with the Inquisition? I mean, what we're doing is pretty dangerous work, you know."

"They do not know and it will stay that way." She gives him a firm look. "In that matter, I will not compromise. They wouldn't approve. They'd worry for me, but one this is too important. Far more important than one person's safety."

Naruto nods, knowing that she was right. "You're…a really good person, Miss Hinata. I'm happy that I'm the one you asked to come on this trip with you."

"I'm happy that you accepted. You didn't have to." She smiles at him. "Most would have said no."

"Yeah, well, most of the other Templars are assholes." Naruto shrugs easily, as if he hadn't just insulted most of his order in a single breath and handful of words. "Cullen's decent, though. Just had a lot of bad shit happen to him."

She nods. She had heard about Cullen. "Well, I'm glad you're the exception to the rule."

"I'm not. I should BE the rule." Naruto hated seeing other Templars acting like assholes. He didn't like being told that he wasn't being a Templar the right way either. Screw that. "The others seem to forget that we're supposed to PROTECT mages, not hurt you guys." What was the point of being stationed in a circle if all you were there for was clean-up duty. "Anyway, where do you think all these papers of Miss Fiona's are?"

"Upstairs in her old quarters." She smiles at Naruto. His idealism was moving. "And yes, you should be the rule. Maybe one day you will."

"Yeah…" Maybe one day he would. Though first, he'd rather have this tower stop spinning. This place had way more stairs than the circle he was at. Though…to be fair, that circle was more of a square and not very tower-like. Not like this place, anyway. "I guess that means we've gotta get looking then, huh?"

"Yeah. We probably should." She nods at him. "I really appreciate all your help. I don't know if I'll ever be able to repay you."

"Nah, it's my job to help you out and keep you safe." Naruto did take his duties as a Templar seriously, even if he was part of the Inquisition now. "Besides, now I get to do more than just do sentry duty at Skyhold."

She laughs softly as her eyes sparkle with mischief. "When you put it that way, I suppose that I've saved you a great deal of boredom."

"Yeah, but uh…" Naruto rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "Just don't tell the commander I said that, okay?" Otherwise, Cullen would have his ass for it, and the put him back on sentry duty.

Dark eyes survey the landscape before them, or at least what Sasuke could actually see through all these damn trees. Back in Ferelden, there were hills that you could stand on, only to be able to see for miles in every direction. But here in the Emerald Graves, it felt there there was nothing but one enormous tree after another. Blighted forest…why couldn't they go hunting for darkspawn in the Bannorn instead?

He growls deep in his throat and urges his horse over a number of gnarled roots extending over the path, his mabari trotting along faithfully by his side. "Andraste's ass…" Why couldn't they have stayed in the Exalted Plains? At least there were open fields and passes there. This place was just no end of convoluted terrain and branches and roots and vines galore. What he wouldn't give for a proper road. "Fucking nug-lickers…"

"Do all you Fereldens have such dirty mouths?" Kakashi chuckles as he watches the other man with mischief dancing in his eyes. "It's a wonder Itachi didn't order me to wash your mouth out with soap."

Sasuke barely resists the urge to jump as the crow and his horse come out of fucking nowhere. "Itachi has just as dirty a mouth as mine. He just prefers to hide it since he's supposed to command the respect of our bannorn."

"Ah well, that makes sense." The image was a most amusing one. Kakashi could barely imagine Itachi swearing like a sailor.

"Hn." Of course it did, Sasuke wouldn't lie about it. "And yes, back home we're not nearly so careful about words that would offend delicate Orlesian sensibilities." He casts a side-eye at the assassin riding beside him. "Have I offended your delicate Antivan sensibilities instead?"

"Trust me, I could say things that would make your hair curl, had I the mind to." Kakashi smiles at him. Hmm. Well, he might as well get some entertainment out of this trip.

"I doubt that." Sasuke had spent the last couple of years around almost nothing but Wardens. As heroic as their order was meant to be, he was fairly certain it was also one of the best places in Thedas to learn to curse. "Shouldn't you be busy bothering my brother or my cousin?"

"They're a little busy tying up lose ends and besides, I find your company most amusing." Kakashi grins at him, knowing it would send the firecracker on edge.

"Hn. If I'm what you find amusing, then should I wonder what you Crows get up to in your spare time?" Sasuke had only ever heard of Zevran's exploits as a former companion of their commander.

"Well, it does vary by the individual. I imagine it overlaps a great deal with what Wardens get up to." He winks. It was delightfully easy to rile him up.

"So drinking bar swill from across Thedas and singing badly?" That, and the falling into bed with whichever attractive partner caught their fancy on a given night. Sasuke wouldn't pretend to be above that one, but he did like to think he had better taste in booze than the average Warden.

"Something like that. You're quite worldly. So what you led you to become a warden? There must be a story there." Kakashi watches him curiously.

Sasuke bites back a retort and rolls his eyes. "Not as worldly as you seem to think, but I've heard the stories from older Wardens." Though thanks to the Inquisition, that was changing, and he was finally out of Ferelden for more than a short jaunt to the Free Marches with the commander. "If you want a story, do a little math. How old do you think I was when the last Blight hit ten years ago?"

"Rather young, I would say." Too young in all honesty. "Which is one of the reasons why I think there is a story."

Onyx eyes harden slightly before simmering down into a disinterested gaze. "…The Blight happened, that's the story. I was a kid and there were darkspawn and death everywhere." And it had been…a very long time ago. "They came up from the south and overran Dragon's Peak before heading north to Denerim. The Bann saved everyone that he could, hiding them in the castle at the top of the mountain. But several people were touched by the Blight that the darkspawn carried. Some died quickly, others were strong enough to linger but they chose to…end their lives before they could turn into ghouls and turn on the rest of us."

Kakashi nods in sympathy. It was a sad, but all too familiar tale. "Yes, so that motivated you to become a Warden?"

"Yes." There were a great many things that had, but that was the primary motivator to Sasuke. "The Bann and his wife, my father and mother, took their own lives when they knew that there was no saving themselves from the taint. Itachi could have hidden his magic, stayed at Dragon's Peak, and fulfilled his duties as the new Bann. But a few years after Shisui joined the Wardens to escape being sent back to that nightmarish Circle Tower, I decided that I was old enough to join him there. I wanted to kill darkspawn and at the time there was no safer place for a mage like me to be." Because he refused to be imprisoned and abused by Templars in Kinloch Hold. He refused to suffer the same fate as so many of Shisui's friends. "And because I decided to go join the Gray Wardens, Itachi refused to let me go without him."

"Yes, I got that impression when I first laid eyes on you two. You're all fortunate to have family members with you. I could be wrong, but I don't think that's the case for most Wardens." His smile turns wistful. "It's certainly not the case for those in my profession. I am sorry for your loss, though. Truly. Words are meaningless in such a situation, but it is sincere."

Sasuke sighs softly, his gaze now fixed on the path ahead. "It was a long time ago. I'm no longer the idealistic child that I was back then." His innocent hopes and dreams had been brutally shattered and ripped away when the Blight hit, only to be replaced later by prophetic dreams of darkspawn and death. Even in that, he had to be special. He knew that the others didn't have dreams nearly as powerful as his. But he'd never quite told them about the intensity of them. That much, he would keep to himself for as long as he could keep quiet when a nightmare took him in its clutches.

"Perhaps not, but some sliver of that child is still within you or you wouldn't be breathing." Kakashi places his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "It's hope that keeps us all going to some degree. Children are filled with it."

Maybe that was true. No…Sasuke knew it was true. "You're right." His mouth twists into a terrible, tortured smile. After all, it was that piece of him that screamed silently every time he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

With a firm nudge to his mount's belly, he coaxes the horse into a canter, dodging roots and vines as Aoda pelts after him through the trees. He needed to stop thinking for now, just freeze his mind and feel the wind against his face. The wind reminded him of home, even if it was far too warm and far too wet in this blighted forest.

The sun had risen and set a number of times before Shisui was able to set himself up in the command tent on the other side of the Emerald Graves. Here, the forest gave way to the open plains beyond the trees, and Shisui was sure that if he squinted hard enough, he would be able to see the Western Approach on the other side. Endless plateaus and desert all touched by the Blight. And in that vast desert sat Adamant, the south-westernmost fortress of the Gray Wardens. He had no desire to visit that place, not after what had happened with the magister who had taken control of the minds of their fellows.

Besides, other things demanded his focus now. Such as the prickling feeling of being watched that crawled along the skin of his neck. His hand goes to his dagger, the one he carried in case magic proved not to be enough to fell his foes. "It's not very wise to sneak up on a Grey Warden, you know."

"Perhaps not, but Crows are hardly cowards." Obito smiles as he heads towards Shisui with Rin at his side. "I trust that you've spoken to Kakashi about the aid we're lending your party?"

"I have." And then Shisui had sent Kakashi off to watch over Sasuke. After all that had happened, Itachi would seriously maim him if anything were to happen to Sasuke. Still, this Crow before him didn't sound quite like his comrade. "You're Ferelden, aren't you?" The man's face was half masked, but there was a familiarity about him nonetheless.

"I was born there, yes." Obito shrugs. There was no real reason to lie about that much. He wouldn't give the man his last name. It was also doubtful his family was still looking for him after all these years. "What of it? I left that place behind years ago."

Shisui's expression softens slightly. "It's nostalgia, mostly. Before ending up in Orlais on this world-ending crusade, I grew up listening to voices like yours. Your accent comes from the Bannorn. You're from the east, aren't you? Near Denerim."

"That I am." He eyes the homesick warden with unease. "Means nothing to me. Not sure why you joined the Wardens when clearly your heart is in Ferelden." Obito had always craved something more meaningful than the life of a noble. His family had never understood that. So he got on a ship and never looked back.

A quiet chuckle bubbles up from Shisui's throat. "It is, and it will still be there when this war is over and we return to Amaranthine." There, they would be only a few days' ride from Dragon's Peak. "I became a Warden so that I could protect my home in case another Blight followed on the heels of the Fifth."

"Ah. You're a believer in the cause and all that." Utter nonsense in Obito's view, but he couldn't deny feeling some sense of envy. There was something appealing about having such an optimistic view of your home and your lot in life. "That's nice. Since I know you're going to ask, left my family for freedom. I was never a slave. I was just smart enough to get on the first ship out of there. Eventually, I met Kakashi and Rin. They're my true family. Been with the Crows ever since. Now, let's get down to business."

"Alright." It was quite the story, if rushed and clipped. Shisui could tell that the man had some hard feelings about his family, and he rather wondered what could have happened to cause such a falling out. "Then I suppose it's only right for you to know who it is that you've been tasked with protecting." Shisui holds out a gloved hand amiably. "I am Shisui Uchiha of Dragon's Peak, Constable of the Grey serving under Warden-Commander Cousland of Ferelden. I serve as the head of the Amaranthine garrison, and currently I'm trying to wrangle the Orlesian contingent of Wardens."

"I don't envy you for that last bit in the slightest. The Orlesians have always been rather...independent spirits." Rin nods at him. As soon as Shisui said his surname, she curses their luck. It would be a miracle if they finished this assignment without Obito's full lineage being discovered.

Obito frowns hard behind the security of his mask, but keeps his voice neutral. "We're fortunate. We are Obito and Rin of the Crows. Nothing more, nothing less." He had always thought Kakashi was his polar opposite, but now Obito knew that wasn't true exactly. Here was a kinsman of Obito's whose life had taken a completely different direction. Where he had fled with glee, this man wanted nothing more than to return. A proper gentleman and all that bullshit. "We're here to keep your pretty little ass from getting killed. You can have fun keeping the dandies in line."

"Yes…what fun it will be keeping the independent little dandies in line." Shisui rolls his eyes and spreads open a map on the table, marked here and there with spots where the Deep Roads came close to the surface. "But I suppose that the least I can do while you're here is provide you with a 'pretty' view." Pale lips curve into a smirk. "Though I imagine that your friend Kakashi is more interested in pestering my little cousin than in admiring the view."

"Kakashi excels in two things. Killing and pestering people." Obito nods. Why beat around the bush? Anyone that had spent five minutes with the silver haired man knew that. "Still, he's one of ours."

"Indeed." Shisui knew better than to expect loyalty amongst assassins, but it was clear to his eyes that these three held great loyalty towards one another at the very least. "Now, if the three of you are going to be keeping an eye on me, there's a lot you'll need to know." Movements, mission rosters, his every possible location, and those of his cousins as well. After all, anyone with half a brain could figure out that one of the easiest ways to get to Shisui was to target any one of his cousins. "I'll also be sending a raven back with a request to send out a new healer." Their last one had died during a skirmish on the way here. "Is there any message that you would like to send to Sister Nightingale?"

"We have no message to send." Rin shakes her head at the question. "It would be in everyone's best interest to focus more on the briefing than courtesy." She could only pray this mission would be a swift one. The sooner they left these Wardens behind the better. Why had she ever agreed to this mission? Oh right. The pay.

Hinata had lost track of the time. All she knew was that she had done it. She had found the necessary papers. "Surely, the answers lie here."

Books and papers, some loose, some rolled into scrolls, lay strewn about her as she peruses their contents. Within them was contained everything from basic manipulation of magical energies to complex arcane magic and spirit healing. A few texts were so ancient that they had begun to fall apart, whilst others were so new that they could barely be older than the rebellion itself.

And within one scroll, one that had been hidden from view, lay the secret of the Joining, the Grey Wardens' initiation ritual that drew together magic, lyrium, herbs and the blood of darkspawn and an archdemon, mixing them into a concoction imbibed by the Wardens during their Joining. It was blood magic of the most complex degree, for it included no demons or sacrifices, only a willingness to risk one's life to undertake it and bind oneself to the Taint.

The last scroll was disturbing to say the least. Hinata could scarcely bring herself to read it. Though that was likely a sign that it was useful. Maybe there was some in these writings. Something that could lead to a cure.

Footsteps that ring with the clink of metal-plated boots ascend the stairs and a head of blond hair pokes in from around the corner. But unlike before, Naruto's grin was nowhere to be found. "First Enchanter?"

"Yes, Naruto?" Hinata looks up from the scrolls, only to frown at Naruto's serious tone.

Naruto holds up a small scroll in his left hand, one far too small to be any sort of academic or official document. It was a missive. "A raven came. Sister Nightingale says that one of the healers traveling with the Grey Wardens was killed in a battle, so they're short a spirit healer a few days ride south-west of here. She says that she's sorry to take you away from your research, but she wants us to head down to their camp and fill the gap."

Hinata blinks. Whatever she had been expecting, that hadn't been it. "I see. Well, we can hardly ignore such an urgent summon." She sighs as she sets down the scroll. "Besides, we might learn something of use there."

A ghost of a smile returns to light up Naruto's face. "Alright, then you get packed and I'll carry whatever you wanna bring with us downstairs. We should be able to ride there in four or five days without running our horses into the ground."

"Very well." She nods at him. "I've always advised not running horses ragged."

"Great, then let me get some of that…" Naruto tilts his head slightly, frowning at the sight of the scroll emblazoned with a griffon. It only took a second, but he knew blood magic when he saw it. He was a Templar, after all, he was trained to find that shit.

But instead of freaking out about it, he just picks up the scroll, rolls it up, and tucks it under his arm. "You're gonna need this one, aren't ya?"

"I'm afraid that's possible." Hinata sighs and s hakes her head. "I wouldn't use it, but there might be a clue. I know well what happened when others tried to use it last time as a cure."

"Yeah…" Naruto had seen what went down at Adamant and he'd come out of it alright. Hell, he'd even knocked some sense into a couple of the Wardens there himself. He'd seen how desperate they were to save the world, even if it meant using blood magic. It was hard to blame them too much when their intentions were noble, even if their decisions were stupid. "Come on." He picks up a few more of the books and scrolls closest to Hinata. "Let's get outta here."

She smiles as she walks with him. "Yes, let's. This time we won't fail. We'll save them."

Naruto laughs and shoots the mage a lopsided, puppy-like grin. "You bet we will."