It doesn't hurt, does it? I'm trying to be merciful. I sharpened it all morning. The sharp blade makes a clean cut with very little pain. You will die, of course. Slowly. But not painfully. Like falling asleep. Are you comfortable? Silly question, I suppose. The straps aren't too tight? Just shake your head, my friend... Not too much, you'll make a mess. Good. They are coming, you know. It will be too late for you, but they are coming. And I need you to be ready for them.

A day's trek north of Cumberland was a small village with a cozy inn. It was painted a calm blue, in the Nevarran style of painting everything in bright colors. The inn sat beside the main road, and the placement of two half open windows on the western face gave it a bored expression as it watched the setting sun.

The morning had begun outside the city gates where the bodies were found. Nathaniel pointed out spots of blood, some scratches in the dirt. Her victims didn't walk there, he concluded. They were deposited there by someone else.

So the party pushed north, Paien at the lead in shining armor with a massive blade on his back, Vash taking up the rear with a bag of supplies and little dagger at his hip. As they approached the little village, a pair of boys playing on the road stopped in their tracks, stared in disbelief at the kossith, and then turned to run back into the heart of the village.

"We'll stop here," Paien said. "Spread out and ask the villagers if anyone has seen her."

Every one of them had memorized Sabinia's description by the time they reached the village. Every merchant or pilgrim on the road was stopped and grilled by Paien. Tall and lean with brown eyes and long silver hair, carrying a staff of ebonywood with silver inlay and cloudy purple crystal.

Vash squinted into the side street where the two boys disappeared, the frown on his face deepening. "I will remain here," he said at last, crossing his arms and leaning against the blue wall of the inn. On the other side of a low wooden fence that surrounded the town, a pair of chatting farmers fell silent and stared at him.

"Yes, that's probably wise," Elissa nodded. It was probably wise to keep him company, as well, from the looks those farmers were giving him.

The kossith had been almost perfectly silent for the day's march. Sten had never been terribly chatty, either. She was certainly curious about her new travelling companion. She'd encountered her share of Tal Vashoth, the violent mercenaries who rejected the Qunari philosophy. This kossith insisted he was simply Vashoth. If she remembered her talks with Sten correctly, this simply meant he was not a warrior.

Paien, Lindise, and Alistair slipped into the village, while Nathaniel popped into the inn.

Elissa crossed her arms and leaned against the wall beside him. "Have you been out of Qunari lands for very long?"

Vash nodded his large, horned head. "I have."

Typical chatty Qunari. "What made you want to leave?"

He turned his head to look down at her. "Many things, the last of which was a very comfortable looking ship."

Elissa let out a chuckle and shook her head, "Your people are a frustrating lot."

"You have met my kind before."

"I travelled with a Qunari. Sten."

"A Sten," Vash's thick brows lifted in surprise. "Not a Tal Vashoth. Interesting. It is from him you learned about the Qun?"

"Only a little. He wasn't terribly forthcoming." She rested a hand on the pommel of her sword, looking past Vash into the village. The two farmers had been joined by three more men, all whispering to one another and keeping a close eye on the kossith.

Vash frowned at her words, staring at the dirt a few moments before looking back at her face. "I left Kont-aar when I was fifteen. I was raised by Tamassrans beside the sea and would often see Rivaini merchants sail into port. While my brothers and sisters were disgusted by them, I was intrigued. They were so different from everything I had ever known. Loud, chaotic, obnoxious, passionate, and joyful. When I was twelve, I was assigned to the Ben-Hassrath. For a very short time, I worked in the viddathlok, a temple of healing and indoctrination. It was there that I met more people like those Rivaini, and while I was meant to convert them, my weakness, my doubt, my curiosity, my empathy caused the Qun to withdraw from me." He stopped, tilting his head towards the men on the other side of the gate, "There are ten of them now."

Elissa blinked at him, and then leaned to the side to look over at the farmers. The little band had doubled while she was engrossed in his story. She took a few steps forward, placing herself between Vash and the crowd. "I don't think they've seen one of your kind before…"

"My mere presence does tend to offend some people…"

The Wardens began to reappear, gathering one by one outside the inn where they had first separated. Nathaniel was the last to return, jogging out of the inn. "She was here," he said.

Paien turned to Nathaniel, brows lifted, "When?"

"Two days ago. The innkeeper said she came in very late and was given a room. She disappeared early the next morning." He paused, glancing at the other Wardens, then back to Paien. "There was also a body."

Elissa let out a hiss, shaking her head and rubbing the back of her neck. She glanced back at the growing crowd. Their rumbling was getting louder, and she could see light glinting off daggers in some of their hands.

"Who?" Vash asked.

"One of the barmaids. They found her dead with a slit throat behind the woodpile several hours after Sabinia left. I don't think they put the two events together." Nathaniel's gaze settled on Paien, "She has changed her appearance. The innkeep said she did not have silver hair, but black. But she was carrying the staff you described."

Alistair grimaced at the increasingly agitated crowd and cleared his throat, "You know... one of the locals I talked to asked me if Wardens also hunt vampires."

"Vampires?" Paien glanced over at him and let out a snort, "Maker, these backwoods people are thick."

"A popular legend in this area," Vash said in his low voice. "Monstrous creatures that come out only at night to-" He stopped suddenly, head turning to the side with a loud thwack. His gold eyes blinked in shock, hand lifting to rest against his temple. His fingers came away bloody.

The crowd of villagers had grown to twenty men, shouting, "Monster! Kill the creature!" A few of the men had begun to gather up more rocks, encouraged by the first stone to strike its target.

Alistair sighed, pulling his shield from his back and stepping in front of Vash and Lindise. "And I was looking forward to sleeping in a bed tonight."

Paien stepped forward quickly and held his hands up, "Calm yourselves! We are not your enemies!" Rocks and stones pinged off his armor, and he was forced to back away.

Lindise scowled, stepping away from Alistair, and swept her arm out in an arc. The rocks began to tumble from the villager's hands and roll away of their own accord. But by now swords and bows began to appear as well, and Alistair had to raise his shield quickly to catch an arrow headed towards Vash's heart.

Vash winced and ducked, gritting his teeth. "Kossith do not drink blood."

Nathaniel danced backwards, knocking an arrow into his bow, while Elissa stood beside Paien and called out, "The qunari is helping us hunt the blood mage who did this!"

"Vashoth!"

"I'm not going to explain the difference to them right now, Vash!"

Words did nothing to calm the crowd. Emboldened by drawing the first drop of blood, they began to surge forward. Paien pulled out his massive blade and tried to push them back with the flat of it. Alistair stepped forward, pushing with his shield.

"We have the information we stopped for," Nathaniel shouted, "we should just leave!"

"Go! Run, get him out of here!" Elissa shouted back.

Nathaniel grabbed Vash by the elbow, hauling him up the road, away from the town. Lindise stepped around them and swept her arms upward.

Elissa was knocked back on her rear and looked up to see a large wall of dirt had sprung up between them and the villagers. Alistair grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet, "Come on!"

She ran with him, holding his hand tightly, as Lindise stood firm, weaving magic to keep obstacles between the Wardens and the angry mob. Those who got around or over the wall were pushed back with a strong wind. Others found patches of sticky mud appearing under their feet that made it impossible to run. Lindise was beginning to draw together dirt and stone into something resembling a massive human form when Paien grabbed her about her middle, slung her over his shoulder, and took off running after the others.

Arrows struck the dirt in their wake, but under the assault of dirt, mud, and wind, the mob eventually fell back and retreated. Lindise continued to cast spells from over Paien's shoulder until the last villager disappeared from the road and into the darkening twilight. She let out a swoon and fell limp, utterly drained.

Paien grimaced and staggered under her dead weight. He threw a look over his empty shoulder, "I think they've given up the chase."

Alistair finally released Elissa's hand and stopped. He rested his hands on his knees, hanging his head as he huffed to catch his breath. "I think I saw a few pitchforks. Anyone else see pitchforks?"

"They were afraid," Vash said as he flicked open his pack and withdrew a little blue bottle. "Fear causes people to behave in irrational ways."

"That barmaid's death must have been truly grisly for that sort of reaction." Nathaniel leaned against a fence post. "I assume this means we are making camp in the dark."

Paien motioned to Alistair to help him with Lindise. They sat her on a rock with care while Vash parted her lips to give her a dose of lyrium. She watched with some fascination how gentle his huge hands were, and how he gingerly he swept away a drop of the potion that dribbled down her chin.

Lindise groaned and seemed to regain herself. "Are they gone?"

Paien nodded to her, "Can you stand?" She nodded back and he pulled her to her feet.

"We'll want to get far from the road," Nathaniel said, squinting off into the distance. "Small fire, one that can't be easily seen." He motioned out into the darkness, "Let's try that way."

Alistair grumbled faintly to himself, but picked up Lindise's bag. "Let's get a move on, then. It's warmer up here than in Ferelden, but I'm sure the night will still be cold."

It was a long walk, stumbling in darkness away from the main road before Paien decided they had walked far enough. They were surrounded by tall grasses and strange thin trees. Nathaniel dug a firepit, and while Alistair dug through his pack for a tinderbox, Lindise rubbed her forefinger and thumb together to produce sparks from thin air. Elissa pitched their few tents, and Paien disappeared into one of them, insisting he would take the second watch.

The party sat huddled around the tiny flame in the unfamiliar darkness, waiting for the morning light or for an ambush, whichever came first. As it turned out, morning was first to arrive. The ambush came soon after.

(Chapter 13 on Friday the 13th. We'll pretend I planned that. I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who has commented and subscribed. Your comments keep me writing! Magical thanks to Snowhelm, LifeandFire25, Wedger, Nat2, CreatedInFyre7, Barbara, Trilobiter, and Candor's Bane. You are wonderful.)