38. The Caged Qunari

That afternoon, the Wardens and their rather attractive duo of camp followers staked out a camping spot in a clearing, slightly outside the city of refugee tents. All the while, Garott derived no end of amusement from the way the Dalish elf was glaring at the newest of their number.

Meila's stony façade had gained a couple cracks since their first encounter, the elf warming to the other Wardens until most of them received a lukewarm response from her most of the time, with perhaps a few degrees in either direction depending on whether you asked her intrusive questions about her people (solely Felicity, at this point) or did something she disapproved of.

However, this Leliana girl was obviously categorized back under 'shemlen' in the elf's mind: an unfamiliar outsider who was to be mistrusted and subtly blamed for everything that had ever happened to the elves.

Thus, Garott's amusement.

The Wardens were getting quite practiced at setting up camp by now, even the ones who had never had occasion to do so in their previous lives. As was usual, Meila proved the most adept at finding the perfect spots to pitch the tents and dig the firepit. Between her direction, and the combined efforts of Percival, Marnan, and himself, they managed to get the tents erected. This was in spite of the fact that Alistair had his hands full with Finian, who was crashing fast. The pickpocket slumped against the ex-Templar, his injured leg completely limp; he seemed to have trouble keeping his eyes open.

Finally, once the cluster of their tents had been arranged around the small site, Alistair ducked into one of the tents and eased Finian onto a bedroll. Felicity scurried in after them.

"Morrigan," she called, "you should come help me take a look at Fin. It'll be a wonderful learning opportunity!"

"Exciting indeed," Morrigan said with a roll of her eyes. Even so, she sashayed her way over to the tent and followed the healer in.

Alistair settled outside the tent with a sigh. "Well, this has been an exhausting day. Anyone else think Fin has the right idea of it?"

"What," Garott said with a smirk, "laying in a tent with two young, attractive women tending to his needs? If only we could all be so lucky."

Alistair's eyes widened and his face went red. However, Percy, Kazar, and (surprisingly) Leliana all laughed.

Marnan gave Garott an incredulous look. "You have a thing for human mages, then?"

Garott shrugged and grinned. "Apparently."

"If it is all the same," Meila said, shouldering her quiver. "I would prefer not to idle about camp when there are things to be done."

"Let me guess…" Alistair said sarcastically. "You want to run off into the woods and go hunting?"

She gave him that ice bitch look of hers. "The humans in the town lack for food, correct? It was my duty in my clan to provide. I see no reason that the shemlen here should not benefit from that."

Alistair looked genuinely shocked. "Is… is that why you kept bringing all those animals to the Ostagar camp?"

She turned from him without answering. "If any of you wish to come along, feel free."

"I think I will," Percival said with a sigh, gathering his shield from where he'd set it. "If only to help you carry your kills. It will help keep my mind off… things, at the least."

Meila nodded and walked off into the woods. Percival trotted out after her.

Marnan sighed. "I must admit. I don't like the idea of sitting around doing nothing, either." She paused and turned to Leliana. "Perhaps now would be a good time to familiarize ourselves with the town. Do you mind?"

"You want a tour, yes?" Leliana grinned. "I will be happy to show you around. Anyone else want to come?"

"Pass," Alistair said, dropping back into the dirt.

"I wouldn't mind scoping the place out," Garott said, and grinned at the sour expression Marnan cast him.

"Sure, whatever," Kazar huffed. "Better than staying in camp alone with this idiot."

"Ooh, upgraded from 'Templar,' am I? Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy."

"Shut up, Templar."

"Aaaand there it is."

Garott was chuckling as the four of them headed out, winding their way back toward the town proper. Leliana immediately began expounding upon the history of the town (something about trade routes), but Garott tuned her out. Instead, as they wandered through the village, he was studying the town itself.

The Grey Warden recruits had passed through Lothering on the way from the Mage Tower to Ostagar, but they'd only stayed long enough to spend the night at the inn. Garott hadn't had the chance to properly case the town. And with so much chaos and only a handful of Templars keeping order, any given residence wouldn't have been hard to burglarize.

Not that Garott thought doing so would actually be worth it… not now, when everyone was selling their earthly possessions just to feed themselves. Still, old habits died hard.

"Do people actually live like this?" Kazar asked, squinting around at the admittedly unimpressive houses.

"If you think this is bad," Garott said, "I should bring you to my part of Orzammar sometime."

He saw Marnan glance back from where she walked beside the human.

"What? And get robbed as soon as I stepped in? No thanks."

Garott chuckled, because the elf had the right of it.

"You are from Orzammar, then?" Leliana asked. The four of them had stopped in a narrow avenue among the houses. Refugees still clogged the streets, but not as much as the main thoroughfares.

"Marnan and me both. Where else would a dwarf come from?"

Leliana shrugged. "The ones I've met in Orlais all grew up on the surface. I've never known one that actually came from underground. But now it seems I know two!"

"It is hardly something to get excited about," Marnan said, frowning up at the human. "You speak of us as if we are some novelty."

"Oh, sorry! I meant no offense."

Marnan sighed. "No, I'm being unfair. It has just been a… grating day."

Garott arched an eyebrow at her. "You still upset about the elf?" At Kazar's hiss, Garott amended, "The other elf."

Marnan looked away, then snapped back, her face heating up. "I would not expect you to understand, Brosca. However, in my part of Orzammar, talking people into doing things that will ultimately be their undoing is practically a sport. Far more than the Provings. It's despicable… and I'd thought I'd left that all behind!"

"No, no. I get it." Garott rubbed his hands over his corn-rows, remembering his own first impressions of the elf. "I knew someone a little like that, too. My boss, actually. Could talk a snake into eating its own tail."

"And yet Finian does not bother you?"

"Of course he does." Garott shrugged. "I sniffed out the elf's puppeteering ways before you did. But the thing is, I don't think he knows his own power. He doesn't know he's being manipulative."

"How can he not know?!" Marnan cried.

"Same way Felicity doesn't know how nosy her questions can get, and Kazar doesn't get how nuts he sounds when he laughs mid-battle."

"Hey! I'm right here!"

"People don't see themselves clearly. It's up to everyone else to shine a mirror on 'em"

Marnan eyed him. "That is… surprisingly astute."

He smirked. "What, for a piece of casteless scum?"

She paused, then sighed and looked away. "I was going to say 'for a thug', but I suppose I would have meant the same thing." She turned back to Garott. "I take your point. Mirror reflected. I suspect I owe you an apology for all—"

He waved her off. "Nah. I don't need it. Besides, if you apologized, then I might have to too. And we both know that ain't gonna happen."

He swore he saw the beginnings of a smile spark across her face before she turned away. Then, she started back through town, and the other three followed. Leliana was looking between them with an eerily knowing smile, and Kazar just looked bored. Not enough burning things for his taste, probably.

They resumed their tour of the village, and Garott followed in silent thought until they reached the edge of towm opposite the refugee camps. There, he spotted something that made him pause and move in for a closer look.

"What is that thing?" Kazar asked, obviously spotting it too.

"A Qunari," Garott grunted distractedly, moving up to stand in front of the cage. The other three followed him, all while the large man inside looked at them flatly. "They make damn fearsome fighters. My boss used to keep a couple Qunari mercenaries on hand, for when heads really needed busting."

Marnan turned to Leliana. "Why is he in this cage?"

"The Revered Mother said he murdered a whole family, even the children." Marnan's face, of course, showed only horror at the thought.

Garott, however, was intrigued. He turned back to the Qunari and asked curiously, "Did you do it?"

At first, it didn't seem the creature would answer. Then: "Yes." Flat. Matter-of-fact.

"That is all we need to know, then," Marnan said, and made to leave. However, Leliana, of all people, stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"He is to be left here, to the mercy of the darkspawn. No one deserves that… not even a murderer."

Garott chuckled. "Glad to hear you say that, lay sister." Then, he turned his attention back to the cage. He ran his hand along a metal bar, feeling the familiar chill of it. "You know, I was stuck in a cage once. Spent three days there before I broke me and my buddy out. Not for murdering a family, but the way everyone acted, defiling the Proving was just about even with it."

"Defiling the…" Marnan's shocked voice said. "That was you? You are the duster who defeated the Warrior caste's best?"

"Damn straight, princess," Garott laughed. "And I don't regret a moment of it."

Marnan was silent for a moment. "I honestly regret that I missed seeing that fight."

He was surprised by the words, but chose not to acknowledge them until he could analyze them a bit more. Instead, he turned his face up to the Qunari.

"So, do you want out?"

"No."

Again, Garott was surprised. He'd never known a convict who didn't jump at the chance at freedom. "What?"

"No. This is my atonement."

"You mean…" Kazar said quizzically, "…you're sorry for what you did?"

"No. Such feelings serve no purpose."

Kazar stared at the Qunari, his eyes narrowing. "You're weird."

Garott, however, could feel those gears in his own head turning, a plan hatching. "So you want to atone. What if there was another way, besides starving in a cage or being torn apart by darkspawn?"

The Qunari just looked at him, but didn't shoot him down. Garott decided to take that as a good sign.

"See, we're Grey Wardens trying to stop the Blight. And we kinda need every sword we can get at this point. What do you say?"

The Qunari looked at him flatly for a moment. "I had heard the Wardens were mighty warriors. Clearly, not all rumors are true."

"Oh, that's it." Kazar's hands lit with fire, but Marnan stepped between him and the cage.

"We are not warriors of legend, Qunari," Marnan said. "That is why we would have you join us."

At this one, Garott turned to her in surprise. "You agree with me, do you?"

She met his eyes flatly. "He expresses a desire to atone for his crimes. It is a point of honor that we should provide him with the opportunity to do so."

Garott smirked. To the Qunari, he said, "So, if we let you go, will you fight with us?"

"So be it," the Qunari said.

"You can't possibly trust him!" Kazar cried, hand still sparking.

Meanwhile, Garott slipped his picks out of his pack and started tinkering with the cage lock.

Marnan turned on the mage, lips pursed. "He wishes absolution for his wrongs. From what I've heard of your past, you wish no such thing."

Kazar's eyes narrowed on the princess. "What I did wasn't wrong."

"Precisely my point."

The tumblers slipped into place with a click, and the cage door swung open.

"So it is done," the Qunari said, stepping out. "You may call me Sten. You have freed me, and so I will fight with you against the darkspawn. That will be my atonement."

All his sentences were terse and direct. However, Garott wasn't interested in someone friendly, like this Leliana woman. They needed strength and power, and a Qunari could deliver that in spades.

Though first, he supposed, they'd have to get both of them some gear.