CHAPTER 24: RETURN TO CALMER TIMES
I'm pretty sure I manged to run a giant hole into the ground with as much pacing back and forth that I had done within the last few hours. The fighting had gotten worse a little while after Fenris and Solona left, and the guards pushed everyone back into a storage building. It looked to be for weapons and armor from what had been drug out in the haste to block off extra doors. Most of us had been shut off into one of the small underground rooms just in case.
And by that point it was a little hard to continue my frantic pacing.
It smelled. There was a major lack of airflow. It was cramped, someone had been standing on my foot for the last fifteen minutes. An elbow shoved up into my armpit several times and I can't really be sure who's it was out of the lot packed in here like sardines with me.
What would really make this so much better is if someone farted. It would be like the great elevator fiasco of '04 all over again. Damn I'd forgotten how much of an ass my dad is in crowded places... anyway...
All I could really do was bang my head against the wall in hopes that it would all be over soon. It wasn't over as soon as I would have liked, but when it did end everyone walked out like they hadn't seen the sun in their entire life. I admit I was among that category. There were so many people standing around with their mouths hanging open like fish out of water it was unreal.
Of course it didn't help that the entire street had collapsed building parts and littered with corpses. As if the site wasn't enough the smell was rancid. I have never smelled a burning corpse before until today. Why do all my creepy and unnatural firsts have to happen in weird bursts?
I wasn't really sure what to do, I couldn't see Leandra anywhere or Bodahn and Sandal. Relatively speaking the entire area was a ghost town. There were a few guards helping one another and civilians out, but other than that I couldn't find anyone I knew. Did all of them go to help Garrett or what? What even happened to Varric and Leandra, damn I hope they're alright. Well I know Varric will be fine, but I sure hope Leandra kept up with him better than I had.
With the amount of people dead I can only pray that no one I knew was among them.
The entire city looked so different, I can't be sure if I can even find my way back to the Estate in the disarray the place is in. Or if the building is still even standing in the first place. I didn't know what to do other than just wander aimlessly up and down the street until someone came up to me to see what was going on. That wasn't likely to happen though, everyone else was to busy doing the same thing I was. No one knew what to do or where to go.
This day could not get any worse.
"Excuse me child. I couldn't help but notice you wandering around." I looked around until I found an elderly looking man standing behind me. "Child you look positively frightened." He held a hand out to place under my chin. He had short slicked back gray hair with a receding hairline. The bushiness of his beard only addled my brain. Why was it old men almost always couldn't keep a hair on their head but it grew in abundance on their chin. What did it just migrate from there to make a beard or something? Was it some kind of right of passage?
"Well I would have to be a bit touched in the head to not be scared." He gave a little laugh at my statement but didn't remove his hand from my chin; and drew closer to me much to close for comfort.
"Perhaps." He finally took the hint when I gave him the stink eye and stood back at a less awkward distance. "Where is your family child?" What's up with this dude? Seriously what is wrong with him. Must be a thing with getting old or something... you become a creep and call everyone else out on their age because you're jealous or something.
I watched his eyebrow raise at my continued silence.
"What is your name dear?"
For some reason the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. "Valerie..." I hesitated for a second. "Hawke." I blurted out without thinking.
"Hawke? Where have I heard that name before?" He asked more to himself than to me as he brought a hand to his chin to play around with his beard.
"Garrett Hawke, he's my brother." For some reason I felt the need to continue the lie. The man's eyes got wide for a second and he gave an 'ah' noise. "Well I better go find him... if I know his temper he's sure to be mad that I left our mother."
"Here come walk with me. We shall find them together." He smiled literally from ear to ear. I don't think I've ever met anyone who could smile so wide. Speaking of ears, his looked pointed. Not enough to really think that he was an elf or anything, but it was just noticeable. Maybe it's like some kind of gang initiation or something. Yeah right, what was I thinking, he's just a kind old man trying to be helpful. Good job Valerie way to look like an asshole all over again. "What does your brother look like?"
"A bear." I grimaced and the old man chuckled.
"Then I shall keep my eyes out for such a creature." I smiled and shook my head. Garrett really didn't look like a bear, well at least all of the time. Only when he was angry. Which was pretty much constantly.
"They really did a number on this place huh."
"It would appear so."
I looked around noticing that there weren't as many people flitting around the street anymore. "Hey shouldn't we be looking over that way?"
"You mentioned he was in the Keep, the boats are this way."
"Makes sense." I shrugged, wait I never mentioned anything about the Keep to him. I glanced over at the old man from the corner of my eyes. He was still smiling, but something felt wrong. And by now I've learned to trust my instincts.
Something certainly wasn't right with this picture.
"You know what. I think I should just go back to the Estate." I tried to pull my arm loose from his grip but he held on tightly. It wasn't much of a tug, but it should have been more than enough to pull it from an old man's grasp. "They probably went back to wait there. Seems like the better idea than wandering around aimlessly."
"We are nearly there child. We can ask the guards there if they seen him." The air of uncertainty stung so clearly that it hurt.
Something told me to run, and not look back. That little voice in the back of my head spoke so clearly, and the urgency behind it was obvious.
"Ah here we are." He said as we came to a clearing. Guards and Templars were rushing about the area pulling people from collapsed buildings and pushing back the last of the giant gray people.
Maybe I had the old man pegged wrong. I could see Garrett off in the distance, and Anders is with him. "I see my brother. Thanks for helping me." I smiled but he still wouldn't let me go.
"I shall see you to him, if that is alright with you."
"Sure..." I looked back over at Garrett and Anders. The two hadn't really gone anywhere. Anders was the first to take notice of me and my 'friend'.
"Valerie, are you hurt?" The old man kept his grip on me even as Anders ran over to us. I shook my head as the mage looked me over several times. Garrett came up slowly behind him, he looked run ragged.
"No, I'm fine. Fenris helped me earlier." Anders eyes narrowed at the mention of the elfs name, and the hand on my arm tightened. When I looked over at the man he took my hand and pat it. "Who are you?" Anders slowly reached his hand out to pull me to his side.
"I am but a passing old man who couldn't let such a charming young lady wander these streets alone. You will never remember my name." He waved Anders off giving a smile as he did.
"I see." Anders hugged me into his side pressing me to tightly against the many belts he thought were fashionable to wear.
Garrett had finally by this point in time made his way over to us. He gave me a glance before he turned to the old man. "I suppose you will want a reward..." I could tell that Garrett wasn't in the mood for any kind of games. Not that he ever was in the first place.
The old man looked appalled. "No no, I need not coin for this deed. If we do not help each other in such a time of need we are no more than animals."
"Then my thanks will have to do." He stuck his hand out in offering to the old man who took it gingerly in his own giving a light shake.
"Take great care of your dear sister, Messere Hawke. You don't know just how precious she is until you lose her."
Garrett released the other mans hand rather forcefully, thoughts of his real sister going through his mind. I hadn't meant to try and take her place. Something just didn't feel right with the old man. I panicked. He turned around and sashayed away from us. I didn't know old men could move like that, talk about weird.
"Anders... you can let go now." His head snapped between me and watching the old man vanish into the crowd of people. He looked so distrusting of the other man that it had me wondering just what in the world was going through his head. Then he smiled warmly like he always did.
"I am glad you're safe." He ruffled my hair earning a light slap from me. He backed away muttering how he was going to help out the injured and left me under Garrett's protection.
I don't know what made me turn to look at him and give him a sheepish laugh and shrug my shoulders. Maybe it was the fact that he was bound to be pissed that I had said I was his sister. When that was as far from any truth out there.
"So ugh, how did your plan work out?"
"I killed him." He said oh so casually as if he was just talking about what he had for lunch.
"Right."
"Varric said he lost you in the chaos." Garrett uncrossed his arms as he looked everywhere but toward me.
I gave a little snort. "Yeah, thought I was a goner back there." At least by now I could laugh about it, and try not to have another total breakdown. "You know you can't get rid of me that easily right." I playfully knocked him on the shoulder.
I nearly bit my tongue off when Garrett suddenly grabbed me. "How can someone so small cause so much commotion." He said with his face buried in my hair.
It wasn't like I totally planned all of this to happen. "It's not like I just wake up and say 'hey someone try to kill me today, I'm bored."