Shadow and Rose
by Lady Norbert
A/N: I'm a bit anxious to get through the Orzammar portion of the story, to be honest. I have a lot of what happens after that already written, but getting there will be a small challenge.
This chapter includes my absolute favorite line from Shale. I had to include it.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Aneirin's Token
This teardrop-shaped pendant is a chunk of dried sap on a length of twine. It's warm to the touch, and the same pale gold as the rising moon. While equipped, it augments Wynne's Vessel of the Spirit spell.
That the others were surprised by our excursion, I don't doubt. What they actually said about it, however, I have no idea. I wasn't there when Elissa gave them the news that they could expect our return in roughly three days' time, and that they should wait for us at the tavern and continue to keep an eye on Brother Genitivi. Shale remains inside his house, and Elissa paid for the lodgings of Sten, Morrigan, and Leliana in advance just to be on the safe side. I guess that pouch of gold she got from Sergeant Kylon came in very handy.
The official reason she says she gave to everyone else is that she wanted to check on the elves and make sure they didn't need anything else from us for the fulfillment of their treaty, like weapons or supplies. I'm betting that she made up that story mostly to appease Sten. He doesn't ever contest her decisions, but he still looks grumpy whenever she wants to do something that doesn't directly impact our quest to stop the Blight.
What I did find kind of funny is that she also didn't tell Wynne the real reason for the trip down to see the Dalish. I didn't realize that, though, until we were actually in their camp. The guards at the entrance to their settlement let us pass with only a few words of greeting; usually, from what I hear, they're not at all welcoming to humans (and with pretty good reason) so this was encouraging. Elissa approached a female elf whom she identified as Lanaya, the clan's Keeper - their leader, that is - and they exchanged a few polite words.
Next, she directed us to what looked like an elven smithy. She greeted the proprietor, or what I assumed to be the proprietor, as Master Varathorn and spoke to him for several minutes about the clan's weaponry needs. I was only slightly paying attention, since I was pretty distracted by looking around, but I did hear him mention to her a substance called ironbark.
After Elissa had finished with the weapons master, she led our group to where several wooden benches encircled a campfire. A male elf was apparently telling stories to some of the children and a few others. He looked up in surprise at our approach. "Ana tishan, Grey Warden," he said. (I have no idea if I spelled that right, that's just how it sounded.) "We did not expect to meet you again before the battle. Come and join us, if you will."
"Greetings to you, Hahren Sarel," she replied. She sat down on the bench beside him. Wynne and Zevran took seats on the bench next to hers, and Toby and I both flopped down at her feet. (My biggest problem with the Theirin armor is that it doesn't lend itself very well to sitting on furniture.) "Allow me to present some of my friends whom you did not meet on my earlier visit - this is Alistair, my fellow Grey Warden, and Zevran, and Wynne of the Circle of Magi. This is Sarel, the clan's hahren, or lorekeeper."
"You are welcome, then, as friends of the Warden." His tone was very civil, but he didn't smile. He eyed Zevran. "You keep an elf in your company, do you?"
"Zevran came to us from Antiva," she explained. "But his mother was Dalish, so I thought he might like to visit your camp for a bit as we continue preparations."
"Very well. What may we do for you?"
"I mean to go into the forest to gather some ironbark for Master Varathorn. But before I do, I was wondering if you would be able to give us any information about an elf named Aneirin."
Wynne looked shocked. "Elissa - that's kind of you to ask, but I really don't think he can possibly still be alive."
"Do you mean Aneirin the healer?" asked another elf.
"Surely it must be another of the same name -"
"There is only one Aneirin that I know," the female insisted. She gave us some directions; Aneirin, she said, doesn't like to belong with a clan. He prefers to live in the wild among the trees and the animals. But he's also a gifted healer who would never deny anyone who came to him in pain, and he sometimes visits the different Dalish clans to help them when they need it. So off we went into the forest, to try to find him.
"Why didn't you tell me this was the reason you wanted to come?" Wynne asked, once we were out of the Dalish camp.
"Because I figured you would try to talk me out of it," Elissa replied sweetly. "It's not much, Wynne, but I can do this much for you."
"Not much, she says!"
Elissa just smiled, and we continued following the directions we'd been given. After maybe a quarter of an hour of hiking in relative silence - I can't speak for the others, but I was admiring the forest - she had us pause by a fallen tree near the stream that flows through the woods. "This is the ironbark that Master Varathorn mentioned."
"And what is ironbark?" Zevran wanted to know. He'd been pretty quiet up to that point, although I'm not entirely sure why.
"It's a special kind of wood that the elves use to make armor and shields," she said. "It's sort of petrified. I don't know too much more than that, but we'll take some back for him and let him know where he can send scouts to collect more."
She continued leading us through the woods, and considering the fact that she'd only been there once before (though I have to admit I don't know for how long), I was kind of amazed at how well she remembered the layout of the paths. She showed us the ruins where Zathrian and Witherfang had had their final confrontation, which I could recognize as being old Tevinter structures. Did they have some kind of city in the forest at one time? I should look that up, sometime. She also showed us some of the places where they'd acquired the pieces of armor they brought back for Sten. They'd had to fight four Revenants to get the whole set - four! Revenants are evil spirits bound to a particular object, and they can be nasty pieces of work. Fighting one can exhaust a seasoned warrior for hours.
As we stepped into a clearing, Wynne gave a little cry of recognition. An elf with facial markings, tattoos like Zevran's I guess, was gathering medicinal herbs. He stood up and turned around when he heard us approach.
"Aneirin?"
"Wynne?" He stared at her face. "It is you."
Elissa nudged Zevran and me, and we fell back a little in order to let the two of them converse more privately. Some of their words carried to us where we stood; Wynne apologized for having been such a bad teacher, and Aneirin assured her that he bore her no ill will and was even grateful for what she had taught him during his time in the Circle. He took some gold-colored pendant from around his neck and gave it to her, and although he advised us not to linger in the forest, he did send us off with some gifts of the herbs he'd been gathering.
Took a rest there. Hand cramp.
Anyway, we got back to camp and thanked Sarel and his friend for their help in finding Anerin. Elissa gave the ironbark to Master Varathorn, and told him where more could be found. He offered to construct a shield for her as a token of gratitude, but she shook her head. "Use it for the good of your clan."
"You are the most generous shemlen ever to cross my path, Grey Warden. May the Creators bless and guide you on your way." Shemlen, according to Elissa, is the Dalish word for a human. Apart from bidding farewell to some of the particular elves she'd met on her previous visit, she didn't say anything else until we were out of their encampment, and on our way back to Denerim.
"Well, Zevran, what did you think of the Dales?"
"They are much like what I had heard," he acknowledged. "Given the chance, I cannot say that I would mind spending a few days among them. It would be interesting to hear their history from their own point of view."
"I can assure you that it is - I heard much from Hahren Sarel on the subject. Perhaps when this is all over, we can arrange for you to spend some more time with them."
The two of them walked a little ahead, with Elissa telling Zevran some of the things she'd learned during her previous visit to the clan. I walked beside Wynne, who had a sort of relaxed, peaceful look on her face. "I never expected, when I told Elissa about Aneirin, that she would go to such lengths," she admitted. "I am deeply grateful."
"Was what you did so terrible, that you carried guilt all this time?"
"I blamed myself for his fate. I was hard on him - too hard. I was young and inexperienced at teaching, and when he left because of me, I realized just how badly I'd done. But he says he did learn a great deal from me, and he has good memories of his time in the tower. More than anything, I'm happy to know that he didn't die at the hands of the Templars, and that he's now leading a life where he feels content. That discovery has erased a great deal of pain for me." She sighed, and smiled. "Our fearless leader certainly is full of surprises."
"She is that."
"I think you make her very happy," Wynne added.
"Oh, no, not again." We'd had a conversation along those lines once before, in which she tried to explain to me where babies come from purely for the chance to make me blush. "I'm ready for you. Do your worst."
"What? You make her happy. This may not last, in the face of all that is to come; therefore, my advice to you is that you cherish every moment. That's all."
"That's all? No teasing? No pinching my cheeks?"
"No, that's all."
I hesitated. "Not even pinching my cheeks just a little?"
She laughed. "Well, if you insist."
We returned to Denerim to find that all has been quiet in our absence, so at first light we will strike out for Orzammar. We bade farewell to Brother Genitivi this evening; he seems to be improving, though still saddened by the loss of his assistant. Understandable. He thanked us again and again for the rescue, and presented Elissa with a small pile of books to add to the library at Soldier's Peak.
She sent them off almost immediately with Bodahn Feddic, who will not be accompanying us to Orzammar. I was a little surprised by that, but apparently he, as a "surface dwarf," isn't really allowed in there anymore. That, and something to do with his having been accused of theft once upon a time. He told the whole story to Elissa one night, but in general he doesn't like to talk about it. So he and Sandal are on their way back to the fortress, and they'll await us outside of the gates of Orzammar. According to Bodahn, there are several surface dwarves who have little merchant stalls set up near the gates, and this is acceptable practice; they're allowed to trade with merchant dwarves inside Orzammar as well as with any humans (or elves, I assume) who make their way through the mountains.
Before he left, Elissa purchased a bunch of colorful rocks from him. I didn't understand what she was doing until she approached Shale, who has rejoined our company, and asked, "Can you tell me how to add them to you?"
"It has found some augmentation crystals!" Shale actually sounded pleased. "I am surprised it remembered our conversation about them. Well done." The golem directed Elissa in how to add the stones to its exterior.
"What are they?" I couldn't help asking.
"Augmentation crystals. They allow me to manipulate the flow of magic around me," Shale replied with a funny look of importance. "It does not need to know the details. Suffice it to say that the crystals will make me even more effective in battle, which is all it needs to understand. Well?" It turned this way and that for a few seconds. "They don't make me look wider, do they? I find I'm quite wide enough as it is."
"Oh, I think they're pretty," Elissa replied with a smile.
"I agree," Shale admitted. "I do so adore them!"
Maybe Elissa's right; maybe Shale is female. Deep down. Underneath all the rock. Somewhere. In any case, I had better get some sleep if I want to be able to get up at the appointed hour.