Needless to say I am confused about the past tense of the word 'latch'. Also slightly late, slept in til eleven sooo… yay?
We three Viscounts of the Free Marches are bearing gifts we traverse afar. Field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder massive ass hole in the sky.
When the Inquisition was formed it wasn't the first time that Solas and Audra had met and the Wintersend with the inquisition wasn't her first, sometimes she called it something else, however her most memorable Wintersend was the one without her family and without the Clan she had so graciously been allowed into.
She sat at a table in the corner of the tavern, she was the only one in the room other than the barmaid and a drunk passed out across the room. A candle was burning low in the middle of her little table, she sipped the wine she had bought, not as strong as she was used to but it was sweet. A small treat for herself.
She fiddled wither necklace, it was simple in design yet distinctly Dalish, the snakes of her Vallaslin trailed even down to her finger tips, she frowned at the memory of how she had gotten these marks, but now was not the time to ponder on ages past. She dropped some silver on the table grabbed her coat and left the tavern. It was rain, but it was always rain or snow in this part of Fereldan. She drew her hood up and over her hair; she jogged quickly through the streets, hoping to reach the barn that she had convinced the owner to so kindly let her stay in for the night.
She passed a few houses light up like a lantern, no doubt families celebrating their good fortune. She scoffed to herself and continued on; she soon reached the barn and entered through a small side door she latched the door closed. There were a few horses in the barn, and a few chickens other than that it was just her. She set her coat down on a hay bale; she searched through her satchel for the bottle of wine she had purchased at the tavern. Set it down on the hay bale, and continued searching through it. From it she produced a blanket, a change of clothes and a brush. She undid the braid binding her hair and set to brushing out any knots or tangles that may have formed.
She started from the bottom like she usually did, except this time she didn't have the buzz of conversation around her, she didn't have the Second absently talking about the game their hunters had brought back or the hunter of the day who had caught her attention. She didn't have any of the children running up to her bringing plants or insects for her to identify. She didn't have the Keeper explaining what she knew of the ancient Elvhen, she didn't have the chance to ask her Keeper to tell her favourite legends again as though she were still a child.
She scowled, there was no need for this, events had to be set in place forwarded or stalled, she had to prepare. She threw the brush down and set to putting it back into a braid. She stripped off her shirt to address the bandage that desperately needed to be changed; she threw on her coat when she heard a knock at the side door. She unlatched the door and opened it, an elven man, a city elf by the looks of him for he wore no Vallaslin, stood at the door. He was miserably soaked by the rain.
"I… the farmer didn't tell me to expect anyone." Her eyes widened and she stepped back to allow him through, he nodded to her in thanks. He dropped his own coat over a hay bale opposite her own.
"I suppose he wouldn't have, he doesn't even know I'm here." She was shocked; she hadn't expected a city elf to disregard shemlen laws so easily, it was trespassing after all.
"He doesn't know you're here?" she asked plopping herself down on her hay bale, she crossed her legs.
"Why should he? He doesn't even actually own this barn himself either."
"I would have of expected this from a-" she began but he interrupted her.
"A flat-ear?" he raised an eyebrow, she pursed her lips.
"No, city elf, or so I assume you are." She corrected him. She dug around in her satchel for two mugs, she expected that he would be here for the night as well, she was glad of that. She didn't like the idea of spending the night alone in this barn. "What brings you here anyway? If you lived in this town you wouldn't be squatting in this barn with me." she set down the two mugs and poured wine into both of them, she handed one to him.
"I'm simply passing through, I've heard of some ruins nearby." He raised his eyebrows at the wine before tasting it. "Interesting choice."
"It was cheap." She shrugged sipping her own wine, "not as good as what I'm used to but it still has the same effect."
"What wine would you usually have?" she chewed on her lip before answering.
"The Keeper made something called Summer wine whenever we made camp in Orlais, it was amazing. It didn't take long for the hunters to be deep in their cups." She chortled "I remember when our Second would get positively pissed at her hunter of the day when they got drunk and tried to kiss her. The look on their faces when she retaliated." She laughed and smiled down into her drink. She drained the mug and set it down beside her, she fiddled with her braid.
"Why leave then?"he asked, her smiled slipped from her face.
"There are things that need to be done, and only I can do them. There's nothing more I can say, and I don't expect you to understand."
"I understand completely." He said softly, she rolled her shoulders and refilled their mugs.
It didn't take long for them to be well and truly drunk. Then they passed out.
When they woke up the next morning they both had throbbing headaches.
"Never drinking again" She whispered hoarsely, "that much I know for certain."
"Don't make promises you won't keep." The elven man whispered just as quietly as she.
..
The next Wintersend she had away from her clan was with Loke's family, in Orzammar. She had her staff close at hand, well and truly prepared to be attacked either by the Carta or some other duster. But she made her way through Dust town to Loke's home, she felt out of place in her elven mage armour all shiny chain mail and elegant designs. Loke greeted her at the door grinning, she grinned back.
"Good to see you, Salroka!" his voice was loud, but he was a loud person he was hard to miss but when he wanted to disappear he could just fade, almost become part of the wall itself. His voice drew curious eyes from nearby. Well, more than those that followed her because she was a surfacer in Dust town, not only that but an elven mage.
"Always nice to see good friends this time of year, Loke." He let her step inside she nodded graciously at him. A tiny dwarven child rushed towards her she bent down to pick him up, she balanced him on her hip.
"Orvil!" Loke scolded the child; Audra laughed and shook her head at her friend.
"Its fine, Loke, he's too young for we Dalish to boil and eat him. Yet." A dwarven woman then entered the room, her apron covered in what Audra assumed was flour, though it could have of been anything.
"Loke, is this…?" the woman trailed off looking inquisitively at Audra, Loke nodded and spoke.
"Yes, this is Audra, Audra my sister Hendra. Soon to be the next paragon!" he exclaimed proudly, Hendra rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"As much as he wishes I'm not going to end up a paragon, I'm just a noble hunter with a hobby of smithing for the Carta."
"You shouldn't doubt yourself, Hendra." Loke said, putting and arm around her shoulders. She took the child from Audra and led them into a kitchen and a dining room rolled into one. She sat the child down in a chair and motioned for Loke and Audra to sit as well.
"Please sit, everything will be ready shortly." Audra felt slightly overwhelmed; she hadn't expected to be welcomed so readily, she expected suspicion questions, that sort of thing. But this was just 'yep cool this isn't unusual at all'.
"So, Loke, have any special plans for Wintersend?" she asked, trying to make some form of conversation.
"Just spending time with family and you, Salroka, what would your clan do this time of year?"
"Frolic." She said, she had a wry smile, Loke laughed loudly.
"You're shitting me, right?"
"Of course I am! It's blasphemous to frolic on Wintersend." She said solemnly, she'd let him believe that for now.
"Loke! Are you swearing in fron of Orvil?" Loke swore under his breath
..
But her favourite Wintersend was with her clan, during Arlathvhen, with the Keeper, the hunters and the Second.
"Audra!" the Second, Sulahn, ran towards her pulling her hunter of the day behind her. Audra smiled, as she finished grabbing out all of the statues taking more care with the statue of Fen'Harel than the others. She loaded the last on onto the smaller wagon and waited for Sulahn to arrive.
"Sulahn, you were meant to… you're drunk aren't you?" Audra shook her head at Sulahn and waved her away, for which she looked grateful. Smiling she set up the statues, with no small help from her magic. She set out Fen'Harel's last, though she loathed to do so he was set out furthest away from the camp. She rested on the balls of her feet next to him for a few moments.
"Perhaps it won't always be like this." She whispered to the statue, petting it on the head and turning to rejoin the clan. She stood beside the Keeper who, once Audra had joined her, looked a bit sheepish about letting Sulahn drink.
The Keeper was a raven hair woman in her early fifties; she had dark eyes lined with even darker eye shadow and eyeliner. She put an arm around Audra's shoulders and hugged her close; the Keeper was always more of a mother than an actual Keeper to her. For that she was thankful.
"You shouldn't have let her off so easily, Da'len." The Keeper smiled at her and handed her a glass of her summer wine. She sipped it, and smiled, it was amazing but there was something different about it.
"Fen'Harel's teeth, you didn't actually put Elfroot in this?" she shook her head; Elfroot could easily be turned into a sedative if prepared like one would prepare tea or wine.
"I thought it would be interesting!" the Keeper laughed, before wandering off to converse with some of the hunters. Audra turned around when she felt someone or something tug on her robes. One of the children had actually managed to ride a wolf into the camp.
"I-I-I what?" she stuttered, more confused than ever, the girl simply grinned and hugged the large black wolf. Usually wolves reach somewhere below Audra's waist but this one was huge. Its head reached her elbows!
"I founded him!" the girl yelled happily, the wolf howled almost as if in agreement.
"Wha- Where did you find him, Da'len?" Audra's mouth quirked into a smile when the wolf sniffed and licked her arm, she ran a hand over its fur. Which was surprisingly soft and free of, well, anything.
"In the forest!" she slid down from the wolf's back, and hugged it.
"Wolves don't normally act like this, is it possessed, perhaps?" she whispered to herself, "Where in the forest Da'len?"
"Near ruins! But it was dark, and there were things in there." Audra winced; more than likely there were corpses, giant spiders and possibly bandits. Common inhabitants of ruins, sadly.
"Where exactly in the forest?" the child smiled, seemingly
"Close, but hidden." She picked the girl up and gave her to another woman passing by; she knelt down in front of the wolf. it sniffed her face and licked her, she ran another hand through its fur.
"Alright, you know where these ruins are, I'm guessing you're no ordinary wolf, and if I'm correct you've been possessed by a spirit or demon I'm not picky, and if that's happened the Veil is thin or there's a tear." The wolf cocked its head to the side, listening intently. "I need to go there and repair the Veil." The wolf ran around her before heading off into the forest, sighing she grabbed her staff and followed after it.
Deeper and deeper into the forest they went, and soon came across an Elven ruin. The wolf had disappeared inside already; she ran her fingers over the stone. She heard the wolf howl and followed, as she had suspected there were walking corpses, can't have an ancient ruin without walking corpses, can you?
Soon each and every one fell to flame and teeth, after the last one was burnt to ash she plopped herself down on the ground and covered her eyes with her hands.
"Corpses, why does it always have to be a corpse, that's just morbid." She removed her hands and looked around, the ruins ceiling was high and round, there were mosaics covering the walls. But there was directly across from the entrance depicting a large wolf, she stalked over to it, running her fingers over the other mosaics that she passed.
This mosaic was of the Dread Wolf, normally you wouldn't find temples, or anything really, of Fen'Harel this far east.
"Enjoy being under the gaze of Fen'Harel?" a woman's voice echoed throughout the ruin. Audra turned searching for the source of the voice.
"Who are you?" she called out, she added a bit more quietly, "where are you?"
"Deeper in the ruin, come and find me, First of your clan." The wolf appeared beside her, she shrugged and went deeper, she hurried down the stairs the wolf keeping in step beside her.
There were statues of the Elven gods lining the walls, even of Fen'Harel, this surprised her. Soon she entered a largish room with a pool of water in the middle.
"Here, da'len." A voice came from the pool, Audra knelt beside it.
"Well, it's not every day you see someone trapped underwater and have them talk to you." the woman in, or under, the water rolled her eyes.
"Look, personally I cannot wait to get out of this water, so if you could get me out of here that would be great."
"What's in it for me?"
"This ruin isn't enough for you? Ugh, there's treasure and other things in this ruin. I'll open it for you once you get me out of here."
"How did you get trapped in there?"
"Magic, some of my old friends, who are probably dead, were casting a experimental spell. It was meant to bind a spirit into the very stone. However the idiots forgot to summon a spirit first, me not being actually apart of the ritual was instead bound in the place of a spirit. Why it assumed I should be bound is beyond our ken. Anyway, you'll need to disrupt the ritual circle once you've done so you'll have your treasure! Sound good? Great."
Audra, seeing no other options beyond do what the crazy chick says and run for your life chose the former, because that is clearly the most logical thing to do. She looked to the wolf; the wolf simply walked out the door then looked back as if expecting her to follow.
They went through the ruins, no hint of resistance, which considering there were corpses strewn about, it made her uneasy.
They reached the ritual room, a simple circle, getting rid of the candles and dispelling any magic in the area would be enough.
"Seems simple enough, what do you think?" she looked at the wolf, it gave her a look that read 'I'm a wolf what do you expect me to think?' "Good point." she nudged one of the candles with her toe. Nothing happened, well no corpses rose from the dead at least. She froze the candles and kicked them out of the way with her staff.
She raised her hand to dispel the magic, the familiar feeling of simple absence of magic settled on her skin.
"Well, that was easy. Let's go back to the magic crazy chick."
When they returned, after being attacked by the corpses that were perfectly dead mere moments ago, the woman was gone and a door was open.
They walked through the door, because walls are impossible to walk through, and there was indeed treasure and a staff which was pretty nice.
She picked up the staff; engravings of Fen'Harel were carved on the shaft.
"It's like my life revolves around Fen'Harel, bah."
Fin. No really.