Chapter Five: The Korcari Wilds
"Alright everyone, listen up," said Alistair as they went through the gate to the entrance of the Korcari Wilds, "We have a lot to do and not much time to finish, we'll have to work together and keep each other safe in order to accomplish our mission as swiftly as possible. Are there any questions?"
"I got one," piped Daveth, "How in the name of Andraste's knickers are we supposed to find darkspawn, not get ambushed, and survive?"
"I'm glad you brought that up, Daveth," said Alistair as they marched on, coming to a brief rest in a grove of trees, "Along with the many talents that being a Grey Warden brings, we have the useful ability of detecting if darkspawn are nearby."
"Oh good," sighed Ser Jory, his look of relief was short lived as Alistair continued.
"Just because I can give you a warning does not mean I'm here to make your task any easier," said Alistair sharply, his eyes glancing over to Yvaine who's resolve seemed unshaken by his words.
"We're going to die, I know it," said Ser Jory shakily as they started walking again, his eyes darting about the forest.
Yvaine rolled her eyes, Ser Jory was a loyal knight but had not ever been the bravest in her father's guard, this fact was making itself more and more clear the further into the Wilds they got. She could hear them talking but she chose to ignore their words, she was very much disinterested in what they were saying and instead took the opportunity of being the rear guard to take in the scenery. The Wilds seemed to cast a spell all of their own, drawing people in with the mystery they held but keeping them at bay at the same time with the ever present sense of danger. Yvaine saw the ruins of old forgotten buildings, beautiful columns of white marble wrapped in vines, cracks in the polished floors of old courtyards and it appeared to her that this was how it was meant to be. The Wilds seemed to have taken back what was taken from them and made the beauty humans created pale in comparison with their additions of vines, moss, and trees. She glanced over and saw a small gathering of beautiful flowers, white petals but a blood red center, they were so enticing and she had a feeling they would come in use sometime in the future. Checking to make sure that they men were still moving forward and not paying attention to her, she crept away quietly to the flowers.
"We're not going to die, you simpering pup," said Daveth haughtily, attempting to impress Alistair, "This is what being part of the Wardens is all about, adventure, mystery, thinking every moment is going to be your last."
"I could do without all of that, thank you very much," replied Ser Jory, his battle axe noticeably shaking in his grasp, "I just want to get back to my Helena and our baby."
"And you call yourself a knight," snorted Daveth, "If all of Highever's knights are like you, then its no wonder—"
"You should learn to hold your tongue, Daveth," snapped Alistair from the front of the group, "Keep in mind whom we're traveling with."
"That's right," said Ser Jory, suddenly becoming defensive of the last living Cousland, "you should speak with respect, Daveth, the poor thing's been through enough without you reminding her of what happened or insulting her family's men."
"She didn't take no offense, did you sweetheart?" said Daveth, turning around to speak with Yvaine only to find that she was gone.
"Where'd she go?" asked Ser Jory spinning his head in all directions attempting to locate her without actually moving from the safe spot they had established.
Fear shot down Alistair's spine, not only Yvaine could be anywhere in this vast forest without anyway of knowing where they were, but she was also alone in a land known to be full of darkspawn. They needed to find her and quickly, right now they had a very small window of opportunity to locate her before the darkspawn did.
"We need to go back and find her," said Alistair, unsheathing his blade, Daveth and Ser Jory imitating his movement, "Let's go back the way we came, she couldn't have gotten far."
The men nodded and started walking back the way they had come, keeping an especially keen eye out for Yvaine though all were glimpsing around for any darkspawn that might be nearby.
Yvaine stood after placing some of the flowers in her pack, she observed her surroundings carefully the few skills of the rogue fighter her sister-in-law taught her kicking in as she looked around. Her senses heightened to the point she could hear the birds chirping overhead in the trees, the sounds of the bog as the water rippled, and the wind whistling through the trees. Everything around her seemed to be alive, watching her as she stood there in the tree grove alone without any support, if she were to be attacked now she would more than likely die. She turned her head sharply to her left at the sound of rushing footsteps, quickly unsheathing her blade and bringing her shield around front taking up a defensive position from behind a few closely growing trees. From her spot she could see everything in the clearing but knew no one could see her, she waited patiently for the footsteps to get closer, as soon as she saw a pair of legs she lunged from her hiding spot. With her shield she knocked over the creature she was attacking, watching as it landed flat on its back before raising her sword against it, she charged ready to strike.
"Yvaine, stop!" shouted Alistair, sitting up with his shield raised over his head, "Yvaine, it's me, Alistair."
Yvaine stopped with her sword raised above Alistair's head, suddenly realizing how close she came to slicing through him, she lowered her blade quickly and rushed to help him up from the ground. Clasping his hand tightly she pulled him to his feet just as Ser Jory and Daveth came round the corner of the trees, both with terrified looks on their faces.
"Are you alright, Lady Cousland?" wheezed Ser Jory as he knelt over to catch his breath.
"I'm quite alright, Ser Jory, thank you for asking," replied Yvaine, her hand still firmly linked with Alistair's, she then turned to Alistair with a shamed look, "I'm so very sorry, Alistair, I had no idea that was you."
Alistair could hardly resist teasing her about the situation when he saw the look on her face, "That's quite alright, my lady, I'm often mistaken for darkspawn. I might start to take it as an insult one of these days."
Yvaine quickly blushed a deep pink, "I didn't mean . . . that's not why . . . you're not ugly at all, Alistair."
He roared with laughter at her flustered words, "I'm glad to know how you feel, my lady, truly I appreciate your words."
Yvaine scowled, she knew she had been baited but had failed to see it in time, now it was time to get some revenge, "Well, sir, since it's only my words you appreciate then that is all of me that you shall be allowed to admire."
Now it was Alistair's turn to sputter at her words and she laughed as his cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red than she had.
Daveth cleared his throat loudly, "Are we going to continue on or just wait for the darkspawn to find us?"
Alistair nodded at Daveth, "Now that we have Yvaine back, it would be prudent to continue on with our objective."
"I agree with Alistair," said Yvaine, she looked behind her and saw what appeared to be columns projecting from the swamp, "That way seems most promising, there appears to be a platform over there which would be the best spot for a small camp. We might be lucky enough to find a small band of darkspawn there."
"Then that way it is," said Alistair and they started walking again, this time he prevented Yvaine from maneuvering herself to the rear guard, "I'm not about to let you go wandering off again, my lady." he added quietly when she sent him a questioning look.
Yvaine wanted to protest but instead she shrugged, content to walk beside him for the rest of the journey, falling into stride with him easily. She glanced over at him and saw that he was standing somewhat straighter than before, he seemed more confident now that she was with him by his side instead of walking behind the group. 'Don't do it, Yvaine, you can't fall for this man,' she thought to herself, 'He's your superior, you can't be together, you know that.'
They continued walking for what felt like hours, each one growing weary as the hot sun beat on their backs and the wind refused to blow a cooling breeze, so far they had not seen a single darkspawn nor any indication that they were close to the ruins of the old stronghold. Yvaine was growing impatient, all they needed was one darkspawn to complete their primary objective and then they could get on with the Joining, it was the Joining itself that made her most nervous. She had never liked mystery, she had told Duncan that much, but there was something almost sinister about the secrecy surrounding this secret Joining as if speaking about it would bring a deadly curse or something of that nature. Yvaine was so deep in thought she missed Alistair unsheathing his blade as they neared the columns, it was only when he put his arm out in front of her that she realized what was going on.
"Darkspawn?" asked Yvaine in a soft whisper as she pulled her sword out of its home, readying herself for the inevitable confrontation.
"Yes," said Alistair as he lowered himself to a low crouch, he motioned to Daveth to sneak ahead and scout what was happening as Yvaine imitated his movements, they crept closer to the sounds of metal clanging together. From their position, Yvaine could see why darkspawn were thought to be the product of those who betrayed the Maker all those years ago. They had a grotesque appearance, pulled skin of strange sickly colors, the little ones had sharp silver teeth while the larger ones had what looked like long white fangs that hung out of their mouths, she could almost smell the taint in their blood their odor was so pronounced.
"I thought I was only joking with Duncan when I said darkspawn were ugly," whispered Yvaine and she felt Alistair tremble beside her with what she could only guess was repressed laughter.
"There are about eight of those bastards fighting what appears to be our own scouts," reported Daveth, "They aren't doing well either."
"Then let's give them some help," said Yvaine sharply, and before anyone could stop her she leapt out from their hiding spot and ran a hurlock through with her blade, spraying blood all over herself. She ignored the warm blood that landed on her lips and in her eyes as she pulled her blade from the creature's chest before chasing after one of the archers that was firing at a soldier from the King's guard.
Alistair, Daveth, and Ser Jory sat in the hiding spot still not fully believing what they were seeing as Yvaine sliced the head off of the genlock archer she had targeted just a few moments ago. The men around her seemed to rally as she felled one darkspawn after another, regaining morale they had thought lost when the battle started, some were even smiling as they sliced at the darkspawn.
"Come on, boys, we can't let her have all of the fun!" exclaimed Alistair as he too left the hiding spot to join in the battle, putting his shield between Yvaine's exposed back and a darkspawn's blade.
"You heard the man!" said Daveth excitedly clapping Ser Jory on the back before diving straight into the battle with the knight on his heels though rather reluctantly.
Yvaine almost let out a laugh as another darkspawn fell, these creatures were just like any other foe, feared because of the stories surrounding their creation but they still able to be killed with a blade all the same. She mentally counted how many of the creatures were left, they were down from eight to two with several of the King's guard still standing, with new resolve she charged for the rogue she saw trying to sneak up on an unsuspecting knight. With her shield she knocked it straight to the ground and with it now helpless she sank her blade deeply into its very exposed neck, killing it instantly. Suddenly she felt something against her back, glancing behind her she saw the knight she had just saved repaying the favor by protecting her back, she was grateful since Alistair was busy trying to keep Daveth out of too much trouble. Soon the last darkspawn of the group fell which was welcomed by the many cheers of the King's guard, even Yvaine joined in with them, glad at last to have accomplished the first objective of the mission. Many of the knights came up and thanked Yvaine for assisting them in the battle, for they knew without her help and quick thinking they would have most likely ended up dead.
"You fight well, dear lady," said one of the knights as he patted her on the shoulder, "lucky for us the Maker saw fit to send you and the rest of the Grey Wardens to save our sorry asses."
Yvaine threw her head back and laughed, "My good knight, I'm sure you all would have done just fine without me. How did you know we were with the Grey Wardens?"
"Only a Grey Warden would leap into a battle against darkspawn without thinking twice," replied the knight simply.
"Or once if you're my little sister," said an achingly familiar voice, Yvaine spun around and saw that the knight she had saved was not any normal knight but was in fact Fergus. Without hesitating another second she ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck pulling him into a tight embrace, he returned the gesture almost ten-fold as they fell to their knees unable to stand from the rush of joy they both were feeling at being reunited.
"Fergus! I'm so glad you're alright," said Yvaine, trying to blink the tears away though by now it was too late, they were spilling freely down her blood covered cheeks. She pulled away enough to look at her brother's face and was surprised to see there were tears falling down his cheeks as well, she had not seen him cry since Oren was born and even then it was only a few tears.
"Yvaine, you have no idea how happy I am to see you," said Fergus, his voice catching as he looked down at his little sister, "I heard what happened . . . I can't believe it, what Howe did is nothing short of treason. I . . . I can't believe you made it out of there."
Yvaine saw the pain in his eyes, "It was nothing short of a miracle, if it hadn't been for Duncan and Ser Gilmore, I wouldn't be here right now."
"So you were the only survivor?" asked Fergus, his grip tightening on her waist.
She swallowed hard, the images of Oriana and Oren's dead bodies flashing before her eyes as she looked back at Fergus, "I'm so sorry, Fergus, if I could change it—"
"Don't, Vaine, don't say it," said Fergus sounding almost angry as he spoke, "I know it wasn't your fault, I'm just glad you made it out of there, I'm happy to have my little sister back."
Yvaine smiled, then she felt the smile fall as she remembered why she was out here in the Wilds in the first place, "Fergus, I'm going to become a Grey Warden."
At this announcement Fergus laughed, surprising everyone around him, "A Grey Warden, my little sister?! How wonderful! I always knew you'd do something amazing with your life."
"I'm glad you approve," said Yvaine, reluctantly letting go of her brother, "Speaking of the Grey Wardens, I have some people I want you to meet."
She then stood up, helping Fergus to his feet next before turning to Alistair and the other recruits, "Fergus, this is Daveth, the Grey Warden Alistair, and you of course know Ser Jory."
"Ser Jory! I'm surprised to see you here, I thought your wife was going to birth your child any day now," said Fergus, his voice sprinkled with notes of melancholy.
"She is, my lord, I did not want to leave her side if the truth be told, but I thought it would be an excellent opportunity for my family if I joined the Grey Wardens," said Ser Jory, glancing at both Yvaine and Fergus nervously.
Fergus nodded before turning to Alistair, "I guess I have you and your order to thank for the safe return of my sister, know you have my gratitude and the fealty of Highever should I ever return there."
"Thank you, my lord Fergus," said Alistair seriously, crossing his arms against his chest bowing to Fergus in respect for his gratitude, "though I was not directly involved with her rescue."
"Either way, you've kept her safe thus far, so you are in my eternal gratitude," replied Fergus, resting his hand on Yvaine's shoulder.
Yvaine smiled kindly at Alistair, delighting in the red coloring of his cheeks that was not from the darkspawn blood, "Alistair, do you think there's enough darkspawn blood to fill three vials?"
Alistair nodded quickly before extracting three glass vials from his pack, he passed one to each of the recruits who quickly went to the nearest darkspawn corpse and filled their vials rather quickly. Yvaine still did not enjoy the smell of the blood from these creatures but she felt some satisfaction knowing she was able to make it this far in the recruitment process, and finding out that it was possible to kill darkspawn without enchanted weapons like the Chantry preached. When her vial was filled she handed it back to Alistair, when he went to take it from her hand, his fingers brushed against her soft skin sending a warmth through her body she had not ever felt before and she was sure Alistair had felt the same thing she had by the reluctance of breaking their small contact.
"What happens now?" asked Fergus, having watched his sister and the other recruits silently collect the blood.
"Now we go find the old treaties of the Grey Wardens," replied Yvaine as she searched one of the corpses, putting the poultices and kits she found in her pack.
Fergus's brow creased in a frown, "Are you sure that's wise? The Wilds are filled with darkspawn, we saw for ourselves some of the horde that's approaching Ostagar, it's larger than I think King Cailan and Duncan know."
Yvaine steeled herself against the news, not allowing for fear to enter her heart, "Which is all the more reason to get those treaties, if this is indeed a Blight then we're going to need all of the help we can muster."
"Yvaine's right," said Alistair, ignoring the pointed look from Fergus, "we need to keep pressing onward, the sooner we get those treaties, the better off we'll be."
"Fine," relented Fergus, "but I'm going with you, I just got my sister back, I'm not about to risk losing her again."
Yvaine scowled at her older brother, "Fergus, I can take care of myself, I think saving you from darkspawn more than proved that to be true."
Fergus's face softened at his sister's words, "Be that as it may, little sister, your group is still outnumbered. You're going to need all of the help you can get from here on out."
Yvaine considered her brother's words, she knew he was right but she was not sure if Alistair would allow him to accompany them, "What do you say, Alistair?"
Alistair shrugged his shoulders, "He's your brother, my lady, the decision is yours."
"Welcome then, Fergus," said Yvaine brightly, a huge grin stretching across her face.
Fergus returned her smile and then turned to the men standing around, "Men, return to your king and inform him of what has happened, tell him the Grey Wardens saved us from the darkspawn. Let them all know what we are up against, and to be ready at a moment's notice."
"Yes, my lord!" said all of the men in unison, raising their swords to the sky before rushing back in the direction of the King's camp.
When the knights were gone, the group began walking again with Alistair at the lead and the rest behind him walking in pairs. He silently cursed himself for not insisting that Fergus walk behind them so he could speak with Yvaine more privately but he was glad to see that she did not seem as upset as when she first arrived.
"It's so strange," said Yvaine as she glanced around the Wilds, her eyes resting briefly on the back of Alistair's head before flitting to her brother's face.
"What is?" asked Fergus, wrapping his arm protectively around her shoulders.
"Finding you out here, I knew you were with a scouting group but I had no idea that I would be so lucky as to come across you in the Wilds," replied Yvaine, still pinching herself to make sure this was not a well woven dream.
Fergus chuckled warmly, "I know the feeling, those men I was fighting with were the ones sent out to find me for you, they told me what happened at the castle and how you survived. You can imagine how eager I was to return to camp and find you."
"That I can," said Yvaine as she pulled out a rag from her pack, using the water in her flagon to wet it, then she wiped her face with the wet rag to clean the drying blood from her face. She offered the rag to Fergus who eagerly accepted the cloth and wiped his own face.
"Now that's much better," sighed Fergus, "all I need now is a hot meal and a large tankard of ale, then I shall be the most content man in all of Ferelden."
Yvaine laughed, which was music to Alistair's ears, "You used to say that every day after sparring practice, even if all you got was a husk of bread and some watered down wine."
"Why would you get a husk of bread and watery wine?" asked Alistair, glancing behind him at the siblings.
"It was Nan's way of discouraging us from being too late to supper," said Yvaine, a small smile ghosting her lips as she thought about her old nanny, "we'd usually stay out sparring long past the bell for supper."
Alistair laughed, "That does sound like something you'd do, Yvaine."
"You don't know the half of it," said Fergus, an impish light returning to his eyes, "She was the reason for most if not all of our strange punishments from Nan."
Yvaine elbowed him in the ribs, "Fergus, you're such a liar. What about that time you switched Ser Ingalls's sword with a wooden one? Nan made us polish his entire set of armor after that."
"That was nothing compared to the time you convinced me to put salt in Mother's sugar bowl right before she was to have tea with Lady Landra and Anora," teased Fergus, "Nan made us scour every pot she could find, she even made us polish them with sand we had to collect ourselves from the riverbank."
Yvaine's cheeks flushed a bright crimson red while Alistair howled with laughter, he had not ever enjoyed hearing childhood stories as much as he was listening to the mischief Fergus and Yvaine had gotten into as children.
The rest of the journey to the old Grey Warden fortress was rather uneventful, they were careful to avoid direct confrontation with the darkspawn bands they came across, since they were becoming increasingly larger in size the further into the Wilds they went. Close to what Yvaine could only guess was the center of the Wilds, they came across a large slab of what appeared to be marble on the forest floor with columns surrounding the outer edges. This area of the forest was strangely silent, the wind even seemed to have died in this area of the Wilds, which put Yvaine even more on edge.
"There's the chest, I think," said Alistair, pointing to a crumbling pile of brown colored stones that at one point looked to have been a chest, he moved to it quickly kneeling down so he could better shift through the debris.
"Anything?" asked Yvaine, coming up behind Alistair.
He stood up, shaking his head in evident frustration, "Maker's breath, it's empty."
Yvaine stifled a groan, they had traveled all of this way only to find out that what they had been searching for was no longer here.
"We need to get back to camp," said Alistair, fighting back the disappointment, "and tell Duncan—"
"Well, well, well," said a cold voice from above them, "What have we here? Scavengers? Thieves? Clueless travelers that merely stumbled upon these old bones?"
Yvaine looked up from Alistair and made eye contact with the source of the voice it was a raven haired young woman who looked hardly older than Oriana had been, the clothes she wore hardly covered her pale moon skin. From the mage's staff on her back, Yvaine knew she was a wielder of magic but that was not what struck her as strange, it was her eyes. They were the color of pure gold, looking as if they belonged to a wolf or raven instead of a human girl.
"Andraste's shield, it's a witch of the wilds!" exclaimed Daveth, sounding almost excited at meeting her.
Ser Jory gasped as he raised his two handed axe at the young woman, "She's an apostate, that's what she really is! Apostate's aren't allowed to live, we need to kill her, and quickly."
The woman brought her staff round from her back, pointing it directly at Ser Jory, but Yvaine quickly put herself between the two of them not even bothering to unsheathe her blade as she had a feeling they would need this woman on their side if they were to find out what happened to the treaties.
The woman raised a curious eyebrow at Yvaine, though an amused smile passed her lips briefly, "Ah, tis the woman who appears to be the wisest in this group. Since you are the only one here who seems to have any sense, tell me, why are you here in my part of the Wilds?"
"We are looking for the treaties that were kept here when this was occupied by the Grey Wardens," replied Yvaine calmly, maintaining eye contact with the young woman.
Alistair gaped at her in shock, completely blown away by the fact she was divulging information willingly to this apostate, Yvaine saw the look from the corner of her eye but chose not to acknowledge his surprise.
"You are different from your companions," said the woman thoughtfully, putting her staff away, "you display manners that are not normally seen out here in the Wilds. I will tell you what you wish to know if you divulge some answers of your own."
"Of course," said Yvaine, again ignoring the glares and gaping mouths of her companions, only her brother seemed unperturbed by her actions.
The young woman smiled at her words before speaking, "What do they call you, woman?"
"My name's Yvaine Cousland," replied Yvaine, inclining her head in a small bow, "What is your name?"
"You may call me Morrigan," replied Morrigan, the tension around her eyes softening, "Are you nobility?"
"I am," said Yvaine, giving the smallest of smiles to the woman, "Why do you ask?"
"I have been watching your progress for a while now, and by the way you carry yourself and the manner in which you speak suggest you are of noble origins," said Morrigan, shrugging her shoulders, "Now that I have had my fill of trivial answers, I will answer your original question. The documents you seek were once here but are now no longer."
"As if that wasn't obvious," snorted Alistair, "You probably stole them, you . . . you . . . sneaky witch thief."
Morrigan glared at him, "What impressive words from someone obviously so dim." Her tone was biting towards him but it instantly changed when she spoke again to Yvaine, "Contrary to what your friend thinks, I was not the one who removed your precious documents."
"If it wasn't you, then who was it?" asked Yvaine.
"Twas my mother," said Morrigan, "if you still wish to procure your papers, I can take you to her."
Yvaine opened her mouth to agree when Alistair cleared his throat loudly, she glanced over at him and he motioned for her to join him and the others in a huddle. She rolled her eyes but she obliged, giving Morrigan a small shrug before joining the others.
Ser Jory glanced nervously up at Morrigan, "She's going to kill us, I know it, no one has ever seen a witch of the wilds and lived."
"She seems harmless enough," said Daveth as he scanned Morrigan's form, a wicked gleam dancing in his eyes, "unless you call her an apostate of course."
Yvaine glared at him, "Stop looking at her as if she were a horse at auction, we're guests in her home not the other way around, and we need to show her the proper respect."
"We can't trust her, Yvaine, let alone show her respect," said Alistair, his voice tense, but when he caught the look on her face he quickly backed down.
"She obviously trusts Yvaine above the rest of us," said Fergus thoughtfully, "and as long as we don't do anything to harm her, she won't do anything to us, she already proved that by not blasting us on sight. Besides, if you want those treaties, you're going to need her help."
"Fergus is right on both counts," replied Yvaine sternly, "We need her help, we can't rightly refuse it, especially since she hasn't harmed us."
Alistair begrudgingly accepted her judgement, "I might not necessarily trust the witch, but I trust you Yvaine, we'll follow this Morrigan until we get the treaties back but that's it."
Yvaine nodded and turned back to Morrigan who was still watching them from her perch above them, "Morrigan, we accept your offer of help. Please, lead us to your mother and the treaties."
"A wise choice," said Morrigan kindly, "You know, I'm starting to like you, Yvaine. Now follow me and stay close, the Wilds are not as safe as they used to be."
The journey to Morrigan's mother's house was faster than they had anticipated, Morrigan knew many secret paths that appeared to be traveled only by animals. Soon the path opened up onto swamp land with a small hut built on the only piece of solid ground in the area, for those who occupied the building it was rather unappealing and plain. This was probably their way of hiding the fact an apostate lived here, reasoned Yvaine as they approached the wooden door, which opened when they were less than ten feet from it. From the darkness of the hut an older woman appeared, Yvaine quickly deduced this was Morrigan's mother.
"Hello, Mother," said Morrigan feigning cheer, "I bring you guests."
"I see that much, girl, I do have eyes you know," snapped her mother, "They are Grey Wardens, are they not?"
"Yes, ma'am, you're correct," said Yvaine quickly, "I'm sorry to intrude on your home like this—"
"Young lady, this is not an intrusion," interrupted Morrigan's mother, "You were invited here, were you not? Now, I understand you are here seeking your treaties."
"That's right," snapped Alistair, "They were stolen—"
"Young man, they were not stolen," corrected the older woman, "I have been protecting them for many years now after the Wilds reclaimed the old fortress, you are lucky I was so generous to your order."
Alistair blinked at the woman, "You were protecting them?"
"That's right, is your hearing as bad as I think it is?" asked the woman, looking to Morrigan as if seeking confirmation of her suspicions. Alistair scowled at both Morrigan and her mother, his hand twitching as if to reach for his sword though he made not further advances to that end.
Yvaine quickly spoke, sensing some tension building in the atmosphere of their gathering, "Thank you very much for protecting them, it was incredibly kind on your part."
The older woman looked at Yvaine with intense curiosity, "My, my, what manners this woman possesses. I'm starting to like her a great deal more than I thought I would. My dear, here you may have your treaties back, they are all accounted for. Tell your commander that a Blight truly is coming, and to be ready."
Yvaine nodded as she took the papers from the woman's hands, and put them in her pack, "I just realized, I hadn't asked you your name."
"Nor did I ask yours," replied the older woman, "In time that may change, but for now it will not. Now be on your way, Grey Wardens, Morrigan will lead you out of the Wilds."
Morrigan looked as if she wanted to protest but one look from her mother told her otherwise, "Yes, I shall play guide to you once more, hopefully for the last time."
She started leading them back the way they had come before, all seemed eager to leave the swamp area and head back to camp. Yvaine glanced back at the old woman and was surprised to see her already looking in their direction, they held eye contact for a few moments before the old woman nodded her head and turned her back to her. 'What a strange old woman,' thought Yvaine as she ran to catch up with the group, 'I wonder who she really is.'