Author's Note: There's a little bit of backstory in this chapter, that uh, never occurs in-game, but always seemed plausible enough to me. Ferelden isn't such a large land that nobles wouldn't have visited each other frequently, as Bann Loren showed us back at Castle Cousland. Thanks to those of you following the story, and especially those reviewing! It's greatly appreciated.

Chapter 22 - The Qunari Question

Serena elbowed Alistair lightly, whispering. "You know how I called you a hulking beast of a man earlier? I take it back." Her eyes slowly turned to the enormous man in the cage that Morrigan had led them to moments before. "I had no basis for comparison until now."

"Isn't this creature magnificent? 'Tis a horrible thing to see him locked up, a waiting treat for the oncoming darkspawn horde." The witch stood at the cage, closer than Serena herself would have stood certainly, and gazed upon the large man within.

"Morrigan... this isn't a zoo," Serena said thoughtfully. "He's a man. In a cage." She turned to the man. "Why are you in a cage?"

"I've been placed here by the Chantry." The man's voice was deep and he spoke slowly, as if he was thinking about every word he spoke beforehand.

"The revered mother said he slaughtered an entire family with his bare hands," Leliana said in a loud whisper. "Even the children."

"It is as she says." The man peered at Serena, his eyes were drastically pale in comparison to his deep bronze skin. "I am Sten of the Beresaad- the vanguard- of the qunari peoples."

"I'm Serena... uh, pleased to meet you." She had no idea what a qunari was doing here in Lothering of all places, or even in all of Ferelden. From what she knew of them, the qunari lived in the far north, beyond the Free Marches even, on an island called Par Vollen.

"You mock me," the qunari rumbled. "Or you show manners I have not come to expect in your lands." He paused, his head bowing. "Though it matters little, now. I will die soon enough."

Beside her, Alistair cleared his throat. "Uh, not to put too fine a point on it, but the qunari are renowned warriors. If we could release him, perhaps he might consent to help us?"

Serena thought about this a moment. It was true they could surely use someone of his size, even if just for the sheer intimidating presence he seemed to wear about him as a cloak. The qunari was easily a foot taller than even Alistair, who was certainly no slouch in the height department.

"Dear ser, we are sworn to defend this land against the Blight. We could certainly use your help." Serena could see Morrigan shoot her an approving glance.

"The Blight? Are you a Grey Warden, then?"

"Yes, Alistair and I are both Grey Wardens," Serena said, motioning to herself and her fellow. "The last, actually, in this land."

"My people have heard legends of the Grey Wardens' strength and skill..." He sized up Serena and the others with his pale eyes. "Though I suppose not every legend is true."

Serena turned to Alistair and Leliana, shrugging. "We need to go to the Chantry anyway. It couldn't hurt to ask the revered mother, right?" She glanced at Leliana. "You seem to know her, do you think she would agree to let him go?"

"I am... unsure." The red haired woman peered at the prisoner and then back at Serena. "She is not the most merciful woman I have served. Perhaps if we phrased it in a way that would make it seem as if we were doing her a favor? Or perhaps if it risked a war with the qunari... I think she would relent to us taking him off her hands. Surely standing with us would be an infinitely better fate than to be devoured by darkspawn in a cage."

"I agree," Serena replied. She turned to Sten. "We'll go see if we can't release you into our company. Would that be... all right with you? Would you like to join us?"

The qunari frowned, his eyes narrowing at Serena. "If I thought the woman would release the key to this cage to you, then yes, I would follow you in your campaign to end the Blight."

"Alright, well... we'll be back," Serena said, waving to the others to follow.

"I will stay here with him," Morrigan stated, leaning against the fence post. "I do not wish to enter that Chantry, anyway." Peanut curled up beside her feet and fell asleep. Serena nodded to her and headed off to the large Chantry building in the center of the town.

"If I didn't know better, I might think my dog has a bit of a crush on her," Serena said. "First the dead squirrel in her tent, now he's following her around everywhere..."

Alistair snorted. "It's disturbing. Especially since I'd come to think your mabari was actually smart."

"She seems nice enough," Leliana added. "If a bit... odd." She waved to one of the templars at the door of the Chantry and he nodded his head in acknowledgement. "I will just get my things and meet you both back here... unless you think you might need my help with the revered mother?"

Serena considered this. "Actually... yes, you know her much better than either of us. When you've gathered your things, could you meet us just over there by the pews?" Leliana nodded, disappearing behind a door leading to the back of the Chantry.

The Lothering Chantry was easily the largest building in the entire town. The inside was kept up moderately well, considering the outpouring of need that had developed as a result of the recent influx of refugees to the tiny town. Pews lined the walls where many people, mostly women, could be seen praying or talking amongst one another quietly.

"Serena, that man... his shield has the Redcliffe insignia on it..." Alistair discreetly pointed to a man standing over by the bookcases. "What would he be doing in Lothering?"

"Let's go find out," Serena said with shrug. She politely tapped the dark haired man on the shoulder. "Hello, ah, we noticed that your-"

"Ser Donall? Is that you?"

Serena glanced at the blonde. "Wait, you know him?"

"Alistair?" The man, Ser Donall, moved forward and clapped Alistair into a hug. "By the Maker, how are you? I... I was certain you were dead!"

"Not yet, no thanks to Teyrn Loghain," Alistair said bitterly.

The man's dark head nodded sympathetically. "If Arl Eamon were well, he'd set Loghain straight soon enough."

"If he were well? What do you mean? Is the arl sick?"

"The arl is stricken with an illness that threatens his very life, I'm afraid," the knight explained. "We have... found no cure for it, either natural or magical."

"When did this happen?" Serena asked.

"Only a few weeks ago, but... he has declined quickly." Ser Donall leaned towards them, dropping his voice to a bare whisper. "No one knows the nature of the illness, and even magic has done little to slow its progress." He sighed sadly. "Our only hope now is a miracle. Every knight of Redcliffe has gone in search of the Urn of Sacred Ashes."

Serena exchanged glances with Alistair. "...The holy ashes of Andraste?"

"Yes, they are said to cure any illness," the knight replied, shrugging. "But I fear we are chasing a fable. With each day, my hope dims."

"We should see what's happening in Redcliffe for ourselves," Alistair whispered to her. "I believe that now more than ever." Serena nodded, pulling out the templar's amulet and turned back to the knight.

"We found a man on the highway, he had been... slain, by the bandits." She handed the amulet to Ser Donall, who examined it. "This amulet was all that was left, along with these notes, do you recognize it?"

"This is... this is Ser Henric's locket," the knight said sadly, holding the necklace in his hand. "He was the other knight accompanying me here from Redcliffe." He sighed heavily, shaking his head. "Maker's mercy... I can't believe it... thank you, for giving me these. I... would never have known otherwise."

"We're both truly sorry for your loss, Ser Donall," Serena said, bowing her head to the man.

"Thank you. I wonder how many of us have met similar fates on this mad quest..." He shook his head again. "I need to return to Redcliffe..." He handed Serena back the notes, closing them in her hand. "Perhaps you should hang onto this. I... must go." With a bow of his head, the knight hurried out of the Chantry.

"Well... this bodes well for our cause," Serena said stiffly. She followed Alistair to one of the pews and sat down in a huff. "Next I imagine we'll run into someone insisting that we'll have to do this blindfolded."

"I can't believe Arl Eamon is sick..." Alistair shook his head. "Duncan told me he visited Redcliffe just a few weeks ago, right before heading north to..." He glanced at Serena quickly. "To Highever. How did he manage to become gravely ill in just this short time?"

"It's certainly bizarre," Serena replied. She was thankful to see that the twinge of guilt she felt at the mention of her former home was less now. "Do you suspect Loghain is behind this?"

"Honestly, after Ostagar... nothing that man did would surprise me anymore." Alistair sighed again, leaning back into the pew. "If the arl is out of our reach, what will we do?"

"Perhaps the arlessa can help us in his stead?" Serena suggested. "I met her once or twice, she's... capable enough. Bit, err, high strung, though."

Alistair was watching Serena now, his eyes studying her features. Serena wondered sometimes if he didn't think about perhaps painting her portrait, since he must know her face by heart now. "Arlessa Isolde? When did you meet her?"

"Oh, I was very young. I believe the arl had recently married her, in fact." Serena bit her lip, trying to remember her first visit to Redcliffe. "Their boy had just been born, that was it! He's just a year older than Oren... My father was good friends with Eamon, and we'd come to congratulate them. A boy for an heir, you know... that's a big deal and all, especially considering Eamon was... you know, getting a bit older." Serena sighed, running her thumb over the griffon on her Grey Warden pendent. "I must have been eight or nine then... so babies didn't interest me much."

"I was... getting a little underfoot, I suppose, so Isolde said it would be alright if I... explored the castle a bit." Serena smiled impishly. "Well, she didn't say I could exactly, but everyone just seemed so busy. Anyway, you've been to Redcliffe, right? I ended up down in their stables, and it was... Amazing!"

"Ah, yes, I spent some time there in my wily youth," Alistair answered, turning red. "The arl… raised me for a bit, actually, after my mom passed. Didn't care for the stables all too much, though..."

"Oh, I'd just never seen so many horses in my life. Our stables in Highever were maybe, half that size?" Alistair watched as Serena's eyes glazed over slightly with the memory. "And I found a little boy there to keep me company for the afternoon, as well. He had these little wooden swords, and we spent the afternoon smacking them around. He was such a sweet boy... but he couldn't get my name right, he kept calling me-"

"Miss Lady Sena," Alistair answered. Serena turned to him, her eyes going wide.

"How... how did you know that? You-"

"I was the sweet little boy," Alistair said, his eyes dropping to the floor. "I... I didn't recognize you at first, at Ostagar..." He looked up at her again, and his face had screwed up into a crooked smile. "I mean, look at you! You're all tall... and... you know? And it's been ten years! But then when you told me your name... I sort of... remembered you."

Serena eyed him carefully, her fingers tapping the wood of the bench. "And you didn't think to tell me? You knew who I was and you didn't think to mention 'oh yes, we met years ago when we were kids'... And to think I told Rahim, oh no, we only met last week! But that wasn't true, was it? No, no, no… We met ten years ago!"

"I didn't think you'd remember me!" Alistair burst out. "I thought... I was just a bastard stable boy, and you were a teyrn's daughter! Why would you have any cause to remember me?"

"You were my first kiss! Ever!" Serena realized people were starting to stare at them and she dropped her voice. "How could I not remember you?" She shook her head, her disbelief slowly turning into embarrassed acceptance. "You were my first kiss."

"If it makes you feel any better, you were mine, too," Alistair said quietly.

Serena laughed, but it was more self-deprecating than anything else. "Weirdly enough, that sort of makes me feel better. Your hair still does the same silly spike thing, too," she said, running a hand through it. "I should have known. I should have remembered. How could I... ugh."

Alistair put his hand over hers and she watched it for a moment, their two hands intertwining naturally, as she silently willed her face to resume its normal color. "I should have said something."

"Yes," Serena agreed. "You should have." She sighed, squeezing his hand. "You kissed better back then, you know."

Alistair grinned, his cheeks pink. "Ah, did I now...?"

"Mmmhmm," Serena murmured. "Much more finesse." She disengaged her hand and stood. "There's Leliana. We should... we should go see if we can't get Sten out." Serena noticed the sister had thankfully changed out of her Chantry robes and into some light armor. Serena wondered if that came standard issue with the short sword.

"Yeah..." Alistair stood up and followed the two women into the next room, his heart thumping wildly in his chest.

Would there ever be a moment between them that wasn't ruined in some way? Either by Loghain, or that witch Morrigan, or his own foolishness? He sighed, resound to his fate as the most graceless man in all of Thedas.