A bit of time passed, maybe thirty minutes, when the sound of ringing metal reached my ears. I was instantly on alert. Daveth was the first one I saw; he was lying on the ground, unconscious, with Jory defending him. The warrior was injured, though, doing his best to wield his greatsword with only one arm. Alistair was a little way off, fending off several darkspawn. A mixed group of genlocks and hurlocks.

I climbed the tree just in front of me, inching down a branch that would put me in the perfect position to drop down in the middle of the fray. I slid my daggers free, a prayer on my lips, and jumped. Everyone stopped, the fighting screeching to a halt, for just long enough. I used it to my advantage, immediately throwing myself at the closest darkspawn. Several fell to my blades, my small form a blur.

"Go help Jory. I've got this." I said, just loud enough for Alistair to hear.

Right before Alistair got to his side, Jory fell. The Grey Warden killed the two genlocks easily, the sight of the two men spurring him on. The same for me. I made quick work of the few left.

Breathing hard, I rushed over to them when it was all said and done, "Are they going to be alright?"

Alistair checked their pulses, nodding, "They'll be fine. But I'm not sure if they can go on today." He let loose a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't have left." I frowned, feeling awful.

He shook his head, "Daveth wasn't paying attention, and he triggered a trap. The Chasind must have set it up a while ago, when they were last here."

I chewed on my lip, "I wonder if either of them will be up for walking back…?"

"Jory, I'm not sure about. If Daveth is, though, he might be able to help me carry Jory back." He reached down and shook Daveth's shoulder. I did the same for Jory.

They both woke with a start, confused about what had happened. Daveth was dazed and had suffered minimal damage. Jory, though, had lacerations that made everyone worry. If he didn't see a healer soon, he could lose his arm.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go." I suggested impatiently.

"What of the documents, though?" Jory muttered.

"We can get those another time. I, for one, do not want to stand here and debate things that aren't as important as keeping a warrior a warrior. If we don't hurry, you won't be able to join the Grey Wardens."

The men looked at me, their jaws slack.

I shrugged, "I'm not going to lie and say it'll be alright. Besides, there's always tomorrow, if they're in a magically sealed chest, right?"

Alistair nodded, "Right. Let's go. Are you two okay to walk?"

Daveth made a noise of confirmation, while Jory simply nodded and gritted his teeth.

The Warden and rogue each wrapped an arm around the warrior's waist, helping him. I took up the rear, knowing an attack from behind would be our undoing otherwise.

"Hey, do you know about where the chest would be?" I asked Alistair.

"Let me think." He responded, lapsing into silence, "It should be a few miles out, maybe three or four? But I don't think it's easy to find, or we'd already be in possession of it, right?"

"Unless no one has looked for it. Duncan made it sound like he'd just learned of it. Maybe it was in an old document or something."

"Maybe."

"Anyway, I was wondering if maybe I could give it a shot."

"What do you mean?" He asked suspiciously, "Wait, you mean go by yourself? Absolutely not."

"And why not? I made it to you guys alright. Without getting into any trouble or triggering any traps. I'm a tiny thing that no one notices, so it'll be easier than the four of us trying to sneak around."

Alistair stopped and gave all of Jory's weight to Daveth, "I said no. Not just no, but absolutely not, didn't I?"

I raised my chin, "I'm a child. I do rebellious things. I could run away, if I wanted to. I asked you first, though."

"Why do I get the feeling that even if I say no, you'll make a break for it? Sneak off or something?"

I shrugged, "Probably because I will."

He threw up his arms, exasperated, "You'll get yourself killed!"

"Jory's losing time." I reminded him, "Either let me go, or I'll sneak off. I'm guarding the rear, after all. It would be simple."

He ran both hands through his hair, glaring at me, "Fine."

He stormed back to the others, resuming his post.

"I'll take the blame." I murmured, loud enough for them to hear, "It's my fault, anyway."

Alistair looked over his shoulder, but I was already gone.

...

I moved through the shadows, taking care to not be seen by the odd darkspawn that I happened to come across, making my way back to the small group we'd killed earlier. We hadn't filled our vials yet. It seemed like an easy thing to do, so I'd decided to make the detour. It would save us from having to do that later, right?

Tucking the precious things in my bag, nestled in amongst an extra sweater, I ducked out of sight. Continued on my way.

I stumbled upon a campsite full of the hideous creatures. I blinked. What...? As the archers knocked arrows, warriors roared and charged me. Expletives filled my head as I scrambled, my mind momentarily blank. It was almost my undoing.

Pulling the shadows to me again, I slipped out of sight, sidestepping a volley of arrows just before they reached me. With narrowed eyes, I analyzed the situation. Three darkspawn archers perched on the slight ridge just off to the right. Four warriors rushing from each direction, one having managed to fall in behind me. It didn't seem to matter that they couldn't see me. One genlock shaking a staff over his head. The latter went down without a fight with just a flick of my wrist, ice encapsulating him. Pushing out with a pulse of magic, I sent the air around me rushing toward the warriors. The force knocked them off their feet and sent them flying back several meters.

Running at the frozen genlock, I slid free one of my daggers and jabbed. The beautiful sound of shattering ice rang through the forest. A wave of my hand sent the newest batch of arrows back in the direction they'd come. Shrieks filled the air as darkspawn were run through with their own weapons. The warriors had inadvertently suffered the same fate.

I spun around in a circle, looking over the damage I had caused. Bodies littered the ground, blood pooling under them. None drew breath any more.

I rifled through everything, looking for useful items. Upon opening a chest, I found some kind of necklace and a journal. Rigby's Field Journal was written inside the front cover. My stomach sank. This belonged to the man whose body I'd found. Taking a deep breath, I skimmed through it. The last couple of pages were what gave me pause; he had documented all seven Chasind trail signs.

Following the directions was easy enough; the first, at a tree just outside the camp. The next, a spot on the ridge toward the east which was overlooking the corpses surrounding me. The third was through the marsh, mud sucking at my boots, the squelching sound making my stomach do flips. I had to fight a handful more darkspawn to get to it, but I took them down before they saw me. Another was near an elfroot patch a little way south.

My eyes closed briefly at the sight of another human body. Was it the father, Rigby? I hoped it wasn't.

Whatever had killed the man was long gone. I faced no resistance as made my way to him. A quick look through his pockets gave me the answer I hadn't wanted. It was, in fact, Rigby. His Last Will and Testament in my hands, I stared down at him. He had obviously been dead for several days. As had his son. They had probably just missed each other.

"To whoever finds this note,

This is the last will and testament of Rigby the missionary, proud speaker of the Maker's word. I have come to the Wilds to speak the Chant, but I fear I will die here at the hands of the darkspawn.

I leave all that I came with to my wife, Jetta. Should the reader of this note feel charitable, I have buried a sealed lockbox in our camp, nestled in a Tevinter ruin in the western reaches of the Wilds. It is in my will that this lockbox finds my wife in Redcliffe, and that it is still sealed shut when it reaches her.

To my wife and my son, I apologize that my work has taken me from you, but I know that I die in service to the Maker.

-Rigby"

I wondered if the camp mentioned was the one where I'd killed the darkspawn. One way to find out.

Putting the current mission on hold, I backtracked. Made my way to the "Tevinter ruin," which I hadn't even noticed.

The ruin was just a few stone arches that connected. Not as beautiful as the surrounding landscape, but I suppose it had been wonderful in its time.

I found the hidden cache with little difficulty, the only real trouble being I had to dig under the fire pit. Shifting things around in my bag, I placed the lockbox at the bottom so it wouldn't break the fragile vials.

With that accomplished, I resumed my scavenger hunt. Which one was I on? The fifth one, I believe, which was up on a cliff overlooking the marshy area. I ignored the three men hanging from another set of arches. Assuming the darkspawn had done it and not something, or someone, else, I pushed onward. It was nestled among a large cage and two crates.

The sixth was actually right below where I'd found Rigby's body. If I had just wandered a few paces beyond it, I would have found this one. The final sign was blocked.

Across a barely-there wooden bridge stood a Hurlock emissary, surrounded by four other darkspawn. Fantastic.

I pulled the magic to me again, setting them all on fire. I didn't have the patience to deal with them just now. Cracking my knuckles, I continued to the campfire they had started. With narrowed eyes, I scanned the shadows. Before they had even lunged from the shadows, I struck them down. Two genlocks dropped to the ground. Dead.

I reached in to the hollow sitting log and pulled out the Chasind cache, hoping it had been worth it. A Mace, a Chasind made crusher, Chasind robes, a Thane helmet, and a bow. Along with some pieces of topaz, six quarts, and five diamonds. Slinging the bow over my shoulder, I ground my teeth. At least everything other than the robes would sell for a decent profit. Not that I was selling the gems to the quartermaster here; there was no way I would get their full value from him.