The group milled around the pot of stew that had finished over the fire and one by one they spooned out their portions then moved away to their usual places to eat.

Alistair and I did not take any stew as we had already eaten with his family earlier in Denerim. However, I was indulging in the drink that I'd stashed in my tent for the past week and it was an exquisite and sweet strawberry wine.

I sipped leisurely as I sat in front of my tent, watching everyone go about their business of eating and I noticed Alistair with Wynne and I could tell exactly what he was talking about by the look on his face. Wynne looked very tired but was listening as she always did and I wondered if that was all that was wrong with her. I also wondered if it was too late to approach her about it.

Hopefully Alistair would not keep her forever and she could get some rest as she had some healing to do.

"You're not eating, Detra? There is plenty for everyone you know."

Leliana stood over me as I was pouring another glass of wine for myself and I looked up.

"Actually, we had some late lunch with Alistair's family so I'm not hungry."

"May I join you?"

I smiled up at Leliana and gestured next to me.

"Please do."

Leliana sat down with her bowl of stew after I had just taken a large sip out of my glass and was busy stashing the bottle just inside my tent when Leliana's eyes settled on me.

I giggled softly.

"It's strawberry wine and it's very good. Would you like to try some?"

"I would actually."

Leliana leaned towards me and pulled my lips into hers softly.

It took a moment for my head to clear and I had not been expecting that at all.

"You're right. It is delicious."

I giggled at Leliana's methods and poured some wine into another glass I had hidden away. I had a feeling that she would join me so I had readied both glasses and made sure they were clean.

"Mmm, this is so very tasty, Detra. Where did you get it?"

"Redcliffe Castle actually. Bann Teagan gave me two bottles with his best wishes after we had finished things with Connor."

"That was thoughtful of him."

I sighed and stretched my back and neck, my fingers laced behind my head and then found Leliana looking at me and she giggled.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just that...you reminded me of last night with those stretching... noises."

A smile crept onto my face as memories overwhelmed me and I closed my eyes, in the grip of the wine and the visions Leliana had brought back.

"Last night? But what about this morning?"

I giggled freely again, under the wine's influence and Leliana responded to my second reminder.

"If we were able, I do hope that you know we would be in your tent right now, back under the blanket."

Sparks ignited throughout my body and I breathed deeply as I felt my heart twitch in my chest.

I smiled fiendishly at Leliana.

"I am on second watch tonight. I have...some time before I am needed."

Leliana beamed at my suggestion.

"We really should fix the watch schedule. Maybe I could trade with..."

I snorted loudly.

"No, it is not possible that we can be on watch together, Leliana. Somehow I do not think we would be very...alert. To danger anyhow."

We laughed together, knowing it was true.

"Warden!"

I heard Sten's deep voice boom across the camp and I stood as I turned to its source, my breath caught in my chest thinking of what horror must be taking place to make Sten actually speak to us voluntarily.

Sten approached carrying a man by the collar of his shirt, obviously against his wishes. I did not recognize the man at all but he was talking incessantly.

"I found him coming towards the camp. He claims to be a friend to the Warden that you have mentioned before. The one who fell at Ostagar."

The man seemed glad to see other humans surround him and appeared to relax as Leliana and I gathered around him, Alistair joining us seconds later.

"Who do you speak of, man? What Grey Warden?"

"Listen, I... I've been looking to speak with you since you left Denerim. I've been trying to find you for a month."

I questioned him again, moving closer as I did not sense any immediate danger.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Levi and I'm a friend of Duncan's."

Alistair broke into the conversation and moved closer.

"Duncan? How did you know him?"

"My grandmother, she was a Grey Warden. Duncan had known of her and...Well, we met some time ago."

"Really? And how long did you know Duncan?"

"Only months. I met him back in Denerim, at the Royal Court. I was there trying to find out about my family's land but King Cailin was already out at Ostagar fighting the Darkspawn with the Royal Army and no one else would help me. Duncan was headed to Ostagar soon as well and everyone was so in awe of the Grey Warden and said he was recruiting help to bring with him to Ostagar. I had had my fill of talk of the Wardens at that point and I made my way down to the tavern so I could drown myself as I'd gotten nowhere with my visit to Denerim. Duncan also came into the tavern and said that I looked familiar to him and asked my name."

Levi looked to be taking a breather from speaking so we let him rest his lungs a bit.

"I told him my name and he told me that he knew of my grandmother and the situation that had unfolded at Soldier's Peak."

Alistair interrupted.

"Soldier's Peak? What's that?"

"It's a fortress that the Grey Wardens had owned for centuries and where my grandmother Sophia took her last stand."

"Last stand?"

Alistair's curiosity was piqued and he watched Levi for his response.

Sten was still holding Levi's collar and I just realized this.

"Sten, you can put him down. I don't think he's going to harm any of us."

Sten, still wearing his stern face, released his grip on the man's collar and stood away from him, still watching warily.

"Levi, why don't you come join us by the fire. We still have some stew left from supper if you'd like some."

"Uh...I don't know what to say. Thank you, Warden."

"Please, call me Detra."

I held my hand out to Levi as we walked towards the fire and we shook briefly.

"Well I'm glad to have finally found you, Detra. I have been traveling all over for the past month, trying to locate your group and I always just missed you by hours or sometimes a day."

"Come, sit, Levi. Have some of the chicken stew Alistair made and you can tell us your story. If you would not mind, that is."

"Yes, it's quite a tale."

Alistair led Levi to the black pot near the fire and showed him where the bowls and utensils were and soon Levi joined us sitting by the fire.

"This stew is delicious if you don't mind me saying so!"

Alistair smiled coyly, glad someone appreciated his 'throw it in the pot and boil it until it's all one color' cooking.

"That's all Alistair's doing. He's actually quite the cook." I said.

Levi nodded to Alistair as he devoured the stew in his bowl and I handed him some water.

We let him eat in peace, making small talk with one another and then Levi continued his story after he had finished with his meal.

His grandmother, Sophia Dryden, had been a Commander within the Grey Warden ranks and they had resided at Soldier's Peak as it was their headquarters. They had traders, workers, servants and even mages stationed within the walls of the Peak and life was good, but one day things turned sour.

Word was received by King Maric that blood magic was being used on the premises of the Peak and the King immediately dispatched a small company of knights to investigate.

Levi extended his theory of who the gossip may have been.

"I guess one of the traders was angry with the Wardens for some trouble he had with another trader. This second trader was allowed to set higher prices than the first one and we assume that it was the first trader who turned gossip, for simple greed. This is what my family had heard anyhow but it could have been anyone I suppose."

After that, the knights arrived a few days later at the Peak, demanding to speak with the Warden Commander. They were of course immediately brought to Sophia who had no idea of the situation that was unfolding.

The knights were unkind with their claims and accused the Commander of being a blasphemer and a friend to blood magic, all that King Maric stood opposed to. This was the first that Sophia had heard of blood magic in her midst and she argued with them, stating no such thing was happening.

The knights refused her word and claimed that she was under arrest and was to accompany them back to Denerim for judgment. One of the guards at the Commander's door responded by prematurely attacking one of the knights that threatened Sophia and a battle ensued, ending with all twelve of the King's knights slain.

"Oh wow...the Wardens just killed them all?" Alistair interrupted.

"They had no choice. Once the first sword was swung by that Warden, the knights would not stop until they were all dead or the traitors under arrest. And the Wardens had no choice from then on but to defend themselves, which they did."

The Warden Commander stood and looked at the bodies that lay on the stone floor, blood forming pools around them.

A new recruit stood near her and she could see him shaking.

"What now, Commander? Surely the King will not stand for this! This is treason!"

Sophia's mind worked quickly, as it always had in these dire situations.

"Get the Captain and call the others. We need to meet immediately!"

The new recruit nodded and ran off.

Sophia turned and headed towards the south end of the Peak, where the mages spent all of their time dabbling in magic and fortifying the defense and strength of the Wardens.

"Avernus! You lied to me!"

The mage hung his head, not in shame but in study, a book open before him.

"I have done whatever it has taken to improve the Wardens and I do not regret a thing, Commander. We would not have come so far had I not employed the darker arts."

"We will be under attack by the King in just a few days time, Avernus! You have doomed the Wardens with use of your blood magic!"

Avernus turned to the Commander.

"Then I suggest we ready for battle, Commander."

Sophia knew the King would not stop now. He would spare no one after what was done to the previous knights was found out.

The King would never allow this to pass.

I must protect the Peak and the Warden line, whatever the cost.

The King sent a larger group of soldiers, as expected, five days later when no word had been received back from the first squad of knights and they showed no mercy as they assumed their brethren had been slain. There was nothing that could redeem the Wardens of any suspicions in their eyes.

The soldiers wanted blood.

Shouts, fire and arrows flew through the air as the battle raged on through the night and both sides took heavy losses. The Wardens number had shrunk during the last three days as some had actually fled the Peak before the battle, unable to commit to fighting the King's forces.

"That's how the story goes anyhow. But I know my grandmother, she would have sent some of the Wardens away. She knew the battle would be lost and she did not want their number depleted, so she ordered them to go. That is probably how the group formed in the Anderfels."

Finally the Commander and the remaining Wardens were forced back into the Peak and they barred the doors as best they could. All of the traders and merchants had vacated the premises days ago so it was only the few Wardens left to defend themselves.

Their barriers did not hold and the King's men broke through quickly, storming into their midst. Avernus was in the back of the line and he began a summoning spell, the air swirling with darkness among them.

Sophia knew what he was doing and she shouted across the battle.

"Avernus- no!"

It was too late.

The Veil was torn before their eyes and Avernus brought forth a Wraith from the Fade and commanded it to slaughter the King's men.

"No, foolish mage. It is you who will be commanded by me. Your soul is now mine."

Avernus refused to acknowledge the spirit's denial and he was slain by it before Sophia could intervene.

The Wraith then slaughtered all beings within its reach and soon the floor was littered with corpses, both Warden and soldier.

Only a handful of survivors made it out of the Peak alive and even fewer made it back to Denerim to recall the tale. Those who did ended up in jail for consorting with traitors.

The King was told of the battle and the blood magic that had brought forth the demons by the few survivors and he declared Soldier's Peak lost and considered the matter now closed. He would devote no more time or resources to any group that had committed such treason when there were other, more important tasks at hand.

"And so it's been that Soldier's Peak has stood for the last hundred years, void of all life except the demons that stalk its hallways."

"Dear Maker. All of those people, slaughtered!"

Leliana was in shock from the story and she let us know that the ending bothered her.

"What happened to the Wardens that left before the battle?"

Levi looked at Alistair as he answered him.

"No one knows for sure, but I believe they went to Orlais and joined with the Wardens there after passing through the Anderfels. It was the only safe place for them at that point. Or they could have been the group that formed the Wardens that are in the Anderfels, I'm not sure."

"Detra, we must help get this Peak back for the Wardens. It belongs to us, to our Order."

I was still recovering from the pictures that were now in my head but I nodded.

"You are right, Alistair. Perhaps we could even use it as a base, somewhere to build our numbers up again."

"That's right! We can make more Grey Wardens but this time there will be no such tragedy."

Levi was anxious.

"So you'll help me?"

I nodded again.

"We will, Levi. I can think of no better way to honor Duncan's memory than by helping you and restoring Soldier's Peak to its former glory."

Alistair smiled and I could tell he agreed with me wholeheartedly.

"I think I like the way you think, Detra."

"How far is the Peak from here, Levi?"

Levi rubbed his stubbly chin.

"From here...I would say about half a day's travel."

"Then if the weather is agreeable, we should leave in the morning. We will pull up camp and then from the Peak, we can continue on to the Landsmeet back in Denerim."

"Thank you so much, Warden. I can't tell you what this means to me."

I was relieved we could actually do something to help the Wardens as we were in dire need so I felt as if I should be thanking Levi for bringing this matter to me.

"You already have, Levi."

Levi stood up and walked to me, shaking my hand again, grateful to finally be on the road to figuring out the mystery of what had happened to his grandmother.

"We should get some rest as we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Leliana, could you gather everyone so I can let them know of our plans?"

Leliana nodded and stood up to gather the troops and everyone but Morrigan came back with her.

"Tomorrow we are going to pull up camp and head north to a place called Soldier's Peak. We are going to try and reclaim it for the Grey Wardens but it is said to be haunted by Fade spirits now. I need all of you with me to deal with whatever we may walk into and if that goes well, we can continue from there to Denerim. We will have plenty of time as the Landsmeet is seven days away and Levi here tells me travel will only be about half a day from where we are now."

Everyone who was interested introduced themselves to Levi and greetings were exchanged across the fire.

Sten opened his mouth for the second time of the night.

"What does this have to do with the Blight?"

"Well, it does not have to do directly with the Blight, but it will help us rebuild the Wardens in the future if we reclaim this fortress."

"But if you both die in the fight to reclaim this fortress, what Grey Wardens will exist to rebuild your order?"

I did not want to think about that possibility.

"One thing at a time, Sten. And no one is going to die."

"You do not know this for certain"

"No, I do not. But I can certainly tell you that I am not planning on dying, not for a long time."

Sten grunted in reply and I figured my answer had satisfied him or he had simply grown tired of communicating with me.

"No one ever plans to die, Warden. It just happens." Sten said as he walked away.

He always had to think of the worst scenarios.

No one had any other questions or comments so all headed back to their respective areas to rest for tomorrow and the pending travel.

"Levi, you are of course welcome to stay with us here tonight. We do not have an extra tent but..."

Alistair interrupted.

"Levi can stay in my tent. I can definitely make room."

Levi nodded his thanks to Alistair and they both headed off to sort things out for the night.

I laughed to myself.

Levi will never get to sleep tonight. Alistair is going to talk his ear off.

I stood and headed over to Morrigan's tent as she had chosen not to attend our little meeting. I needed to let her know tomorrow's plan.

Leliana had just shrugged in response to my question of where Morrigan was before the meeting had begun and I figured Morrigan had given her more trouble.

Better to walk away from her than to lose your patience.

I stopped halfway to her fire, a thought crossing my mind and I jogged back to my tent, retrieving the content of my thought, wrapped in a thick cloth.

I saw Morrigan reading as I approached her and she only looked up from the book she was kneeling in front of when I cleared my throat. She had some herbs and flasks about her as well. She must be working on spells or something magical as usual.

"What is it?"

Morrigan sounded annoyed as usual.

"Sorry to interrupt you but I need you to know what is planned for tomorrow."

Morrigan sighed wearily and waited for me to continue, her eyes still not coming off of her book, her finger keeping track of the line she was reading.

"We are headed north tomorrow to a place called Soldier's Peak so we will be pulling up camp and all of us will be going."

Now Morrigan looked up at me.

"And what might this Soldier's Peak be? Some sort of fortress? Did that fool man who you let into camp tell you about it?"

"Yes and there is quite a story behind it, you missed it. Now it's said that Fade spirits inhabit the place so we are going to take it back. For the Wardens."

"Fade spirits...'tis blood magic that brought them forth. You still involve yourself in things you know so little about, Warden. What happens if you or others are killed in the taking back of this so-called fortress? How do you even know this man is telling you the truth?"

I smiled at Morrigan.

"Morrigan... it actually sounds like you are concerned. I like it."

Morrigan appeared slightly more irritated but continued.

"I am simply making sure you have thought carefully about your decisions. 'Tis not only you involved."

"I have and we can definitely handle this as a team. Can I count on you?"

Morrigan combined two flasks together.

"I do not see that I have much choice."

"You always have a choice, Morrigan, as I have said many times before. If you ever want to leave, you know that you can. But I would miss you."

Morrigan did not know how to respond to that and returned to her book.

"'Tis fine, Warden. I shall be ready for your fool plan tomorrow."

"By the way, I have something for you. I have been meaning to give it to you for some time actually. Being stabbed kind of got in the way."

I held the swaddled item in my hand out to Morrigan but she only regarded it with her eyes.

"It's for you, Morrigan. Please take it."

"What is this about, Warden? I have much to do tonight and you are testing my patience."

I dropped the item onto Morrigan's book.

"Oh, will you just take a minute and look at what I want to give to you? It is really not such trouble, Morrigan."

"If it will have you away from me sooner then I will open it."

I paused, suddenly realizing that Morrigan may indeed dislike me.

I always thought it was a kind of game to her, the way she spoke to people, but the exasperation in her voice sounded all too real.

I was not going to stay where I was not wanted and that is exactly what it felt like right now.

"I am sorry to bother you then. Goodnight, Morrigan."

I turned and moved away quickly, discomfort filling my head.

"Warden..."

I turned back to Morrigan, her eyes fixed on me.

"Never mind."

Morrigan shook her head and went back to her tome and I continued on my path back to the fire.

I had to put Morrigan out of my head and I thought sleep would be the remedy and I ducked into my tent.

Removing my armor, I spotted my journal tucked away in my bag and thought about writing a bit in it. Surely an account of all of our exploits would be fascinating to read in the years to come and so far I had been somewhat diligent in recording everything.

My journal in my hand, I was reminded of the many nights spent recording the days that had gone by and I smiled, pleasing memories coming back to me.

Arms from behind me encircled my waist and halted my reflections on the past and I realized it was Leliana.

"How is it that I never know you're there until it's too late?"

Leliana softly kissed my shoulder and whispered her answer.

"Stealth is my specialty."

I turned to Leliana after her arms released me and laughed.

"One of them anyhow."

Leliana smiled so sweetly at me and we kissed before another embrace took us over.

"You look ready for bed."

Leliana eyed me.

"And you do as well."

"Join me?"

I smiled back, gesturing to my bedroll and we both settled in.

"Shmooples is asleep I assume?"

"Yes, we went for a walk earlier and he passed right out in the tent when we got back. He really does love to sleep."

I giggled as I pictured little Shmooples in my head bundled in his blankets. I still had my journal in my hand and I put it beside me.

"What is that, Detra?"

"This? It's my journal. I was going to write in it but now I don't feel like it."

"I did not know you had a journal. Do you write in it often?"

"Not lately as it has been mostly busy. I'm trying to keep a record of our travels and all the happenings. I want people to know what it is that we went through to save Ferelden."

Leliana lay against me.

"Would you read something from your journal to me?"

I began to thumb through the pages, recalling each and every word that I'd written down and feeling as if they were too private to share. The journal also served as my diary and I had planned to separate the story from the private later on.

"Oh, you don't want to hear any of this. It is very boring."

"I do not think so, but I don't want you to read if you would rather not, Detra. It's all right."

Leliana understood how some things should be kept private.

I continued turning a few pages, hoping for an easy entry.

"What is this?"

Leliana touched the ring on my finger that Alistair had given me and was staring at it.

"Oh, Alistair gave me that on the day we met his sister. Isn't it pretty?"

I held my finger up so I could admire it myself as well. I had grown accustomed to seeing it on my hand now and I rather liked it.

Leliana leaned up and looked into my eyes, acting a bit nervous.

"A-Alistair? He gave you a ring? Are you two...?"

"What? Oh no. He just, bought it. I'm not sure why."

"So he doesn't... And you don't..."

I laughed.

"Leliana, if you cannot tell by now that I have no interest in men, then I don't know when it will dawn on you."

Leliana lost her cautious look and settled back down into my arms.

"Good, because no man is good enough for you."

I placed my journal back down and ensured the blanket was covering us as it was a bit chilly.

Leliana snuggled closer to me and I reached over to the oil lamp, turning it off for the night.