The first few hours were uneventful and just plain tiring but Mabs did not lose his sense of adventure as he sniffed the air continuously and walked ahead of us a bit.

We stopped again to retreat from the sun's warming rays and hid in the shade of the trees beside us, drinking water to replace what we had sweat out all of these hours.

Alistair was badgering Levi about how much longer the trip was but Levi would not give him an exact answer, still consulting his handmade map.

Oghren was complaining about having pulled the sleigh long enough now and I told him I would take over from here and then he plunked himself down in the shade and proceeded to drink half the ale in his skin in one swig.

Everyone seemed to be sitting but Alistair and I and he walked over to me.

"Levi won't give me an answer as to how much longer it will be so I think he was lying when he told us half a day's travel."

"Alistair, we've only been traveling for about eight hours now so he has been right so far. Give him a break. That map he has does not look so easy to navigate. It looks like something he drew from memory."

Alistair sighed, aggravated by the heat.

"Fine, fine. But if we're not there within four hours, I'm going to ask him again."

"Just relax, Alistair. We will get there."

Alistair grumbled a bit then went off to invade the food pack in the sleigh as he always did at every stop.

Leliana was playing with Shmooples a few feet away from me and feeding him some berries that she was picking off a nearby vine. I wondered if they were safe to eat but then again, Leliana would never endanger her beloved pet so I was sure she had checked.

As I watched them play, my thoughts returned to just a night ago when Leliana had been in my arms and my body warmed even in the shade exploring further memories. Before Leliana or anyone else caught me fantasizing, I walked to the sleigh and hooked the rope around myself, getting ready to move once again.

"Would you like to partner up, Detra?"

Leliana speaking in front of me made me look up and I had no idea what her question meant.

"I'm sorry?"

"I asked if you would like to partner up so you don't have to pull that alone."

"Oh. Well I'm sure I can handle..."

"Just say yes, Detra. You know I will not take no for an answer."

Leliana smirked at me and tucked under the rope with me.

"Ok, but stop any time you like."

Leliana lifted Shmooples back into the sleigh where he had been nestled and we started moving again, the troops following behind us slowly.

Some of them moved ahead of us as they walked much faster than we pulled and Morrigan passed me on the right. She did not acknowledge me but kept walking, her gaze falling on the trees that were on our right. Something in her belt caught my eye and I looked harder.

It was the dagger that I had gifted her with the other night in camp.

She was actually wearing it.

After all the trouble she had caused with the simple opening of it, I would have thought she'd cast it aside. But there she was, wearing it in her belt.

A smile crept on my face as I thought Morrigan may have passed me intentionally, wanting to show me that she was wearing my gift. Then again, I may just have wished it to be so and there was the simple explanation of that she had to pass us because we moved slowly.

Shmooples was squeaking lightly in the sleigh, indicative of his enjoyment of the ride he was getting and I giggled.

Leliana questioned my sudden laughter.

"I just love when Shmooples squeaks like that. He is so adorable."

Leliana smiled and agreed with me.

"That's his little content noise but you should hear him snore. Not so adorable then."

I nodded, adding that Mabs' snoring was almost intolerable at times as well and I sometimes had to kick him out of my room at night when I had been at the Cousland Manor. Even now, sleeping outside, Mabs could still wake a couple of us with his deep grumblings. It amazed me that he did not wake himself up in the process but it always seemed as if the one who snored was immune.

Alistair had stopped in front of us and motioned for us all to do the same and gestured for us to listen. Sten moved to the side of him, silently drawing his sword.

All noises from our group ceased and we suddenly heard what Alistair had- deep, loud voices coming from a bit away. We listened further and they seemed to be violent and argumentative and I detached myself from the sleigh.

With as little noise as possible, I signaled for Zevran and Leliana and Alistair to come with me and signaled the rest to wait where we had stopped.

The four of us moved soundlessly through the woods and the voices got louder and angrier as we neared the source.

"Where is your gold, old man? Tell us or I'll let Mal here gut you!"

I gestured for my three companions to surround the camp that we came upon with three darkly dressed men, surely bandits, threatening a man already lying on the ground. Two of the men were harassing the man on the ground who appeared to be wounded and bleeding and the third man was busy destroying the camp looking for what I was sure to be the gold they were questioning him for.

My companions set off in their directions and suddenly I heard a twig snap and heard Alistair curse under his breath.

"Whut's that? Mal, Grem- get over here!"

There was an explosion of movement in the camp as we came through the trees at them and upon viewing their opposition, the bandits knew they were no match for us and took off running the other way.

Zevran and Leliana gave chase while Alistair ran to the wounded man with me.

He had several stab wounds as I looked upon him and my heart sank as I realized there was not much we could do for him. The damage was irreparable.

"Alistair, go help the others!"

I knew he could not stand the sight of blood and saw he was becoming queasy standing by my side so I sent him off.

The man's eyes suddenly opened as I looked down at him and I gasped, not expecting him to be conscious.

He was gasping for air and his eyes were terrified as he grabbed my shirt and pulled me closer.

"Kerath...You must... tell her..."

The man let go of my shirt and slowly sank back to the soil, the look of death nearing.

I grasped his hand in mine and whispered to him, hoping he was able to hear.

"Be at peace..."

And then he was dead.

To see so much death...I had had enough.

This man had not done anything wrong but chosen the wrong campsite and the bandits had taken full advantage of his mistake by taking his life and his belongings.

Or they had tried, succeeding in only taking one of the two.

I swallowed hard as I stared at the man whose life had just ebbed away in front of me and I closed his eyes with my hand, tribulation in my heart.

"Detra! Are you okay?"

Alistair had returned and walked up the bank of the river near me and I asked if he had found any stolen items on the bandit that he had chased.

"Oh, no, I actually didn't search him yet. I wanted to make sure everyone was all right."

I informed Alistair that Zevran and Leliana had not returned yet but that the man was now dead and he walked to us.

"Poor bastard. What are we going to do with him? Will you bury him?"

I honestly hadn't given that much thought yet as I was still staggered by the man's death but I nodded.

Of course we would have to bury him.

"Please see if that filth has any stolen items on him, Alistair. I need to find out who this man was. He mentioned a name and...Well, I want to see if I find anything in his things."

Alistair nodded and headed back down the embankment as I began searching the man for any type of identification. I found nothing but a few silvers and three stones that did not look to hold any significance.

I looked about the campsite and the only thing left that I felt would give me answers was his tent so I prepared myself to enter.

Zevran and Leliana returned through the brush and startled me as they informed me the other two bandits now lie dead and I asked about any belongings. Leliana and Zevran each showed me a bow and a sword they had claimed from the men but they had found nothing but gold and silver pieces in one's pocket- most likely stolen.

Zevran had removed two rings from one bandit as well but I had no interest in them and told him to do as he pleased with them. Leliana had come up with nothing but the gold already mentioned.

Leliana walked to the man's body and started reciting blessings from the Maker and I did not want to hear them so I made my way inside the tent, not enjoying the idea of having to rifle through the man's possessions to find out who he was and who this Kerath was.

There was not much in the way of belongings in the tent at all, save for a bedroll, an oil lamp and a small, crude wooden box with just a few items on it.

I walked closer and kneeled down in front of the box, picking up a single book and finding it to be this man's journal. I could only check the first few pages for a name as I felt I was invading his privacy and I found nothing.

I turned the box upside down and put the box and all of the items that had been on top of it in the box and a slip of vellum fell out at my feet. I looked after it and it was a piece folded over three times, as if a letter. I opened it up and it was a beautiful hand-drawn portrait of a woman, just her face and neck and she was smiling happily, staring off into the distance.

As I stared at it, I wondered who she might have been to him and I decided it must be his wife. I do not know how I knew, I just did.

Maybe this was Kerath?

I put what else I could find in his tent in this same box and walked back outside where Alistair was now standing over the man's body.

"Now what do we do? Are we going to bury him?"

"Of course we are, we cannot leave him out here to the elements."

The rest of our group had filtered in through the trees now and they surveyed the campsite with us.

Leliana joined me standing next to the man's body and asked what my plan was.

"I'll need our shovel."

Leliana nodded and told me that she would begin making a cross to mark his grave and I nodded, walking away from her to retrieve the shovel.

I was silent from that point on; I could not shake the remorse inside of me. The man, the look in his eyes, the wife he would now leave behind...it filled me with sorrow.

It is given, yet so quickly taken away.

I brought the shovel to the camp and Alistair showed me to a spot he deemed acceptable for burial and I agreed with him.

Sten thundered through the trees towards us and we looked up as he arrived.

"Warden, why are you wasting even more time with this? We must get to and stop the Blight, nothing else matters right now."

"Sten, we are simply burying him. He cannot just be left as he is. Were it one of your brothers I believe you would take the time to do as I am. It will not take long."

"But you did not even know this man. Why waste even more time to do this meaningless task?"

My response attracted much attention and surprised even myself.

"Because it is not meaningless, Sten! Just because someone is unknown to you does not mean you should not honor their death. He was killed by bandits and from what I could tell, he was a good person. How can I just leave him here to be devoured by wild animals? Would you wish that on anyone?"

Sten just stared at me with his usual glare and Alistair touched my shoulder, attempting to calm me.

This made me realize I may have overstepped a boundary and shown more emotion than I ever should have in front of my companions. I needed simple words now, to calm the storm I may have incited.

"I am doing it because it is the right thing to do, Sten."

Sten's glare continued until he mumbled 'Darkspawn' and walked away from us.

I sent Alistair away while I dug, trying to clear my mind and I hummed a song that had been stuck in my head, a song that I had heard my mother sing on many an occasion and it helped me through my labor and kept the darkness in my mind to a minimum.

I gestured to Alistair to bring the man's body when I felt it was deep enough and Zevran and Alistair both carried him to his final resting place, placing him inside the dirt coffin.

Alistair touched my shoulder again before leaving with Zevran and I took the picture of the woman out of my pocket, opening it one last time, knowing how sad she would be for the loss.

In case we can carry things over, she will be with you.

I tucked the picture inside the man's vest and stood promptly, avoiding the threatening tears.

I did not look at the man further as I returned the dirt to its rightful place in the world and then placed Leliana's cross at the head of the grave before walking away.

My companions gathered around me as I emerged from the tree line into the camp.

I brushed the last of the soil from my hands and addressed them.

"All right, everyone. Just take what looks useful to us. This man will not need any of it where he is now."

There was not much but we took almost everything that we found, save for some broken dishes and rusty nails.

We packed the sleigh with our newly acquired items and I ordered everyone to move swiftly, having had my fill of this campsite and the memories seared into my mind.