Chapter 1: Fated Paths

"…Let's see…did I get everything? Elfroot…check. Deep mushrooms…check. Deathroot…I think I managed to get a sufficient amount…That should be everything on the list. Oh, I forgot the spindleweed! Damn it…I'll have to go back and get it."

I shook my head, dusting the dirt from my hands right onto my black skirt. What was a little more dirt? I spent so much time at the Wounded Coast and up at the Vimmark Mountains doing herb collecting, I was usually covered in ample amounts of either dirt or sand. It just meant I'd need to spend some extra time scrubbing clean when I managed to find a good spot to bathe.

"All right, then. Spindleweed is usually close to the beach…"

With a sharp nod to myself, I grabbed my herb basket and turned my attention towards the coast. It was a beautiful day out on the Wounded Coast, and I took a deep breath of the fresh sea air. I'd have to go closer to the oceanside to find the spindleweed that I needed. Somehow, I had to put food in my belly, and selling herbs to the merchants in Kirkwall had sufficed for now. Usually, that was because my extensive knowledge could get them the herbs that their suppliers couldn't get, especially in the more dangerous areas. Of course, I was earning less coin then their human or dwarven comrades despite this fact, but I just had to deal with it.

It wasn't long before I found what I was looking for. The dark orange leaves of the spindleweed plant were vibrant compared to the sea of sand and patches of lush green, so spotting it and carefully gathering it up wasn't much of a chore. That was the last of the herbs I was looking for today, so I was just about ready to head back to Kirkwall. I wanted to be back in the city before it got dark, anyway. Usually the scoundrels came out at night, and avoiding trouble was key to survival in the City of Chains. At least it would be a nice walk back. The weather was pleasant, and I was happy to stick my bare feet in the water, if only for a little while.

The ocean was so blue today, I could see my reflection staring back at me once I took a few steps into the rising tide. Now was a good time to wash my face and hands clean of dirt, so I set about taking care of that. First, I had to pull my very long ebony hair back into a quick ponytail. With the ends reaching to the small of my back, bending over meant that the violet-tipped strands would go straight into the sea water. If I had more pins, I would have pinned back the violet side-bangs on the right side of my face, too. It was rather annoying that they would get into my face all the time, but I had to make due.

Small, thin hands reached forward, passing through the reflected image so I could scrub them clean. A young woman stared back at me while I worked, elvish by appearance, though the ears were noticeably smaller than your typical set of 'knife ears'. My face was too youthful. I'd always resented how young I looked, even as time passed me by. That was likely why at some point I'd gotten several piercings. They were supposed to make me look older, but they hadn't made a lick of difference. There was one silver ring on the left side of my lower lip, three tight silver rings hugging the lobe of each ear, and a long thin silver cuff earring hooked around the outer lining of my left ear.

A pair of violet eyes in the reflection closed as I brought my hands up to splash water onto my face. The charcoal coloring on my eyelids was going to run now, but I'd fix it later. (The coloring was supposed to make me look older, too. Didn't work.) I could see the smudge of black sliding down one of the two parallel scars over my right eye, and I stubbornly rubbed the smudge away. The day they create waterproof coloring, I'll praise the Maker.

I took a second to adjust my clothes, making sure the knee-high black skirt and thin white petticoat were set properly, my white half-sleeve blouse was in proper order and not flashing any inappropriate skin with the heart-shaped neckline, and the brown vest was secured tightly at the neck. The rustic key was still fashioned to the cord around my neck and rested against my chest, and that made me smile. Fond memories. Better days, indeed.

The reminiscing was short-lived. A bunch of loud voices were travelling along the beach, and my sensitive ears picked them up. Well…there went my peaceful walk home. I hurriedly grabbed an old dirty rag from inside of my herb basket to dry my face and hands off. Hopefully, it wasn't a bunch of troublemakers. That was just not a mess I wanted to deal with right now. I sighed, scooping up my basket and moving to step back out of the water and onto the warm sand. It was nice while it lasted, but it was time to head back to Kirkwall and try to get a decent reward for my hard work.

"…We need HOW much elfroot? By the Maker, that's enough for…"

"Twenty elfroot potions. We need enough for everyone, plus extra, in case we run into darkspawn."

…Now that peaked my curiosity. Darkspawn? But the Blight was over. The darkspawn had either been slain, or they went crawling back into the Deep Roads. I was starting to see the silhouettes ahead of the people talking. Let's see…one, two, three…oh, there's a fourth one. Must be a dwarf, he was rather short and hard to see from a distance. As our paths got closer and closer together, it was becoming easier to distinguish genders and features.

The group appeared to consist of two humans, one gentle man with long blonde hair in robes and one rather serious woman with very short black hair and red warpaint across her nose dressed in cheap leather. The small person was indeed a finely-dressed male dwarf with hair the color of copper all dressed in red. Odd-looking dwarf…where was his beard? He also seemed a lot more cheerful than most dwarves, most I've seen were rather grumpy. Their final member was a very odd-looking armored elf man lingering in the back, brooding silently. He had very lovely silver hair, and the beautiful strands caught my eye. It should have been those intricate pale white markings on his skin that swiped my attention first, but no. The short locks were more interesting. You didn't see many elves with such a hair color. Then again, the pot was calling the kettle black, all things considered. Mine is purple for Andraste's sake.

Only the elf man seemed to catch me staring at them as we started to pass by each other, the other three distracted with their argument about their plan of action. I had to resist the urge to giggle with their minor bickering. It was kind of amusing.

"The most elfroot should grow up farther in the grassy areas…right? Why didn't we just go to Sundermount?" The dwarf was clueless. Elfroot could be found up at Sundermount, true, but the Wounded Coast had a more plentiful and healthier supply.

"I see the plant here more often when we're out and about. It shouldn't be too hard to find…" At least the woman was talking some sense. Still, if she needed that much elfroot, it was going to take her hours if she wasn't familiar with the terrain out here.

"…We should have just bought the potions…"

"With what coin, Blondie? Lady Elegant charges a good bit of coin for hers. That's why we're collecting the herbs for Bartrand's alchemist in the first place. It's more work, but it's much cheaper."

Sighing, I turned on my heel and approached the group. These poor people were absolutely lost, and my conscience wouldn't let them waste away hours trying to find what they were looking for. From the sound of it, they were in desperate need of the supplies for whatever they were up to. They were…an odd bunch, but they seemed nice enough. What could happen?

"…Excuse me. I…apologize for eavesdropping. Though, you were talking rather loudly…ah, not the point. Do you need some help finding that elfroot? I come out here all the time gathering herbs, I can show you a good place or two to find the quantity that you need. Sounds like it's for something very important."

All of them now had their gazes trained on me, giving me rather funny looks, varying from person to person. Most of them were confused, the elf kind of just looked…annoyed. I suppose I do look rather strange, but I know better than anyone that appearances are deceiving. I did my best to give them a reassuring smile and even held up my herb basket to corroborate my story. I did have elfroot in the basket, but not in the large quantity that they required for whatever it is that they were doing. I could have shared, but I simply didn't have enough to help them AND fill my orders all at once.

"…Are you sure you have the time to help us? We could use the assistance, but I wouldn't want to impose…and we don't have any coin to pay you with." The woman spoke up first. Her voice was kind, but I could tell that she was scrutinizing me very carefully, almost as if she was assessing if I was a threat or not. I was used to that look by now and I shrugged it off.

"Ha! No charge. I'm just glad that my knowledge can be helpful to people that really need it. It sounds like whatever you're doing, it's important. I'll be happy to show you one of my favorite spots!"

"That's really nice of you, kiddo. We'll try to get out of your hair as fast as we can." The dwarf smiled at me nicely and even gave me a wink. "Lead on then, master herbalist!"

"Master herbalist? Oh, I wouldn't go THAT far." I waved off his compliment as I turned on my heel and started further inland. "There's a rather large patch of elfroot in this direction, though it's a bit of a distance. It's better than running all over the Coast getting the amount you need from multiple plants, though, when you can get your supplies all in one go. Saves time in the long run." My bare feet pressed into the soft sand, following the path that I knew by heart. "What do you need that many potions for, anyway? Going on a dangerous quest to slay some beasts? Delivering supplies to the refugees perhaps?"

"Nothing so honorable, I'm afraid. We're going on an expedition into the Deep Roads looking for anything of value." That time, it was the blonde human that spoke up, and I nodded towards him. Well, that made loads more sense, since they had been talking about darkspawn.

"Ah, I see. So, treasure hunters. The Deep Roads are pretty dangerous, even if the Blight is over. Now I see the need for so many potions. Well, I hope your expedition goes well and without incident."

"What about YOU, then?" The male elf finally spoke for the first time in my presence, his eyes narrowed at me. Ah, suspicion. I've gotten that look many times, too. "What are you doing in the Wounded Coast, by yourself, no less? It's no secret that bandits travel through here because it's the most direct route to Kirkwall."

"Just trying to make a living, like the rest of the city-dwelling elves. As I said before, I was picking herbs. The basket isn't just for show, after all. I sell them to the merchants in Lowtown all the time. I'm also aware that it's dangerous out here, but I'm very careful, and I don't stay any longer than I have to. It's easier to avoid any bandit groups when you're by yourself, making very little noise and moving quickly. Besides, if I was up to no good, I wouldn't have chanced a conversation when I'm clearly outnumbered and unarmed. Does that satisfy your curiosity, ser?"

That seemed to satisfy his accusations, at least for now, and the group lapsed into silence for a little while. Eventually, though, the woman spoke up again, chuckling a bit to herself.

"You know, we imposed upon you for your help, and we didn't even introduce ourselves or have the decency to ask your name. How rude of us."

"That's all right, I forget common courtesy rather frequently myself. I'm always too busy to stop and take a second to talk. I'm Naela, and you and your friends would be…?"

"Marian Hawke."

"Varric Tethras, at your service, madam." There was that charismatic grin again from the dwarf. He seemed to have a way with talking to people. I liked him almost instantaneously. Maybe it was that cheery attitude, it was infectious.

"Just Anders, if you don't mind. Nice to meet you, miss. The dark and brooding one behind us is Fenris. Don't mind him, he's always like this."

"…I do not brood."

"Friend, if your brooding were any more impressive, women would swoon as you passed. They'd have broody babies in your honor."

I had to resist the urge to chuckle at Varric's words as I kept moving, focused on our destination now that the chit-chat had died down. Once we got closer to the location I beckoned them to follow quickly behind me, ducking under a tree branch and turning a corner around a very large set of boulders to reveal to the group a cluster of elfroot plants, hiding away in this small corner of the Coast. I'd found this little treasure trove at least three or four moons back, and I only used it when large quantities of elfroot were requested to me by the merchants. I didn't mind sharing my little secret spot with them for such an important mission.

"Well! That should be plenty of elfroot for the alchemist." Anders was already approaching the bushes and moving to collect the plant's medicinal components, with Hawke coming to his aid and Fenris keeping a lookout. "We shouldn't have to worry about a lack of supplies now! Still, we'll only take what we need."

"This was a very big help, Angel. Thanks!"

"…Uh…Angel…?"

"You came to our rescue like you were sent by the Maker himself!"

"…Varric has a habit of giving people nicknames…mostly the people he likes." Hawke shook her head as she stood, dusting her hands off on her pants while Anders finished up gathering the bright green herbs. "…Don't pay it any mind. In any case, he's right, this saved us a lot of time, and we appreciate it."

"It was my pleasure. It's starting to get a bit late, though, so if there's no more pressing business we need to attend to, how about all of us head back to Kirkwall together? Strength in numbers, I suppose. We don't want to be caught out here after dark."

"An excellent suggestion. We could at least walk you home since you went out of your way for us. Right, Hawke?"

"I don't see why we can't, Anders. Where do you live?"

"Oh…uh, the Alienage, with the rest of the city elves."

"We can always stop in and go see Daisy while we're in the area, see how she's settling in. It's been a while since we checked in with her."

"…I would rather avoid speaking to the blood mage…"

"Come on, Fenris, she's a sweet girl…"

I let their little bit of bickering fade into the background while I mused over today's' events. It was a bit overwhelming, the kindness of these strangers…but I wasn't going to turn down the offer. That would have been rude of me. Though…it was going to be a bit of a predicament if they discovered my little white lie. Really…I lived in Darktown, not the Alienage. If they were to witness my living conditions, well…it might raise a few eyebrows, and I didn't want the questions, let alone the pity. The party looked like they were preparing to leave, so I scurried across the sand to catch up with them, my makeshift ponytail whipping around behind me.

The walk was uneventful, for a time. were over halfway to the city, and by now the sky had darkened considerably. My eyes and ears weren't bothered by the dark, so I kept alert as we walked. The others were easily chatting away, the only exception besides myself being Fenris. He seemed like a very serious type…or the paranoid type with how 'on alert' he was. Was he so used to looking over his shoulder? How strange… and sad. What kind of hardships had he endured…?

"Do you think Merrill will mind us coming over at this hour…? It may be too late to see her…and I need to check in with Mother, see how she's doing at home. Hopefully Uncle Gamlen isn't driving her mad…"

"I'm sure Merrill will be glad to have our company, even if it is brief. Still, I have to agree with you, we can't stay long. I have to make sure I don't have any patients waiting for me back at the clinic…"

I sensed the danger at about the same time Fenris spoke up. His senses must have been on par with mine somehow. How strange.

"…We're not alone."

You could practically feel the tension in the air as everyone in the group was suddenly on high alert once Fenris's deep tone reverberated quietly between all of us. We continued walking, but hands were already reaching for weapon hilts, conversations had ceased, and all of the attention had been brought to our surroundings. Everybody present was prepared for a fight with weapons and armor. Me? Well…I had an herb basket. I was vulnerable. This…was not going to end well, I could feel it in my bones.

You could hear it…footsteps. The crunching of leaves. There had to be enemies hiding in the patches of shrubs or in the treeline around us. Why were they here…? What were they waiting for…? If they were planning an ambush, they had already given themselves away and failed miserably. I couldn't quite put my finger on it…but apparently, I could put my foot on it. My left foot collided with a metal surface instead of sand.

SNAP!

By the Maker! I cried out and dropped my herb basket as metal teeth sank into the flesh of my foreleg. A bear trap?! It had been hidden in the sand so well, I didn't even notice it! Apparently, that was what our attackers had been waiting for, as several rugged-looking men came from a large cluster of shrubs, and a few more scattered men came out from behind trees and boulders, weapons at the ready. I had just inadvertently stumbled into their trap, and now things were about to take a turn for the worse.

"Well, well, well! Look what we have here, boys! You folks look like you've gotten yourselves into a bit of trouble! Maybe we could lend a hand…"

Damn it! My foot was caught fast. I could have leaned down and attempted to free myself from the bear trap, but there were bows trained on us. One false move and there was a good likelihood that I was going to get shot. This wasn't good… we were outnumbered and they were slowly attempting to surround us.

The others were already drawing weapons. Fenris had himself a massive greatsword, Hawke was sporting a pair of nice daggers, Varric had a heavy crossbow, and Anders had a staff. This was going to turn into an all-brawl very quickly, and there wasn't anything I could do but watch as the four took up defensive positions around me.

Shit…what am I supposed to do…?

"Hmmm…the little one's damaged goods, but I bet we can still get a good price for her. She's got a cute face. Might be able to get something for the other knife ear, too…funny-looking fella. Not sure about the rest of them…well, we can clap 'em in irons and see what we get, anyway."

Slavers. It had to be slavers…the worst kind of criminal in Kirkwall.

Their 'conversation' seemed to only piss off Fenris more, his grip tightening on his greatsword while his markings shimmered slightly. Wait a minute, what? Normal tattoos weren't supposed to do that…

…Is that a trick of the light…? What kind of markings are those…?

My attention went back to Fenris himself. That fury on his face…it was like watching a mabari on a leash, snapping and snarling with unsatisfied hunger, but unable to reach his prey. He was powerless, anxious…at least until he was let off of the leash to satiate his desires.

He exchanged looks with Hawke, and the woman nodded, giving him a slight smirk. What was she grinning about at a time like this!? It had to be something very amusing if it had her smiling when we were outnumbered. This must have been some sort of inside joke between friends that went right over my head. How frustrating.

"…Have at it, Fenris. No mercy."

"…With pleasure…"

And with that, Fenris was on the move, charging right into the middle of the group rather recklessly. He was going to get seriously hurt doing that, right?! To my surprise, arrows flew, but…they went right through him? Oh…his markings were glowing an eerie shade of ethereal blue. Was it some form of magic? I was unfamiliar with any sort of magic that could make you intangible, though…by the Maker, how was this even possible?!

"…Varric, cover him. Anders, stay here with her."

In a flash, Hawke was joining Fenris in the fray, tossing a glass flask into the air and then kicking it to the ground by the archers. The glass shattered, releasing a cloud of billowing smoke that distracted the ranged fighters. Hawke barely gave them a second to breathe before she dove right into the fray. She was like a flurry of blades, slipping in and out of the manmade fog. You could already hear screams as the two blademasters felled opponent after opponent, staining the sand with crimson blood. Varric was pitching in, crossbow bolts raining down on the melee attackers, crippling them for Fenris to pick off easier…as if he wasn't cutting through them like a knife through butter already.

A few stray men came our way with swords brandished, but Anders waved his hand and an ice wall separated us from them, buying us a bit of time.

"Think you can get yourself out of that trap?"

"Yeah, I got it!"

The mage kept his attention on our surroundings while I bent over, inspecting the bear trap. It was a simple trap, so it was easy to grab the jaws firmly with my hands. Then I pushed down to separate them. Once I had just enough wiggle room, I pulled my foot out and released the trap, letting it snap shut again. My open wound stung, but that was the last thing on my mind as I straightened up and glanced around at the battlefield once more, taking stock of what was going on.

Anders's ice wall wasn't meant to stay up indefinitely, as it was starting to crack, crumble, and melt. Already, the melee attackers were resuming their charge, and Anders was making it rain ice shards down on their heads to slow them down while he stepped between me and the enemy. Some of the ice shards impaled a few of them, but the remaining warriors were still rushing ahead, coming for us. Anders prepared himself for melee combat, holding his staff defensively.

"Stay behind me!"

"No problem!"

The problem with mages was that they couldn't do much when the enemy was upon them. The remaining slavers rushed Anders, two of them clashing weapons with him while a third was looking for an opening to get at me. There was no way he could take them all on by himself… I was just being a liability on the battlefield and putting him at risk needlessly.

What do I do…? Should I…? But… I can't! I can't do it!

Too late. Just as Anders knocked one of his opponents upside the head, the other one pushed back, the two clashing weapons fiercely while the third one slipped past his defenses and grabbed my arm, pulling me towards him.

…I am not going to let this happen…no way in hell!

With my free hand, I took a good swing at him as he pulled me in. I managed a good punch to the bastard in the throat with the coming momentum and knocked the wind out of him. Hah! Armor always had fatal flaws if you knew how to exploit them. Stunned, he immediately let go of me and I took off running across the sand, taking advantage of the situation. Sadly, my success was short-lived, and he took off into a sprint in my direction mere moments later. He was right behind me, reaching for me…but he was interrupted.

I turned abruptly when I heard the battle cry, followed by an agonizing scream and the spray of blood on the back of my clothes. There was Fenris with his greatsword in hand, blood spraying everywhere from my pursuer and his now severed arm on the sand, as well as the stump that was left over from the brutal attack. The others must have decimated the front line and joined us, from the looks of it. Anders and Hawke were finishing off the last man together while Varric was busy shooting a survivor point blank in the head while he was laying on the ground.

Soon enough, the fresh amputee fell to the sand, screaming like a frightened goat while he bled out. I didn't bat an eyelash at him, instead turning my attention to Fenris. He was soaked in the blood of his enemies, but otherwise unharmed. Thank the Maker…! Everybody else joined us, and it seems they all fared just as well, though nobody was as much of a mess as Fenris was. None of us had gotten hurt in the skirmish, and I couldn't help but crack a little smile. Maybe a scratch here and there, but those were all superficial. Their fighting skill had to be amazing to walk away from a fight like this without any serious injury.

They all jogged over once their work was concluded, Varric giving my fresh wound a furrowed brow. I was hoping they weren't going to make much of a fuss about it, but my hopes were dashed almost immediately.

"You all right, Angel? That looks nasty…you really should have been wearing shoes out here."

Glancing down at my ankle, I sighed. It was swelling up a bit and the bleeding hadn't quite stopped yet. Great…what a nuisance. At least it was my left leg. I had my lucky anklet wrapped up and tied to the right ankle. It would have been a shame if that was destroyed.

"I'll be fine, I promise. It stings, nothing more. Everyone else okay?"

"Don't worry about us, we all just about walked away without a scratch. You're the one that nearly lost a foot!"

"Hawke's right, we need to take care of that injury before it gets infected with all of the sand and dirt you're covered in…" Anders was already moving to retrieve my little herb basket, picking up the scattered herbs and putting them back into the wicker container. "I'd take care of it now, but there could be more of those slavers about. It's too dangerous to linger here any longer. We'll skip the trip to Merrill's and go straight to my clinic in Darktown."

"Really, it's not necessary…!"

"I don't think Blondie's going to take no for an answer, Angel. It'd make us all feel better if you went. After all, if we hadn't kept you out later than you intended, you wouldn't have gotten wrapped up in that scuffle."

"…Evidently, I don't have much of a choice in the matter, do I…?"

With the way they were all looking at me, there was no room for argument. I sighed, but I nodded. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to at least get it looked at, right? If it would put them all at ease, I didn't mind the extra hassle. I doubt they would believe me anyway if I told them I'd be fine without the fuss.

Satisfied at my response, the group moved as one, heading back towards the city. This time, though, they moved in more of a formation, most likely for my sake. Hawke led the way while Anders was on my right and Varric was on my left, with Fenris bringing up the rear. It seemed like everybody was working to match my slower pace as well, thanks to the limp I had obtained from the injury. It was…nice…they were all thinking about me and trying to help. Me, a total stranger…

Maybe this world isn't so hopeless after all, if people like this still exist...

…..

I'd heard rumors of Darktown's clinic, but I had never actually been there before. Like the rest of the underground city, the place was in shambles, but Anders had done his best to keep it tidy and fill the place with clean cots for his patients. Currently, I was sitting on one of those cots, letting Anders do most of the mending with his magical abilities. Really, he had to be a well-practiced mage with how little time and effort it took. I was quite impressed.

The wound was clean and closed up now, all that was left was to give it a few hours to finish healing by itself with the boosted regeneration. He was still bandaging it, though, just to keep it free of grime and avoid any further complications. Darktown could only get so clean, after all!

"You really should have been wearing shoes, or the wound wouldn't have been so terrible. At least some leather boots would have given you some protection from the bear trap."

"I just feel more comfortable without shoes, really, so I never wear them. As you can imagine, this sort of thing doesn't happen to me very often…regardless, it's not a bother."

Anders just gave me a raised eyebrow at my response before he stood from his crouched position, shaking his head at me incredulously. Well, I didn't expect him to understand, so I shrugged right back at him. Everybody has their quirks, right?

"In any case, you should probably stay here, at least for tonight. You need to heal and rest that foot. Besides, it's very late now, and Darktown can be just as dangerous as the Coast. You're guaranteed to run into trouble if you leave at this hour."

…I had to agree. Reluctantly, I nodded in favor of his suggestion. Walking home now would just create more unnecessary problems that I didn't have the energy to deal with. I was quite tired after such an adventure, my clothes were ruined from the blood, and my deliveries in the morning were likely going to be late thanks to all of this mess. What a day it had been.

"I'll see if I have anything you can wear instead of those dirty clothes... Hawke, if you're heading out, let me walk you to the door, at least."

"Oh, that's really not necessary…"

"I won't have you sleeping in those filthy clothes. I insist."

Hawke had been sitting around, making idle conversation with Anders while he worked. She was the only one to stick around unsurprisingly, as Fenris made for Hightown as soon as we got through the city gates, and Varric went straight for The Hanged Man out in Lowtown looking for information on our attackers. Now, it looked like she had to depart to check on that family she mentioned.

"Guess that's my cue to head home as well. Get some rest, and good night, Naela. Perhaps I will see you some other time?"

"Uh…good night, Hawke...maybe…"

Hawke and Anders quickly retreated, and I was left alone to my thoughts. They were a nice bunch of people, that much was obvious, but it was a bit…overwhelming. Maybe stifling is a better word to describe such showers of kindness. This was Kirkwall, after all. Everyone that lived here was only looking out for themselves…but maybe they were the exception.

Meanwhile, Hawke and Anders were exchanging rather serious looks as he led the woman towards the front doors of the clinic. He seemed very puzzled about something, while she had her eyebrow quirked at him.

"…Don't you think something's a little…off about her? She's…very strange. I'm not sure what to make of her."

"She is a little weird…but I don't see anything wrong with that. She seems like a nice girl, after all. I wouldn't dwell about it too much. You'll get frown lines on that handsome face of yours."

"Hawke…! Not now…"

"Oh, all right, all right. I'll refrain from teasing you when you have a guest. Just…keep an eye on her. I don't think she's being entirely honest with us. Sure, she works with plants, but she's absolutely filthy, and she's not even wearing any shoes…maybe she's lacking in coin and just too proud to admit it."

"That's a good possibility. Poor thing…the elves are treated even worse than the Ferelden refugees around here. I'll talk to her in the morning, maybe there's something I can do to help her out…"