Dragon Age Origins: A Grey Wardens Tale.
Chapter 19: Those In Need.
The sunlight filtered through a small window high above the four beds; a soft murmur escaping the lips of those asleep as The Wardens rose from their slumber, Alistair rising up first as he pulled his Templar Sword close to him just as Neria and Kallian rose up next with Aeden rising last, pulling himself up off the floor with little regard for his wounds though he seemed to move without so much as a flinch or gasp of pain.
With his eyes snapping open; Aeden quickly chested his injured shoulder and found that the scar had almost entirely faded leaving only a trace line from the wound that had miraculously healed, "How? Neria… did you heal me?".
"Yup! I have recovered a lot of my Mana and I can cast a basic Heal Spell but I've not mastered any vigour or reinforcement spells yet" Neria spoke; speaking cheerfully though the drain of her internal Mana had shown a physical effect by the slight shadow under her eyes that would quickly fade as the day went on, leaving Kallian and Aeden to both wonder what such spells would do to their bodies other than heal injuries.
"Any idea where Alistair had vanished to? Or if Morrigan ever came back?" Aeden spoke breaking his train of thought on Neria's unmastered spells; noticing that their Warden comrade nor the reluctant Wild Witch were present in their room.
"Morrigan… sadly no; but Alistair has already risen and gone out into the village but he looked troubled" Neria spoke up first; having briefly awoken and seen Alistair leaving the room with the sounds of the morning prayer bells.
"I'd imagine he would be; he'd been with The Wardens longer than we have and he's lost everything… I can relate" Aeden spoke carefully; reflecting on his own losses and how he knew how Alistair was feeling, though Neria had no concept of the loss of family since she'd never known one.
Taking notice that both Neria and Kallian were still wearing simple nightwear; Aeden rushed out of his bed and grabbed his clothes, hesitating briefly as the simple clothing he had to wear when he was used to fine fabrics and armour.
"What are you doing Aeden?" Neria spoke; having watched Aeden's every move while Kallian just narrowed her eyes at him.
Upon hearing Neria's voice; Aeden was already at the door, "I was just going to give you both privacy to change and I would change in the corridor".
After hearing Aeden out; Neria let out a sigh and beamed a bright smile to her comrade, "Aww, you sweet man, thank you".
All the while Kallian retained her distrusting stare until Aeden was out the door and gone before meeting Neria's appreciative expression, "How can you stomach him?".
"Stomach him? He's so kind and selfless, I wish more were like him" Neria looked at Kallian with an astounded look in her emerald green eyes, rising from her own bed and staring down at Kallian in wait for her answer.
"Oh please; He's Noble-Born! They are all the same" Kallian answered almost automatically; speaking on her own prejudice that Aeden himself had debunked with his selfless acts not only at Ostagar but also in The Wilds and Flemeth's Hut.
"Kallian; you need to do something about that prejudice otherwise I'm not going to heal your next wound" Neria formed an uncharacteristic scowl as she spoke; looking as stern as she wished she could be as much as it went against her cheery persona, letting her threat sink in as she began to dress herself.
Faced with the unexpected threat that Neria would not be healing Kallian's next injury whether it be life-threatening or not instilled a sense of fear given by the serious look in Neria's normally-naive expression until she looked away to dress herself in the dirty and old clothes that Flemeth had given them, Kallian looked back to the door where Aeden stood on the other side getting dressed and thought on how he was actually different from The Nobles she'd encountered previously and maybe she might be wrong though as unlikely as it seemed.
While in the corridor; and fully dressed thanks to the simplicity of men's clothes as opposed to women's clothes, Aeden could hear the debate and the threat through the door, though the idea of someone was sweet as Neria threatening Kallian felt extremely uncharacteristic but Aeden felt he must have misheard her and instead walked down to the hallowed hall and stood in wait for the girls until they too arrived only minutes later.
Upon heading out of the room; three out of the four Grey Wardens walked down the tight corridor to the church halls where the many residents of the village stood in prayer before a brazier of flames illuminating a tall statue of Andraste, the three standing just out of sight until the villagers filed out leaving only The Templar Knights and The Revered Mother within the halls of the church.
"Ah; our guests have woken" The Revered Mother spoke kindly; in her hands were a bundle of clean clothes while her adjoining Templar held a Templar Longsword sheathed in a black scabbard in his two hands.
"Many thanks Revered Mother; your kindness knows no bounds" Aeden spoke back with gratitude in his tone; making a prayer gesture with his hands that Kallian and Neria both copied though Alistair was nowhere to be seen.
"Consider this a gift from The Maker; clean clothes for your coming travels, and I noticed that you only had a three weapons between you all and that will not be enough with what and who is on the roads" The Revered Mother spoke; making a beckoning gesture as a fully armoured Templar Knight brought over a changes of clothes for the women in your group and a sack of supplies for The Wardens.
"We can't thank you enough, you've done so much for us" Aeden spoke; stepping aside as Kallian and Neria were already taking steps towards the clean and fresh clothes while their own were still dirty and smelled bad.
Without another word and faced with the gift of fresh clothes; Kallian and Neria both took the clothes and dashed behind a room divider to change, The Sacred Mother smiling warmly as the two women were so quick to change out of the dirty rags they had been wearing until both returned.
Neria now adorned in a cream-coloured dress and a housekeepers' apron while Kallian was in a matching dress except she wore a small, knitted shawl over her shoulders to give the impression of a marital partner given the fact she wore a wedding ring on a string around her neck.
The Sacred Mother gave an approving nod of both women's new attire; even The Templar Knights standing guard gave a noticeable head turn before turning back when The Sacred Mother spoke again, "I'm afraid a single night's stay and these gifts are all I can do for you Wardens; for your own safety I suggest you move on by nightfall".
Without need for any more words; or even thinking to ask for Alistair, the hallowed hall of the Chantry church became just a fleeting moment as The Three Grey Wardens left the holy house and walked out into its beckoning courtyard where only a few refugee's were already lining up for exchange what little they had for coin or food from Merchants and Templar Knights gave little heed to the downtrodden or the presence of The Wardens.
"Since we can't rely on The Chantry for another night of shelter; what do we do next? We have no money" Kallian spoke once the Templar Knights were far enough behind them to speak openly; having a change of clothes felt good as the dirty rags Flemeth had given them felt too baggy in places for her thin frame, and the lack of funds meant their journey would be all too short if they were to die of starvation unless someone knew how to live off the land.
Aeden thought for a moment as he carried the sack of supplies; spotting a notice board out the corners of his eyes though only two pieces of paper had been posted, the Chantry Notice Board being a place where those in need could post a declaration of need or a cry for assistance for any good souls to lend aid in exchange for coins or food.
"Really? I used to do these errands when I was young and got nearly nothing and that was in Denerim; out here we'll get less than nothing" Kallian barked upon spotting the notice board for herself; speaking harshly about the meagre rewards for the tasks even in the capital city.
"Just think about it Kallian; we'd be doing good deeds for these people and earning some money; we can't tell anyone who we really are but even with that fact we can still do some good here" Neria chimed in; walking over to a Notice Board and leaning on her staff to get a look at the two posted sheets of paper.
"Of course you would" Kallian muttered with a tone of annoyance at how positive Neria appeared to see everything but felt the cold stare from Neria's eyes when her back was turned.
"Let's see what's listed… we have two, one is a request from a young boy trying to find his mother who was last seen leaving the village, and the other is from a family requesting a healer in the shelters, luckily we can do both with just the three of us but the pay should cover a full meal at the tavern for us all" Aeden spoke with a hopeful tone; taking both notices from the board and holding them up for the three of them to read; taking note of the parameters of the requests and how much coin they'd earn which piqued Kallian's ear.
"I'll do the healing!" Neria chimed up; rubbing her two hands together while cradling her Staff between her forearm and elbow while waving an arm unnessessarily in Aeden's face.
"Have you recovered enough Mana for perform your Healing Spells?" Aeden posed his question; he'd noticed that Neria had hardly been casting any spells except for healing his shoulder that morning, even Kallian was looking at the Mage with a look of concern about a Mage in the open with Templar's patrolling regularly.
"I've got enough so heal a few dozen people now that I've not had to use any magic for over a day, except healing you of course, and I'm pretty sure that The Templars here already know who we are and are giving a blind eye as long as I'm not using… never mind" Neria began to talk; stating and reminding her comrades that The Templar's knew they were Grey Wardens and would likely ignore her healing people but stopped herself before she could mention Blood Magic for she didn't want them to know how dangerous Mages could become.
"Then please pace yourself" Aden added on ignoring how Neria stopped herself so suddenly and leaving that unfinished statement to her own privacy; beginning to walk away with Kallian and leaving Neria alone amongst the shabby excuses for housing and refugee shelters, armed with his Family Sword and setting out to find the person in need of assistance.
Watching Neria leave on the request for a healer left Kallian alone with Aeden; seconds passing by before Kallian realised that Neria had not only deliberately left the two of them together while leaving on a quest that suited her abilities but also forcing her to spend time with someone she both resented and secretly valued as a comrade-in-arms.
Neria.
Having left Kallian and Aeden together; Neria hoped that more time together would help Kallian overcome that prejudice she held against Humans through extended contact with a Human regardless of his birth and upbringing, walking through the village of Lothering in her new, clean and freshly laundered dress until arriving at the shelters and took a step back in shock at what she saw.
The shelters were little more than ramshackle shacks that barely kept out the rain, what few structures that there were for those lucky enough to have a roof while others huddled in small tents and poorly-built yurts that were likely erected in a hurry, even the sleeping quarters in The Circle Tower where young men and women had to sleep in the same chambers with only sliding screens dividing the beds had more dignity than this sight.
Taking a look around herself as most of the refugee's looked at her cautiously for they didn't know for what reason that a young elfish woman would come to their shelters, Neria's eyes homed in on a mother and child huddled under a tarp; both cooking a couple of small fist over a fire but what Neria's eye caught was the nasty blade wound on her arm that had been left untreated.
Hurrying over on the swift feet; Neria knelt to the mother and child who both just looked at her with a desperate look in their expressions until the mother spoke, "I'm sorry; I have nothing to give…".
"You don't have to give me anything; just show me your arm"
The mother looked confused before extending her uninjured arm; Neria shaking her head and indicating to her wound with a simple hand gesture pointing to the wound, the mother looking stunned extended her arm though the mere effort of using that arm seemed to cause her pain to the point that her daughter rose up and held her mother's arm so that Neria could see the full extent of the wound.
The wound was deep and likely infected; Neria noted that if it had been any deeper than her arm would have been taken off, "Who did this?"
"A man… I mean a thief… he had a white wolf painted on his armour" the daughter spoke nervously; as if she was scared just speaking on the thief would cause the man to appear and hurt her mother more, "He demanded all we had; and when we refused he cut my mother and took our belongings".
Neria had heard of thieves who bore the white wolf mark yesterday; believing the thief to be a member of The Winter Wolves, moving her hand over the wound and emitting a soft green glow that lit up the faces of the two refugee's with wonder as the wound immediately began closing through the flesh and tissue knitting itself back together and even a scar fading.
"Are you a magic lady?" One child spoke as Neria had placed her hand over the child's mother's arm; watching as a faint green glow emanated from Neria's hand and the gash closed instantly before moving to the woman's other wounds and scrapes from the attack leaving her with no visible scars.
Neria raised her finger to her lips to keep quiet; her lips curling into a mischievous smile while the child beamed with happiness once her mother was fully healed and back up on her feet, Neria rising back up and turning to meet the gaze of a dozen more injured and desperate men and women all nursing injuries that would prove fatal if left untreated for days.
One elderly man; leaning on an Elm Bow that had lost its bowstring and now used as a makeshift cane limped to the head of the group, "Young Mage… I know not why you are helping us nor why you are outside of The Circle Tower… but can you please help us? We have only a few coppers to spare".
Looking down at the old man's beckoning hand; the few copper coins that he had to give were barely enough to buy stale bread for the whole group, "I'll heal you with my magic, and I'll do it without pay".
As soon as Neria's words left her lips; the old man's eye welled up with tears as the young Mage approached the elder first and immediately began healing him, then moving on to the next person, before long the entire group of refugees had formed an orderly group in order of how severe the injury was ranging from gashes, blunt force trauma to just a sprain or a broken wrist or ankle, she remained at the shelter site until each and every person present was healed but Neria couldn't help but notice a red-haired Chantry Sister watching her from a distance before disappearing into the passing crowd of Sisters and Templar Knights.
Once she'd healed the last person in line; Neria's path lead her out of the shelters and heard something jingle in her apron's pocket, slipping her hand down into the pocket and lifting out the handful of copper coins that had been offered to her but she'd verbally denied payment, figuring that The Elderly Man had been a Rogue or Thief in his youth and must have slipped the coins in while she was healing him, the more she thought about it the more she smiled about the fact that as a Mage; she'd done some good whereas she'd been locked up in a Tower her whole life and told she was dangerous.
Aeden and Kallian.
After leaving Neria to tend to those begging for healing and help; the pair walked the trail out to Lothering's outskirts where the lost person had been last seen according to the notice, the pair walking in silence except for the crunch of their feet against the dirt road and the chinking down of Aeden's Sword bouncing off his hip.
Eventually their path let them to a series of open fields where crops would have been grown but had recently been harvested leaving row upon row of tilled soil and the unmistakable scent of wild animals lingering around them.
"Is there any description as to who we're searching for?" Kallian asked her question; her lips curling into a soft smile as she extended out a hand to brush over the top of the tall grass of the unharvested wheat fields, though most had been harvested already; only one batch had yet to be worked and given the early hour it was likely the work would be carried out soon.
"According to the notice; the boy's mother is tall, with brown hair and wearing a silver locket, and the reward is one silver coin in case you were wondering" Aeden spoke; looking down at the notice he'd been carrying until Kallian snatched it out from his hand to read it for herself upon hearing the reward was only a single silver coin.
"Just a silver coin? but that one silver will earn us all a decent meal" Kallian felt aghast at the small reward but then reminded herself that a single silver for a City Elf was paramount to food for a week or longer and given the downtrodden state of the people in Lothering that was likely all that the quest giver was capable of giving.
While walking through the recently-harvested wheat fields; Aeden couldn't help but glance at the woman walking with him, the quiet walk giving him a moment to admire her flowing auburn hair though streaked with sweat and dirt, her pointed ears poking out from behind her hair and her blue eyes turning to meet his that quickly flashed an irritated look.
Though Aeden's glanced hadn't gone unnoticed; Kallian dismissed his glances at her given the fact he was still Noble-born still irked her the wrong way though he'd done more for her than almost every Human she'd ever known, though for a moment she thought back to that Butcher and his bitter and racist mother; wondering how his business was going now that she was no longer there to clean up after them both.
"Is something the matter?" Aeden posed a question; taking notice that after she'd shot him an irritated look her eyes had shifted to a far-away and yet concerned look.
Kallian stopped walking for a moment; leading Aeden to stop two paces ahead of her, "I'm just thinking of the butcher shop I used to work in, I mopped floors and kept the place as clean as possible… though that was easier said than done".
"I suppose the simpler life you had was preferable to this…" Aeden spoke and letting his guard down to appear and be true to himself by being concerned for Kallian, failing to realise a Wolf was emerging out from the grass behind him.
"Look out!" Kallian shouted; rushing forward with her nimble figure and grabbing Aeden's Family Sword, drawing the weapon moments before a Wolf pounced out from the brush on a ravenous path for Aeden while his guard was down, the weapon longer and heavier than what she was used to but she still brought the weapon directly into the beast's hide and wounding the creature but The Wolf was still glaring at the two even though its front right leg had been cut.
Turning with surprise; realising that with his guard lowered he'd allowed a beast to attack, turning into action and lifting his weapon from Kallian's hand with a single fluid motion, though impressed the girl had used his weapon to wound the beast but it remained his belonging and should be in his hand, with his Family Sword back in his own hand; Aeden brought the blade down with such force and swiftness that he brought an end to the wounded beast by relieving it of its head.
With wide-eyed surprise at how easily Aeden lifted the weapon from her grip for when The Cousland Family Sword it had felt heavy enough to barely swing it and yet Aeden had used the weapon with such ease and force that her own efforts had looked amateur, "How did you manage such a heavy sword? Granted I don't have as much sword training as you"
"Oh that? There are two Runes engraved into this sword; first the rune to preserve the blade and keep it sharp, and a second that only someone who bears the Cousland Bloodline can properly wield this weapon" Aeden smirked as he went to return his weapon to its sheath but instead pointing out the flat of the blade; where two small engraved markings stood out now that Kallian was truly seeing the finely-honed blade up-close.
Kallian went red the moment she realised she'd just complimented a Human Noble's swordplay, ignoring Aeden while he sheathed his sword but when looking at the open maw of The Wolf's severed head she noticed something glinting like silver.
"Do you see that?" Kallian spoke quickly; dashing the compliment from her recent memory, kneeling by The Wolf's head and picking something made of silver from between the dead beast's teeth and holding it up to see, taking note that the chain looping around the locket was stained with blood.
"A wolf like this doesn't roam alone for long; it was seeking out prey for the rest of the pack, we should run back to the village, just one weapon between us both won't cut down an entire pack" Aeden spoke with a noticeable tone of caution; looking around for any signs of movement but found none or that could be a false sense of security given that the scent of Wolf Blood could have easily reached its pack in the minutes that had passed.
"For once I agree; we give this silver locket in return for the payment… though this thing is worth more than the reward" Kallian spoke as she began to run back to Lothering with Aeden in tow, looking down at the locket and taking note that it would have more monetary value than the reward.
"No! we return that to the quest giver and earn our reward, its only right" Aeden snapped back; giving Kallian a stern gaze given the greedy look in her own expression, going so far as to take the locket from Kallian's hand until returning to the village where the waiting child would have to receive some sad news once the locket was returned.
Alistair.
Having risen from his bed and left The Chantry at an early hour; dressed in his meagre and unassuming clothes with absolutely no trace or reminder of his status as a Grey Warden left him feeling like he'd lost even more than just those he looked up to in The Grey Warden's Leaders, King Kallan and even a home with the destruction of Ostagar.
Standing at the edge of a river that ran through the village of which the flow lead to Lake Calanhad; Alistair just stood by watching the ebb and flow of the river's waters, the few fish swimming by head for the fishing lines bobbing in the waters.
Turning from his aimless watching of the river's flow; Alistair noticed that Aeden and Kallian were heading out of the village while Neria was literally skipping into the shelters each with a sheet of paper in their hands, figuring they'd taken quests from a Notice Board since he'd watched many people from regular folks to fully-armed mercenaries taking quests in exchange for goods and/or coin in his time with The Templars and in the previous place he'd called home.
Though dressed in rags and armed with only a single Templar Sword; he doubted they'd last so much as a minute against a horde of Darkspawn much less The Archdemon itself, shaking the grim thoughts from his head before catching sight of Neria in the shelters with the entire refugee populace lining up for healing via her spells when The Templars and Chantry were doing nothing; and that brought a small smile to his downtrodden face for what he saw in that moment was the small glimmer of hope that would carry those willing to follow the light to a form of salvation.
Evening.
By the time the sun has begun setting; the village was buzzing with the trio of wanderers who'd assisted all those begging for help in the village, word had quickly spread of the Human and two Elves spreading good deeds, so much so that the meagre coin earned had amounted to a good deal of money leaving the group of Aeden, Kallian, Neria and Alistair to be sitting around a small table within the walls of the packed Tavern enjoying a meal of watery and chunky potato soup, fresh bread rolls and cups of clean water.
"I must say… I was wrong" Kallian admitted to Neria; shooting the girl with a smirk as she finished off the fresh bread roll almost as quickly as she breathed, letting the trio smirk back at her when she rarely admitted fault.
"I told you that doing good deeds yielded rewards" Neria repeated herself with a mischievous grin; a spark of magic flying out from when she winked but became startled when the doors of the tavern were violently opened and a group of fully-armoured Knights bearing the Royal Crest entered the confines of the building.
Aeden and Alistair both raised their heads to the point of craning to catch sight of the troop of knights entering the tavern; taking instant notice of the crest they bore and quickly huddling down.
"Head's down… and keep quiet" Aeden spoke calmly; hoping that the unassuming garbs of everyday farmers and peasants would not draw the attention of The Kings Guards looking over the many patrons dining on the potato stew, The Knight Captain's gaze lingering on a group of travellers at the table right beside The Wardens who'd adorned themselves in black hooded cloaks.
"Barkeep! Our Lord Loghain has ordered that your sorry excuse for an Inn is to be searched for any surviving agents of the treacherous Grey Wardens" The Knight Captain bellowed for all to hear; the shout to search for Grey Wardens drawing much attention giving the news flowing through the rumour mill of which was that The Wardens were all dead.
"Grey Wardens? Not a single one has passed through my doors in days, not since before the battle and the rumour is that they are all dead, most travellers are just passing through in hope of escaping The Darkspawn" The Innkeeper spoke; working as both the proprietor and barkeep of his Inn, though an elderly man he appeared to have much stamina given how quickly the man moved and worked.
"Is that so? Teryn Loghain has a suspicion that there might be survivors so Royal Knights shall sweep though the Inn's on every town and village south of Lake Calanhad" The Knight Captain spoke while looking down his nose at the Innkeeper; his squad of Knights all scanning the crowd for any who stood out.
"Sir Knight! This is unjust!" one Knight protested before being punched hard by his Captain; his nose breaking and bleeding profusely from the hard armoured punch from his superior, any other Knights who thought the same kept their mouths shut following the brutal blow.
"Knights search anyone who appears suspicious and that includes anyone wearing a hooded cloak to mask their identities!" The Knight Captain declared; casting his arm our and ordering his men to search the whole tavern.
As the Knights searched through the many patrons; several converging on those dressed in the black hooded cloaked but quickly left them alone as Aeden spied the emblem of a known mercenary group being shown, the Knight with the broken nose hobbling through the masses with his ungloved hand covering his nose so not to bleed into people's meals while The Knight Captain stayed at the bar with a flagon of beer in his hand as his squad worked.
Aeden and Alistair kept their head's low as they sipped at the watery soup as the armoured Knight passed them by, Neria breaking a piece of bread in half and offering a piece to Kallian while avoiding the gaze of the Knights circling every table, even The Bards feel silent as one of The Knights came to a stop at their table; Aeden and Alistair both reaching for The Family Sword and the Templar Sword that were propped up between them.
"That's a pretty necklace you're wearing knife-ear, where did you obtain it?" The Knight spoke again; question Kallian on where her Wedding Ring Necklace had come from, his obvious racial intention to claim her as a thief just so he might be able to perform a public punishment in a mission we was sure to fall short of succession thanks to The Chantry's kindness towards The Wardens.
Aeden, Alistair and Neria felt their eyebrows raise in alarm for they'd forgotten that Kallian wore the memento of her late fiancée around her neck as The Knight stared down at Kallian and her Wedding Ring Necklace; their plain clothes giving little indication of their true identities but had overlooked one tiny detail.
Kallian chewed slowly before coughing out the chunk of potato she'd been eating much to the Guard's disgust; opening her mouth to speak slowly, "It was given to me by my fiancée… we were to be married but The Darkspawn cut him down while we escaped our home, I wear it to remember him and his sacrifice so that I might continue to live on".
The Knight as well as many of the other common people stared at Kallian with pity and sorrow as she spoke her partially-fabricated sob story, the men lowering their heads when hearing of the supposed-act of noble sacrifice while the women tried their hardest to hold back their tears over the half-truth Kallian had told, The Knight lowering his hand from his weapon only to continue a march through the people before returning to his commander without so much as another word.
Even the group in black cloaks were subjected to a search; each one of the traveller's had their hoods pulled down from their heads to expose them as just a harmless group of travellers; not a single one of them bearing even a single injury or weapon except a strange-looking Rod, Alistair even catching ear that their group was travelling up to Redcliffe before continuing on to some place in the mountains called Haven.
"Not a single Warden present sir; nobody wearing suspicious hooded cloaks nor armour bearing an insignia" The Knight spoke again while reporting to his Commander; though his voice sounded shaky as he appeared to have been moved by the sob story Kallian had told.
"What a fucking waste of time… everybody knows The Grey Wardens are all dead, let's move out of this disgusting hovel" The Knight Commander announced; splitting on the floor as he stormed out of The Inn with his Knights in tow, the second the door had closed behind the group of Knights; The Bards resumed their musical performance of Red Jenny and the many groups resumed eating and talking.
A collective breath of relief left the mouths of The Four Wardens as The Royal Guards had all left and the noise and bustle resumed; Aeden reaching over and patting Kallian's back for her half-truth in the face of a dangerous situation that Kallian reached over and placed her own hand over Aeden's other hand, with a grateful nod of the head Kallian returned to her food as Aeden pulled back his hand from her back though Kallian was holding back her tears will all her emotional strength.
"We need to leave Lothering as soon as we possibly can, it's not safe with those Royal Guards around" Alistair spoke up both all others around them were no longer paying them any heed; their situation would only continue to grow more dire as long as they kept a presence here.
"But didn't The Revered Mother say she wouldn't turn us in for a bag of gold" Neria spoke; her voice almost catching the attention of the more rugged-looking men at the next table before muting herself to a hushed whisper but Alistair caught sight of a Wolf Tattoo on the shoulder of the nearest rugged man.
"Yes; a bag of gold… what if The Knights offered her two or three bags? Or those Templar's who listened in on us last night! I'd bet my share of coin they'd happily give information in exchange for literally anything" Aeden explained carefully so the surrounding tables might not overhear their discussion; raising his fingers to indicate a number of sacks of gold, even to his own ears the prospect of so much currency just for their four names and descriptions sounded tempting.
"I agree with Aeden; there is no guarantee we can find safe refuge here nor anywhere nearby" Kallian surprisingly took Aeden's side; to the point that Neria and Alistair looked at her with a stunned surprise.
"So where can we go?" Neria broke the stunned silence while Kallian dug back into her potato; asking for anywhere they could run to now that Lothering wasn't safe anymore, and The Circle Tower wouldn't accept them when Templar Knights patrolled every room daily.
"What about Redcliffe? Those Knights we met this morning said that Arl Eamon had been taken ill and Eamon is a supporter of The Grey Wardens as well as a friend to my family" Aeden made his suggestion; fully aware that Redcliffe was only a full days walk from Lothering and if they left now then they'd likely arrive by the late evening of the next day.
Though the notion of leaving for Redcliffe was the most logical; Alistair took a sudden interest in his cup of water as if something shiny was at the base of the cup but his expression appeared troubled and regretful.
"Alistair… you seem unsettled" Neria spoke with concern; cutting Aeden off as she noticed that Alistair seemed troubled at the mention of Redcliffe for their next destination.
"What? No… not at all; it's just that I used to live in Redcliffe… Eamon gave me my first job in The Stables before being taken by The Chantry and then… you know" Alistair muttered with a noticeable reluctance in his tone of voice; speaking on his formative years prior to being sent to The Chantry to train as a Templar before joining The Grey Wardens.
"Then we both have ties to Redcliffe; I notion that we gather what we can and leave as soon as possible" Aeden spoke in a more cheerful tone; the connection between Redcliffe and two members of their group made it much harder to refuse the destination.
"I'll agree with that; it'll only be a day or two's walk from Lothering depending on when we leave" Kallian spoke her own agreement with the destination; having noticed a signpost during their trek to Ostagar that had pointed a path that would lead to Redcliffe.
"I agree too! I'll go anywhere you go Aeden!" Neria stood up out of her seat as she spoke; drawing the attention of others at other tables, her words having been poorly chosen as the spectators assumed Neria and Aeden were together.
"If you're going to Redcliffe Grey Wardens; then you'll need someone who knows the road you need to tread" Spoke a new voice from behind Alistair's back; the soft feminine voice speaking on their true identities that quickly drew suspicion as all four Wardens looked to meet the owner of the voice.
All looking up from their plates at once; The Four Wardens stood in awe of a stunningly beautiful woman with fiery red hair dressed in Chantry Robes but armed with an Elm Bow and a quiver full of Arrows, her eyes peered out through low-hanging ginger bangs with a petal-like mouth bearing a knowing smile at their group of four.
"May I ask who you are? And how you know of who we are?" Alistair spoke first though the beauty of the Sister made his voice quiver; his right hand going straight for his weapon even though the woman was dressed in the robes of the cloth but the Bow slung on her back suggested otherwise.
The Red-Haired Chantry Sister merely smiled to the four Grey Wardens; her hands not going for her Bow even though Aeden and Alistair both hand hands on their swords but remained calm as she spoke, "Certainly Grey Wardens, I am Sister Leliana and I am here to assist you".