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TABTAB Orzammar was bussling with activity, as it always had been during the peak hours of the day. The dwarven city was basking in a newfound wealth that its new king, Bhelen Aeducan, provided thanks to his newly implimented laws. The old traditions that weighted down a dwarf just because of who he or she was born as were amended to allow every dwarf to make their mark on the dwarven society. This was especially true for the children of Orzammar. Where once they had no choice as to what they would or could do, now they had a chance to experiment and become who they wanted, not who they were forced to be.
TABTAB One such example was Anika. The young dwarven girl had no limits other than what she could imagine. She was not restricted to teaching, scholarly work, or cooking. No, she trained to be a soldier, a warrior that could very well best any Proving she entered with an angelic face and beautiful light brown, shoulder length hair that betrayed her brutal martial ability. Anika was the source of many a rumor, even now at the age of fifteen, as her mother was unknown and many doubted she was Bhelen's daughter as there was no proof of her blood heritage. She could often be found scurrying about the main traffic ways, laughing as she rough housed with the other children.
TABTAB But at that very moment when Bhelen was in a meeting with the deshyrs, she was dressed in Aeducan armor, companied by twin axes and a bow and arrow set. She used her supposed father's authority to attach herself to a Deep Roads expidition unit. It was a small patrol investigating what they could around Orzammar since the darkspawn had been driven out by the past war on the surface. The men were reluctant to bring her along, but her curiousity had gotten the better of her. Garim had always forbade her from traveling the Deep Roads. She knew of the dangers of traveling in darkspawn territory, but he would never tell her the exact reasons he did not want her in the tunnels. She was determined to find out why.
TABTAB
TABTAB As Bhelen exited the Assembly chamber, he was met by a full on toss and pin against the wall. Before his eyes was a sturdy and stone-built dwarf. His light brown hair and beard were slightly unkept, messied by years on the road. His heavy armor added to Bhelen's discomfort. But more than that, the dwarf's eyes... those deep brown eyes, filled with rage and anger. Bhelen recognized that look, and knew immediately who it was. "Greetings to you too, brother."
TABTAB The angered dwarf now had swords and axes pointed at him, though Bhelen warded them off with his hand. He knew better. He knew his brother could very well kill him and his guard without receiving so much as a scratch. The dwarf's voice was gruff and deep, matching his strong stature. "Did you let her into the Deep Roads?"
TABTAB Bhelen's eyebrow raised. "Who?"
TABTAB The dwarf's forearm pressed slightly harder on Bhelen's throat. "Anika. Did you allow her to go with Hil's unit?"
TABTAB Hil? He must have meant Hilgrad, the commander of a small five party band charged with noting any activity around Orzammar. Bhelen shook his head. "I swear on our father's name; I did not send for Hilgrad to allow Anika into his company." Nor would he have allowed it. The threat on Bhelen's life had already been made perfectly clear.
TABTAB After a long moment, the dwarf released Bhelen, allowing the king to fall to the ground. The blades surrounding him never met their sheaths as he pushed through them and headed towards the nearest tunnel entrance.
TABTAB After a moment, Bhelen rose, dusting himself off and continued on as if nothing had happened, to the astonishment of his guard. "Don't blame him for his actions; They're controled by instinct and emotion. I would have done the same, had I his strength and protectiveness of my blood." Ignoring the guards' confused expressions, Bhelen could only think of what awaited Hilgrad in the near future.
TABTAB Garim's wrath was deadly indeed.

TABTAB Hilgrad's unit of five plus Anika ventured into the lava-lit tunnels south of Orzammar, venturing into old tunnel routes that had not been checked in months. Aside from the occasional deep stalker ambush and spider attacks, the tunnels were relatively quiet and still. Drawing her ax from the neck of a downed deep stalker corpse, she huffed, retuning the ax to its holster. "Things normally this quiet?"
TABTAB Hilgrad shook his head. The old dwarf's face was as scarred as his body from years of expedition service, including one that scratched over his now blinded left eye. "No. Normally we have darkspawn parties to contend with. Even if the surfacers dealt with a horde, there should be more activity around... wait."
TABTAB His hand rose, signaling a company halt. He peered around. Another click, same as he heard when he halted the group. He slowly gripped his battle ax's handle as he slowly crept forward. Roughly thirty feet ahead, a side passage was visible, the source of the click. "Ferd, was that passage here last time?"
TABTAB A bowmen in the back of the group shook his head. Halgrid sighed. "Was afraid of that. Let's get Lady Aeducan back home, then mount a scouting--"
TABTAB Anika rose her hand in protest. "I came along so I could see what the dangers were. For all the stories, all we've seen were simple beasts. If there's a chance the darkspawn could be in there..."
TABTAB Hilgrad turned to his group, weighing his options, then nodded. "Fine, but I want Lady Aeducan surrounded at all times. Dwarf at either side, behind, and in front of. Block formation. I'll lead."
TABTAB The dwarves did as they were told, taking their position around Anika, Hilgrad in front of the block with his shield raised to block anything that could come at him. As they crept forward, eyes darted everywhere, even the walls and occasionally the ceiling. The clicks stopped echoing as they reached the passage, a small unrefined tunnel. Anika, the entire time, could not shake the feeling of herself being watched. Whether hostile eyes or not, she could not tell, but she was doing as her father had told her and was trusting her instincts. Not hostile, she repeatedly told herself.
TABTAB The side tunnel was pitch black, with the only light being given off the torch in the hands of the dwarf directly in front of Anika. It was only then that she noticed Hilgrad's upper body remained perfectly still as he stepped forward. A side effect of his many years of training, perhaps.
TABTAB What happened next happened way too fast for Anika to react to.
TABTAB A sudden gust of wind rushed the group, blowing out their torch. Then, in the pitch darkness, a horrible whale rang out. Torches lit up all around them as they found themselves in a massive open area. Ahead was a pair of giant gates that took up the entirety of the northern cavern wall. To their left, arrows fired off from odd men that stood on a perch some fifty feet above and twety feet back. Their faces were messed up, a possible side effect from the flickering flames, but they appeared to be gray skinned, and their eyes had no pupils.
TABTAB Hadgrid immediately stood in front of the left side of the block, using his shield to ward off the arrows. "Darkspawn! Pile up!"
TABTAB Then a roar was heard. It sounded beastial, but also sounded like a man. A black shadow flew itself into the archers on their ridge, followed by another roar. Soon, there was silence, and the shadow reappeared at the ridge's edge. She soon realized it was a dwarf, like they were, when the shadow spit at the corpses that laid at his feet. Then she recognized him when he disappeared and reappeared from a hidden passage at the ridge's base.
TABTAB "Garim!" She broke from the formation and tackled Garim, though he did not even stagger when he embaced her.
TABTAB Hilgrad and his company looked like they just saw a ghost, an apt description. "By the stone... Lord Ae-... No... Just Garim now, eh?"
TABTAB Hilgrad extended his hand towards Garim, who eyed the old veteren for a moment, then grabbed the dwarf's forarm with his hand. "Aye. Just Garim. Prefer it that way. Doesn't matter who I use to be."
TABTAB Hilgrad let go of Garim and spat at the ground. "Meh. You use to be the one the younglings would look up to, not those nug-humping bastards we have now."
TABTAB Anika saw something she'd never seen before in Garim: sorrow. He looked down for a moment, shadow covering his eyes, then he looked back up at Hilgrad. "Bhelen's good for Orzammar. Despite what that b*****d's done, he's helping the dwarves prosper. Besides, we both know I'm not the political sort."
TABTAB Hilgrad laughed a harty laugh. "Who with dignity is suited for the Assembly nowadays, eh? But there're more important questions, like what you're doing out here. I thought you were apart of the wardens, up on the surface?"
TABTAB Garim nodded, then turned to the massive gates. "The Missy asked me to check something for her. Looks like she was dead on. Only spotted patrol parties out here, but the feeling... there had to be more. That's when your lot came around."
TABTAB Feeling? That was right. Garim once told her that he had the ability to sense darkspawn because of the ritual he participated in. "So then... the reason it's been quiet was because of you?"
TABTAB Garim nodded, flashing a small smile. Hilgrad did as well. "To think my student would be this good at what he did."
TABTAB Garim let out one laugh. "Still got a lot to learn, old man. But yea. Helps when you got an issue with their lot." Then he turned, taking a darker appearance. "Halgrid. Why is Anika with you?"
TABTAB The veteren hesitated, looking for the right words, but Anika stepped in. "D- Garim, it's my fault. I demanded they take me with them. It's just one patrol."
TABTAB Garim rubbed the bridge of his nose for a second, then nodded. "Fine. Hil, take your company back to Orzammar. Tell Bhelen he needs to send at least three companies to deal with the camp that's ahead. Anika will be staying behind for a bit before I escort her home."
TABTAB Normally, Hilgrad would argue with someone saying they could single handedly guard the Lady Aeducan, but he knew Garim, and simply nodded and ordered his company to return home. As he did, Garim motioned for Anika to follow him through the passage he entered from. After minutes of walk, they ended up on a cliffside. Garim and Anika crouched down to stealthily sneak to the edge. Anika could not believe her eyes. Dozens of small lights that looked like campfires lit the area for miles. However, one thing caught her eye, and almost made her puke. It was a monsterous... thing. Tentacles sprouted from its pink flesh. It looked to weigh about six or seven hundred pounds.
TABTAB "That," Garim eventual said after he let Anika take in the sight, "is what we call a Broodmother. They spawn the darkspawn, birth armies. It use to be a dwarven female. When they capture the dwarven parties, they feed the women and daughters darkspawn flesh, then the bodies of the men and sons. They become bloated and transform after weeks and months of this. That, Anika, is why I don't want you out here. If they capture you, you'll end up like them. Understand?"
TABTAB Another side of Garim: sympathy. He could already see it in the young Aeducan's eyes: fear. She simply watched the Broodmother in sheer horror. After a moment or tw, Garim tugged on her shoulder. "Let's get you home, eh?"
TABTAB They returned to the Orzammar gates silently, and as per usual, when the gates opened for her, Garim vanished. He always spoke of not being welcomed in the city, which seemed like complete nonsense. She went to the Diamond Quarter, to the Aeducan household, to her chamber, all silently and to the point of ignoring any conversation anyone wanted to have with her. She closed her door behind her, went to her bed, and buried her head in her pillow. Only then did she cry. She whaled, and cried for a good while before stiffling her tears. Garim appeared by her bedside, who she embraced once more, buring her head in his now armor free chest. He hugged her with one arm, resting his free hand on her head.
TABTAB They were silent, with exception to Anika's hicups. "Nothing to be ashamed of. Not like this. Bravest, strongest woman I've ever known cried like a newborn babe when I was on the surface during the Blight."
TABTAB Anika slowly nodded, but never spoke, so Garim remained silent as well, simply comforting his daughter the only way he knew how.

TABTAB Aboard the Sharkfin, many a traveller and pilgram basked themselves in the moonlight from the clear night sky above. Most of their conversations were mere murmurs to a particular individual, who played with a small golden right that hung from a necklace. His head was covered by a hood, but he could been recognized as a human, and as male, though that was all.
TABTAB His attention was soon drawn to a young girl that seemed fascinated by every little thing on the deck of the ship, and eventually found her way to the man. "Mister, that's a pretty ring. WHere'd you get it?"
TABTAB He eyed the girl curiously before a woman ran to the child and tugged on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry. She's a little curious."
TABTAB The man shook his head. "It's alright. She's cute enough, so I guess I can answer her. He looked at the girl for a moment, his deep blue eyes seemed to look through her very soul. "It was a gift from someone I once..." What could he say? Loved? Lost? She'd made her point countless times that love was a weakness, yet it was his strength in his search. Then he grinned a little widder. "No, someone I still do love. She's lost, all by herself. So I gotta go find her."
TABTAB It was then that the girl's mother seemed to recognize the man. "By Andraste, you're the son of--"
TABTAB The man placed his finger of his lips, hushing her. "Not right now, at least. Right now, I'm just a fool looking for someone that he can't seem to stay away from."
TABTAB The woman nodded, but bowed slightly all the same. The girl looked up at her mother quizically, but did the same and sped off once again. The man leaned back slightly, watching the girl dance around and her mother chase after her. "Cute child. Reminds me of someone else I know..."

TABTAB Arya sneezed as she and her troop entered the Tower within Lake Calenhad. Ever since the Archdemon's fall, Alistair had worked with the new Circle of Magi to give mages more freedoms. Now the tower acted as a training center rather than a prison. Templars were no longer their judge and executioner, but rather guards and friends of the mages themselves. Some old faces were gone, whch saddened Arya. Gregior died of old age not but a year or two after the Battle of Denerim. Irving was still around and kicking, but just barely. Due to her new initiatives, Wynne was not able to take over as First Enchanter, though she never missed a Mass Lecture opprotunity to better the minds of the young mages.
TABTAB The new Circle was centered around a new First Enchant, First Enchanter Selena, one of Arya's old playmates before the elf was conscripted. Two others, a warden and a templar, representated the Council. The new Knight-Commander, Horst, was a well enough guy to befriend, and oddly enough backed mage freedom. He had been sent by the Divine to govern his position in the Fereldan's new way of handling the 'mage situation'. Horst himself was not all that impressive at first glance. He seemed normal: fair skin, short black hair, medium body size. But his strength was in his ability to deal with magic and disrupt mana. He had a power no one had ever seen people: he could literally sever a person's touch to the Fade. He single handedly exorcised an abomination with a single touch and a little energy. In this respect, he was as feared as he was admired. It was a power he himself could not explain nor say how he got it. He was simply born with the ability. The only three seemingly unaffected by this ability were Arya, Wynne, and Carus. Wynne was connected to her Spirit of Faith, while Arya had what was the equivalent of an Arch Spirit connected to her. However, Carus was a mystery as always. Nor did Arya ever question it; some things people didn't want others to know, and if it were sharable, he would have.
TABTAB Technically, Carus was the Warden Representative of the tower, but Arya had a habit of 'borrowing' him. When he was gone, he would use pools of water and add lyrium to them, forming a sort of portal that he could to talk to people within the Circle. It was a handy trick he taught Arya after the first of many magic duels that they used to better their spells and mana control. For someone to stand a chance against a mage that could go toe-to-toe with an Archdemon, Carus was highly respected amongst the Circle's members, even if his background gave room for criticisim.
TABTAB Carus immediately set off to find First Enchanter Selena for a status report while Arya and Leona carried their belongings into a rather large shack on the tower's grounds. Trying to get into her old room at the tower seemed.... inapproriate, and Leona fancied a more outdoory approach to bedding. Younglings would be attracted to the shack in their absence from time to time, but would find nothing; anything of value in their pocession was always with them. It paid to travel light. The only thing they had to worry about now was Rosa attempting to steal from the tower's vault. They had to keep a short leash on her at all times, but something about the woman said that using an actual leash might give her some enjoyment.
TABTAB About an hour of waiting later, Carus retrieved the women and they went into the top of the tower, the Council Chambers. There, Arya was bored with numerous complaints about various robberies, highway jackings, bandit raids, things people on the ground already knew about and had taken care of. Carus, everything with the tower seemed to revolve around him when it came to Arya's life, helped ease the process by trying to eliminate what was already known. Rosa had to be thrown out, again, do to her in ability to hold her tongue, going so far as calling a Council Member an 'Wrinkle-Skinned Harlot way past her days of usefulness.' At least the wardens were able to get a laugh out of it.
TABTAB That night, Arya dove into the tower's library. It was the only chance she got to look for the solution to her problem. To Alistair's problem. To all of the wardens' problem. Every time she came to the tower, she would spend sleepless nights scanning text after text for anyway to reverse the darkspan taint that every member of the wardens had within them, due to the ritual they all went through. Rosa had yet to go through it, and Arya wondered if she would ever make the woman do it. There was no reason, no need to bring such a curse on her. No, being a warden in name alone was enough.

TABTAB That night, she fell asleep, but she soon wished she hadn't. It didn't take long before she realized it was going to happen again. The same hellish nightmare. First, she was in the tower during her youth, playing with her friends. Smiling, laughing her nymphish laugh. Then her body grew into her current age and the tower around her caught ablaze. Her friends were now bodies litering the ground. She watched in horror as their skin began to bubble and turn into abominations. Another Arya tore through her body, she was semi-transparent and couldn't interact with the scene, and sliced through the hordes of magical monstrosities. Behind this Arya, a templar, a bard, and a mage followed behind her. The thing that sicked Arya the most was the expression on the other Arya's face. She was grinning wolfishly, like she was enjoying the slaughter. She had gotten a taste of Rage's power and every part of her begged for more. The scene swapped with the four-man group metting a Pride Demon, tempting the other Arya with wonderous power. Hunger was visible in the other Arya's eyes, the want for more, the want to accept the demon's offer. The next scene showed the other Arya kneeling in a scarred field before Denerim, black tattoo-like markings streaking up her face like lightning bolts across both eyes. Inked veins branched from these markings. She was turning into an abomination. Not into a common form used by a single demon, but formed by a collection of demons feeding off a single host. A chuckle escaped her throat, then a bloodlusty laugh.

TABTAB Arya woke, her body shooting upright. She was panting, sweating, tears rolling down her cheecks. Rosa was hovering over her almost yelling her name. "Arya! Snap out of it! You're ok. Shhh." The walls were too thick and the room was too far down for someone to hear her screams, but it seemed Rosa was coming to get her into her bed. After all, sleeping in this particular library usually ended up with them catching a cold. At the very moment, the elf took back every mean thing she had ever said about Rosa and embraced her. Her hiccups mirrored that of a child's, but Arya didn't care.
TABTAB Eventually, Rosa asked, "That dream again?" Arya nodded, her head burried in Rosa's chest. It would have been a sight to see, if the circumstances had not been as they were.
TABTAB Rosa closed her eyes and attempted to comfort the elf. "Do you remember what I told you the first time?"
TABTAB Arya silently nodded again. The nightmares showed one side of real events, but not their entirety. Yes, she tasted a minute amount of Rage's power, but not by her own will and Rage was immediately shut out after that one scrap. Yes, Pride tempted her and yes, she thought about it. For a moment. Then she cut the demon's head off, ending the abomination outbreak in the tower. Yes, she had been assaulted by a plethura of demons, one after another of various sects, but she fought them off for three days on will alone. That's what caught the eyes of the spirits that formed the Arch Spirit linked to her now. She wasn't a vessel of a demon, she was their executioner. She wasn't their tool, she was their bane. She was Arya, of her own body and mind. No one controled her.
TABTAB After a long moment, Arya pulled her head back and straightened her back, then pecked Rosa's cheek. "Thanks."
TABTAB Rosa grinned. "Any time, love." It was wierd. Carus was more along the lines of the brother of the troop and the one that would get them out of jams, Leona the group mother and their fierce protector. Arya was the leader and the one that could pull victory from any situation, but Rosa's role changed frequently. Sometimes she was the riskie woman that strutted what she had. Other times she was as mischevious as an imp. Then there were time like this that she acted as Arya's comfort buddy. She decided Rosa wasn't a friend or a sibling-like companion, but something inbetween that and someone she could see her self being in love with. Alistair was the only one that she would ever truly fall for, but.... Rosa just made her emotions go haywire sometimes. Something told the elf that Rosa already knew that, so the little nicknames they threw at each other, 'love', 'sweet', 'babe', were their inside joke.
TABTAB When Arya and Rosa got back to the wardens' shack, Arya went sound to sleep again. This time there was no nightmare, no demons plaguing her dreams.
TABTAB The following morning, Leona woke the elf up. "Come on. Caruz and ze whore already packed. We got zummonz from ze King. He haz newz." Something about Leona's expression told Arya she wouldn't like what she was about to hear.
TABTAB Her eyebrow raised. "So why that look?"
TABTAB Leona hesitated. "Ze King.... he'z getting... married."

TABTAB The Sharkfin tossed and turned in the waves has the cloaked man had just about gotten himself to fall asleep, when a yell tore across the deck. Pirate ships. They were smaller than the vessel, but they were faster and outnumbered the vessel two to one. The captain ordered everyone into a single corner as the raiding party boarded. The only ones who didn't listen to this command were the man, who was too lazy to get off his pile of barrels he found comfortable, and the young girl from earlier.
TABTAB The raiders looked experienced, each with their own collection of equipment. It was a guess that the patchwork was done by the equipment owner's hands, as each looked like they were wearing junkyard throw-togethers. Maybe not too experienced if they couldn't afford proper armor and weapons. All together, seven men made up the raiding party, three from either boat and the warlord. Their learder looked rivanni, darkskinned and all. He took on a more primal and barbaric look about himself with skulls covering his shoulders and handing from his deadlocks.
TABTAB "You, girly! Get over dere wit de oders!" An atrocious accent, but easier to understand than others the man had heard.
TABTAB The girl had spunk and stuck her tongue at the raider. "Meanie!" The cloaked man grinned for a second.
TABTAB In response, the warlord shot forward and grabbed the girl by the wrist. Her mother attempted to get to her, but other raiders held their weapons at the woman.
TABTAB The warlord grabbed at the girl's moth and pinched her tongue. "You got quite deh tongue. Maybe you'll be nicer if I cut it out."
TABTAB As his hand raised his dagger, something caught his arm. Amidst the woman's screams and the rustle of movement, the cloaked man had moved unheard. Now he held the warlord's arm. "Oi, oi. No need for that. She's just a kid being a kid."
TABTAB The warlord's eyebrow raised. "An' who deh hell are you?"
TABTAB The cloaked man grinned. "Again with the names.... fine. If I need a name, call me.... 'M'"
TABTAB The warlord seemed even more confused now. "Deh hell 'M' suppose to mean?"
TABTAB 'M' shifted his body so the warlord could see his eyes. Death glare. "Well, 'Master' for you.
TABTAB The warlord tried for a swipe with his dagger, but only ended up moving his arm an inch before a loud crack was heard. The warlord howled as he held his broken hand. "Kill him! Kill him now!"
TABTAB No one responded. Instead, five unconscious bodies laid on the deck, one left remaining but his weapon stolen by 'M'. He shook his head, for he saw 'M''s little trick. There was no trick. 'M' has taken down all five before catching the warlord's arm, all from the time the girl was dragged to then. No one man should have been able to do that alone and with their bare hands.
TABTAB 'M' shot a knee into the warlord's nose, leaving him unconscious as well. All remained silent as he walked over to the final raider, then sighed. "Do me a favor and just jump yourself."
TABTAB The final raider looked confused, so 'M' clarified. "I don't fight women. Train, yes. But not seriously fight." He lightly lifted the raider's skull helmet to reveal a beautiful fair-skinned face. "The armor hides the chest buldges well, but not that well." He flashed a smirk before standing between her and a now angry mob.
TABTAB "Strange. I thank you for what you did, but she meant to kill us all! She's no better than them!" It was the girl's mother. To think such a simple and unfortunately common event would change her so quickly. Others on the deck nodded, reinforcing her belief. To 'M''s surprise, the raider made no attempt to defend herself; he was literally the only thing standing between her life and her killers.
TABTAB "You owe me, so let me take my debt now. The lass comes with me on the next port. Do what you will to the rest of the party, but the she's now with me."
TABTAB One of the men in the group managed to yell, "Do you have any--"
TABTAB "You will not take her life!" 'M''s voice cut through all of the murmurs of the ship like a loud cannon shot. Anger was there, as well. He'd seen instances like this before. Killing wasn't the answer for normal people to keep their sanity.

TABTAB The air remained heavy for a long while, but his proposal was accepted. The next port the ship landed at, 'M' and the woman were gone. He set her free to do as she pleased, not even carrying for the reason of her actions. She asked to follow him, to repay him, but he declined.
TABTAB "Where I'm goin', lass, you'll get nightmares for the rest of your life if you're lucky enough to keep up."
TABTAB The woman sighed, but called out to him as he began to take his leave. "What's your name? Your real name?"
TABTAB Sounded like she was from the Free Marshes. Interesting. "Fine, but you can't tell anyone else, got it?" The woman nodded. "My name's Mir."
TABTAB The woman extended her hand, and Mir took it. "Shyvana."
TABTAB That night, as Shyvana managed to find a lodging in the tavern of the port city, it dawned on her. Not too long ago, there was a noble from Highever that fought for the Gray Wardens. He was caught up in some political game and was thought to have been assassinated, but showed back up in Denerim. She had met and been saved by the Hero of Denerim, Mir Cousland.

TABTAB "And?"
TABTAB "'And'? I thought you would be more... zad or zomeding."
TABTAB Arya sighed. "Leona, we've been over this: if he chooses to marry someone, it's his right. We both have the Taint, wouldn't be able to make an heir. Besides, I've met the orlesian babe myself. I approve."
TABTAB "'Approve' sounds like me saying I've 'met' someone."
TABTAB "Maybe~"
TABTAB Arya seemed unphased by Leona's news. Rosa had been a little worried, but not very. Leona seemed to be the only one still unconvienced by Arya's words. They sat in a carriage en route to Denerim. Carius sat in the front for the time being, leaving the women to their 'Girl's Talk'. "Diz iz your man we're talking about. You're going to loze him to an orlezian whore, no offenze, whore."
TABTAB Rosa shrugged and crossed her legs in her seat. "None taken, big girl. Anyway, Arya's right. I've seen this broad. She's got everything: money, pretty eyes, nice butt, everything. And the accent...." she sighed, "she'd be a dream come true for any man, well, any man interested in women."
TABTAB "All I'm zaying iz zat where I'm from, we rezpect ze love two people have. Nothing getz between zem."
TABTAB Rosa's eyebrown rose. "So no threesomes? No sexy parties? Sounds like a dull place to live to me."
TABTAB "It'z an honorable plaze to live."
TABTAB "Still sounds boring."
TABTAB Carus's voice interrupted their banter. "This is just me talking to myself and all, but it sounds like this is Arya's deal, not y'all's."
TABTAB Rosa interrupted him. "Wait, hold on.... 'y'all's'...?"
TABTAB Carus ignored her. "It's all fine and good what the two of you would do or feel, but it's all up to Arya. If she says she's fine, I believe her. If she wasn't, she'd say so. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. Play a game."
TABTAB Arya, who had remained silent, was once again thankful for Carus. She could hear his voice in her head. "Got your back, Commander." It made Arya smile even widder, but it was unnoticed.
TABTAB Rosa was snickering. "'Y'all'. I can't believe he just said that. What is that? You and all? I've never heard that before."
TABTAB Carus groaned. "Crap..."
TABTAB Rosa snickered louder. "Oh yes. You messed up big time."
TABTAB Carus tapped the carriage's cloth layer. "Leona. Do me a favor? Make the carriage tip over. Let it kill me, crush every bone in my body, then my skull. No chance of recovery. That would be lovely right about now."
TABTAB Arya sighed. "No can do, we still need that brain of yours."
TABTAB Carus shook his head. "Was afraid you'd say that. And the good times just keep rolling."
TABTAB Rosa bursted out laughing. "Don't you mean 'good ol' times'?"
TABTAB "I hate my life right now."

TABTAB "Lord Bhelen!"
TABTAB A loud voice roared through the Assembly Hall as a meeting was interrupted. Bhelen had called the deshyrs to deal with the new threat Garim warned of. The issue was that Garim sat beside the Dwarven king, allowing his legs to hang freely as he listened to the stupidity that was the argument between noble house leaders and Assembly deshyrs. His restlessness was evident; he was ready to fight the darkspawn again. It seemed, though, that the late lord of House Saelac, Fargnir Saelac, did not approve of Bhelen's decision to allow Garim to attend.
TABTAB "My Lord, this is blasphemy! This... traitor.... killed the late Aeducan! He's a surfacer! There is no honor in letting him do as he pleases!"
TABTAB Garim grunted, but Bhelen responded. "Fargnir, I know you're into your traditions, but right now we need him. My scouts have backed Garim's warnings, and we need experts on the darkspawn; those who know even more than our seasoned veterans. Garim is a Warden, so he is protected by laws that are above our own. If anything, he is above me in that aspect."
TABTAB Garim said not a word, but merely looked at Bhelen with curious eyes. Bhelen simply continued, raising from his throne and walking to the middle of the room. "The Wardens came to us, seeking assistance. We aided them, and in return they aided us in more ways than one." Bhelen gave a quick eye to Garim before addressing the Assembly once more. "Right now, we are faced with a force that could very well threaten our walls. We are receiving information every hour from Wardens from the surface about new developments, but we need to come together. Now. We need to throw away our differences if we are to survive."
TABTAB The next voice was Garim's. "Personally, I don't give a damn about you people." There was visual shock all around, even from Bhelen. "But you are my people and I have my reasons for wanting to protect your sorry hides. Keep fighting me if you want, but you will either fight together or die together. Those bastards outside your walls? They're waiting, and when they attack they'll come at you with everything they got. I've seen.... things you will only see in my worst nightmares; makes yours look like flowers and pretty things. Think about that."
TABTAB With that, Garim left. That was the power of Bhelen and Garim. Even before he was banished, Bhelen always had the 'way with words' part and Garim always had the 'wake up' part. Apart, they were strong. Together, they could possibly topple kingdoms within days.
TABTAB Garim waited until the Assembly ended for Bhelen to exit, then approached him and his guard unit of five. "What did you mean by 'Wardens'? The only one I talked to was the Missy."
TABTAB Bhelen nodded. "I know. There's another, the human you were with before."
TABTAB Garim's eyebrow rose. "Mir? I thought he was searching for the Witch?"
TABTAB Bhelen nodded again, then motioned Garim to walk with him through the Diamond Quarter. "Yes, but what you've detailed, he's seen on the surface. We have a contact on the surface he reports to when he can."
TABTAB Garim stroked his beard. "If it's him... this could be worse than I thought before. I need to go to the Roads again. Do more scouting. Something's off about where their base camp was."
TABTAB Bhelen was getting curious. "What do you mean?"
TABTAB "Originally, they're base was four broodmothers strong with at least a hundred grunts and mages guarding them. Now the numbers have almost halved. New tunnels have opened up, and camps are scattered along them."
TABTAB Bhelen was starting to get the picture. "They're digging; creating a larger area of control?"
TABTAB Garim hesitated. "I think, but I'm not positive. The form they're spreading... it's like the way a survey crew would for a large expedition crew. Like a Craig Dive crew."
TABTAB Bhelen stopped, then looked at Garim. "So they're looking for something?"
TABTAB Garim nodded and looked at the king. "Yea, I think so. What? I donno. But I have a gut feeling it's something on the surface. And the speed they're going? It's something powerful and important for them."
TABTAB Bhelen hesitated a moment, then grinned somewhat, clapping his hands together. "So it's a race. And we're staring late."
TABTAB Garim grunted. "Had to give them a chance somehow. Otherwise it'd be a piss poor show."

TABTAB Mir let out a loud sigh as he removed the water skin from his mouth. Ice cold mountain water always tasted amazing, especially when a person did not have anything to drink for the past four hours. He also had to wait for Shyvanna to catch up. It seemed mean to increase the distance between them, knowing what lied ahead. Soon, they would need all the help they could get, so it seemed ideal to go through it side by side. So he spent twenty minutes sitting on a tree stump, filling his water skin with clean river water and cleaning what needed to be cleaned. In that twenty minutes, he had time to think and plan. His main objective was clear, and Garim's inquiries lead Mir to only one conclusion as to what all the commotion was about. His conclusion was both good and bad, very good and very bad.
TABTAB Shyvanna finally broke through the tree line behind Mir, exhausted. Mir motioned to the river. "Thirsty? Get it while you can get it cleanly."
TABTAB Shyvanna looked at the man in disbelief. He was toying with her, and acting like he did this kind of trek through uncharted territories like he did that kind of thing every morning. These lands were said to be filled with cannibals and witches and dangerous wildlife. She came across a couple of animal carcasses when she was tracking Mir, but the wounds seemed... minimal. Like only the most absolutely necessary attacks were used. This man was a fool, but he was also dangerous. There were groups from her old raider band that had gone into these regions only to be found as piles of flesh and half eaten bone. The horror stories of the ones that came back were legend around the campfire, but this man could possibly fight through it.
TABTAB The two camped at the riverside for the night, as this would be the last time they would have a calm night. There was a surprising amount of conversation between the two. They talked about their families, adventures, events in their lives. Mir's story had been distorted in myth and legend now. He was the brother of Fergus Cousland, and was a born sailor. He was like Garim in many aspects: not wanting to rule, amazing fighting prowess, strong personalities. He spent his days sailing, sparring with knights, and overall spreading good will amongst the people under the Cousland Banner. Everyone knew most of the story after: Howe's raid, his joining the Wardens, the journey from then to the Archdemon's death. After that, Mir helped establish relations between the various factions that banded together. Once the dwarves, elves, and humans were talking regularly, he faded from the map entirely. He began his search for Morrigan.
TABTAB "So what's so special about her? I mean you two fought together, yes, but to go through all this to look for a woman who doesn't want to be found?" Shyvanna twiddled with her hair as firelight danced on her face. Her sat opposite of Mir with her knees before her chest.
TABTAB Mir laughed as his hand unconsciously went to the ring hanging from his necklace. "Because she wants me to find her. She's always been like that: never letting herself admit what she wants what could be considered a liability."
TABTAB Shyvanna looked at him. "Still sounds like you're forcing the issue."
TABTAB Mir grinned like a fool. "Hey, you came along even though I told you not to." The woman shot him a dirty look. "And there's more riding on this than I would like. If it were just her, I'd wait for about six months and let her calm her mind. She'd come back and we would have an awkward reunion followed by make-up sex."
TABTAB Shyvanna's face grew a little flush, but snorted. "So what's added?"
TABTAB "Well, before... well..." he waved his hand, "all that stuff happened, Morrigan and I... shared the night. Because of that, I'm..." he could not find his voice for a second. "Well, I'm a father."
TABTAB It took a second for Shyanna to get the meeting of his words, but soon her face grew redder. "I... see..."
TABTAB Mir nodded, still grinning. "The problem is that I think the both of them are in danger. Bad people are after the child, and her mother is too stubborn to ask for help. So I gotta go help her."
TABTAB That pretty much ended the conversation. Mir sent Shyvanna to bed, warning her that she would not have another peaceful night from now until they finished their mission. She did as she was told, and sure enough just as the sun was showing itself over the horizon a horrible scream tore through the air. As she scrambled out of her tent, she found Mir standing over three humanoid bodies. They looked like mutated humans, and Mir looked like a completely different person. He was no longer the fool she saw the night before. Now, with the bloodied daggers in his hands and the look in his eyes, he seemed like the most dangerous being she had ever seen. He only nodded to her, then went to the river to clean his weapons. They would see action again very, very soon.
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