Chapter Text
Melina sighed heavily as the group made their way into Lothering. With the thugs behind them, they only had to deal with finding supplies and in turn deciding a suitable course of action from here.
"There's just one problem" Morrigan had brought up a few minutes prior. "How exactly are you going to afford all this?" This had only made their grave situation, even more unbearable. Though Melina hadn't voiced that depressing thought.
"We'll work something out." She assured, hoping that would be enough to silence any further thoughts and comments on the matter.
Even now, minutes alter, she found herself twisting the idea around in her mind. They could steal money, or what they needed perhaps. But, much as she hated the notion, stealing just didn't feel, right to her.
Shaking the thought off, she instead toyed with other ideas, her mind so set on the goal, she didn't pay any attention to the banter between Morrigan and Alistair, the yelling of merchants trying to sell their wears, or the arguments between them and their customers about the price of goods.
The first thing she noted in fact, was when she abruptly smacked her head into something and was sent stumbling back a pace. "Watch out.' Morrigan warned, deliberately to late, the smug tone she used only making the embarrassing moment, even more so.
Grumbling quietly, she spared the board she'd run into a venomous glare, only to relax a second later upon noting the various pieces of parchment pinned to it. "What have we here?" She asked quietly, the hand that had been rubbing her forehead shifting instead to snatch one of the notices off the board.
"Looks like we found an answer to our problems." She said, somewhat cheerfully, though the idea of getting involved in more killing and bloodshed didn't appeal to her all that much. It was still better then the alternatives.
Spinning on her heel, she began reading the notice to her companions…
Several hours passed with the group doing little more then prowling the farmlands and killing bandits. It was boring to say the least, if one could consider ending the life of another living, breathing person, 'boring' But it was hardly anything the group hadn't done before.
Luckily they'd been paid well for it. And had managed to secure food for at least a weeks travel as a result. Now it was just the simple matter of booking a room at the local tavern.
"Don't know about you two, but I'm looking forward to a nice warm bed to relax in." Melina commented as she pushed the door to the local tavern open and led the way inside, Gabriel was right on her heels, Morrigan and Alistair following along a second later.
The place was crowded, but that was hardly surprising. As the elf's gaze shifted across the many faces, she realized just how desperate the situation obviously was. People from all walks of life shared tables and conversations. People in finer clothing conversing with peasants and farmers. To her it was amusing to see people getting along, however reluctantly, to most though it was more the fact they had no where else to go.
Her gaze finally drifted to a group of, soldiers she assumed, judging by the armour that looked almost new. She paid little attention beyond that, failing to pick up on the emblems that indicated they were Logain's soldiers.
They didn't have the same disinterest however, as the leader soon stood and motioned for the others to follow. "It's our lucky day it seems." He grinned, and as Melina's eyes snapped back to him, she felt a slight shiver at the sight. He did not look friendly.
"You've saved us the effort of tracking you don't warden." He continued, a hand straying to the sword clipped to his belt.
"Oh? I was unaware we were going to have an escort." She responded with a smile, the amusement clearly lacking as she crossed her arms and fixed the leader of the group with calm but firm stare.
"Escort?" The soldier laughed, and the elf noted the others behind him reaching for their weapons as well. "Logain has ordered all gray wardens are to be captured for the murder of King Calin." He stated somewhat proudly.
"I see," The mages smile faltered, but recovered after a moment. "so not only is he a coward that runs like a whipped dog the very second the dark spawn arrives on the field." She ensured to raise her voice for the entire bar to hear. "But he blames those that fight and died to protect the king for his untimely end and orders they be executed for the crime?" Most of this she was just guessing at, but it had the effect.
"Watch you're tongue elf!" The captain snarled, his sword already halfway out of it's sheath. "I'll cut you down where you stand for such talk."
The elf's ears twitched at the sound of weapons being drawn behind her, Alistair and Morrigan preparing to join the fray, and in turn she could hear the soft padding of paws of wood, followed by Gabriel snarling at the soldiers.
"Gentle, please!" Another voice entered the argument, causing both sides to hesitate. "Surely we can find a more, peaceful solution to this little disagreement?"
Despite the situation, Melina's eyes shifted to find the source of the voice, eventually finding a red haired human that had detached herself from the crowd and now approached the fight about to happen.
Despite her only meeting them briefly in the past. Melina still picked up on the chantry robes. Despite herself, the elf smiled, naturally she was being saved by a priestess type that would probably faint at the sight of blood.
"Stay out of this sister!" The captain warned, his sword now fully drawn. Despite the woman's interference, he slowly took a step forward; The mage in turn held firm, despite her crossed arms, the faint sparks of fire were beginning to lick the tips of her fingers.
The sister sighed heavily, before taking a step back, seemingly defeated. She aimed to say something, though was cut short by the captain lashing out with his sword. The blow that would have bit deeply into Melina's neck however, never reached her, instead it stopped short as though a wall was in the way, and indeed, there was a faint shimmer, a almost invisible magical barrier protecting her.
"Always ends in violence." The elf muttered, before in the blink of an eye, she uncrossed her arms and shoved them forwards, a wave of flames following the movement.
The soldiers were all sent flying backwards, striking chairs, tables and even the bar. They were quick to return to their feet and rush the group again however. Melina didn't need to act again; Alistair swiftly stepped in front of her, his shield taking the next hit.
One of the soldiers ducked past the shield and aimed to strike the warden while he was distracted, though was stopped short when a dagger was plunged into his neck. Melina swiftly snapped around, her eyes widening as she watched the chantry girl wrench the blade free and spin around, almost dancing as she dodged a swung sword and stabbed another soldier in the back.
"Funny, didn't thing they carried weapons." Melina said quietly, over the clashing of blades no one heard her.
That brief pause was enough to end the fight however. Between Alistair and this mysterious, armed sister, the captain's men were slain in seconds, and he in turn had several wounds to contend with.
Like the typical *tough guy* he was, the second his companions dropped, he was on his knees begging for his life. Melina let him whine for a few seconds, in truth she was debating with whether to kill him, or send him on his way. "Please! I was just following orders, don't kill me!" He begged, several similar statements swiftly following the first.
Finally, after listening to his incessant pleading, she waved a hand dismissively. "Much as I'd enjoy ending you're life as painfully as possible…I won't stoop to you're level." She growled, the idea was tempting, but it would hardly solve anything.
"T-Thank you milady!" He began to stand, though swiftly halted when with a slight nod from the mage, Alistair placed his sword against the captain's throat.
"Not so fast…I want you to deliver a message to Logain." She crossed her arms once again. "Tell him, that the gray wardens are coming. And justice will be dealt." She didn't know why, but she wanted to see Logain dead, if what Alistair had told her was true, and he had abandoned Duncan, Calin and everyone else to the dark spawn, and in turn blamed the wardens for the crime. Then she wanted to see justice done. And if that meant gutting him personally, she'd enjoy every second of it.
With a slight nod, she let the captain go, several of the tavern patrons laughing as he jogged out the door and vanished into the waiting darkness. "Cowards. Every one of them." She hard one person comment.
Ignoring the cheering patrons Melina instead turned her attention to the woman that had stepped in to help them. "You have my thanks, though I must confess, it's surprising to see a chantry sister wielding a weapon, let alone being good with it."
Now that she had time, she paused to take note of the woman. Bright red hair that reached her neck, a friendly smile curved her lips, and Melina was surprised to note a faint reddish tinge to her cheeks, clearly the compliment was well received.
The mage didn't give her time to speak, instead moving on to a more friendly comment. "Now that things are a little calmer." She smiled slightly. "The names Melina." She didn't offer a hand or make any other gesture, instead simply keeping her arms crossed.
"Lelliana." The woman replied, the smile being returned. "I wonder I if I could trouble you for a few moments of your time?" She asked, and it was only then Melina noted the accent, she spoke differently. The elf frowned very slightly, it sounded familiar, where had she heard that accent before?
Shrugging it off for now, she simply nodded towards the soldiers newly vacated table. "Of course."
Chapter 12: Nothing's ever easy
The next chapter at last! And as usual my memory problem has gotten the best of me and i can't remember the important details. Hopefully it's still a good read regardless.
One Mages Mistakes
Chapter Ten: Nothing's ever easy is it?
"Hate to say it Alistair, but you're a terrible cook." Melina muttered as she did her best to enjoy, whatever the hell this stuff was that Alistair had cooked for the night. Luckily the warden she was partly insulting was a fair distance away and in turn failed to hear her remark.
Three days had passed since the incident in Lothering. And they were no better off now then they were then.
The mages gaze shifted about the camp they'd set up for the night, her eyes falling briefly on the two new auditions to the group.
Lelliana, after several attempts to dissuade her, had still insisted on joining the group during their attempt to rally an army strong enough to beat the dark spawn. Melina honestly didn't trust her, not entirely anyway. Anyone that clamed to be a chantry sister and yet had a pair of swords clipped to her belt wasn't to be trusted.
And she claimed her reason for joining was a, vision, from the maker? Sounded more like she'd lost her sanity in the elf's mind. But the human had refused to take no for an answer, and now sat by the fire with the rest of them, discussing whatever happened to come to mind at the time.
Next was the, frankly, scary figure sitting a short distance away from the fire. Sten, she knew nothing about him, and it seemed that was his intention.
A, quenari, she'd never heard of them personally save a few scattered tales she didn't remember that well. But tale or no, the fact that he was here, and she had to crane her neck just to see his face was enough for her not to argue.
That said, she still kept one weary eye on the warrior. He'd been locked in a cage, and was supposedly responsible for a number of murders. And when pressed, he'd not denied the claims.
Just looking at him made her shiver. He easily towered over her, and she was willing to bet even Alistair would have a difficult time meeting his gaze. Coupled with him being easily twice their size across as well and that entire figure being solid muscle…Maker help anyone that annoyed him.
She wasn't entirely sure why he'd joined them either, she'd negotiated his freedom, and it seemed he sought ot pay her back through the use of his sword arm. Or that was what she gleamed from the conversation; he had the uncanny ability to talk her in circles with the almost cryptic way he talked.
Realizing she'd been staring a little to long, the mage shifted her gaze back to her meal. The last thing she wanted was the group thinking she was losing focus, she was somehow the leader, even though she was probably the least qualified for the task. And she wanted to do her damned best to ensure nothing we wrong.
"So, where exactly are we going first?" Morrigan's voice suddenly broke into both Melina's thoughts, and the silence that had descended over the camp. "Are we going something specific? Or simply walking in circles until some stroke of brilliance or luck shows us the way?" She asked, her gaze clearly lingering on Melina, despite herself, the elf couldn't hide a blush as she hastily averted her gaze.
That was when she noted, everyone was staring at her, waiting for a response. A response she didn't have, she didn't know where they were, or even what treaty belonged to what faction, Alistair had filled her in on the basics, but she was still unsure as to their exact goal…
Why me? Why do I have to be leader? She moaned inside her head, before clearing her throat in a desperate attempt to look, somewhat in control. "I'm…Open to suggestions." She offered in response, her best attempt to hide the, dread in her voice. She'd been in charge for less then a week, and was already failing miserably.
"Redcliffe isn't far from here…I know the Arl personally, I'm sure he'd be willing to help." Alistair offered, luckily missing the obvious relief that crossed the mages features when everyone focused on him instead of her.
"Redcliffe…Yes." Melina soon recalled the maps she'd studied at the mages tower. Lothering, Redcliffe, she soon mentally drew up the map, and found a rough area that they would be in. "Suppose it's as good a first stop as any."
Despite being close to Redcliffe, the term *Close* was a rather different one when it came to the world as it was in other matters. As a result, it took another two days of travelling before they came within sight of the Arl's castle, and another few hours before they reached the edge of the village it overlooked.
"Looks almost, peaceful down there." Melina commented as she carefully inched forwards and halted on the cliff side overlooking both the castle and village. "Much quieter then Lothering anyway."
"Yeah, lets just hope things go better here…" Alistair, who was standing beside her, said in response, before turning and marching off towards the road. The mage threw a confused glance his way, before shrugging slightly and moving to follow. He'd been acting strangely since they made the decision to come here.
The most anyone had been able to et out of him was that he'd lived at Redcliffe prior to joining the wardens, anything beyond that was kept secret, much to Melina's annoyance.
"If it's going to end up coming back to bite us, I want to know in advance." She'd protested the previous night, resulting in a argument that resulted in neither talking for a the rest of the evening. Even now he still avoided her for the most part.
Shaking her head slightly, the elf simply trailed along behind the warden, the rest of the group either ahead or not far behind her.
"This place looks. Deserted." Lelliana commented quietly, her gaze shifting from house to house as they passed. The curtains were pulled tightly closed and the doors shut and obviously locked.
Now and then however, Melina picked out a curtain or door shifting slightly as someone peeked out, before hastily snapping it closed again. "No, something's got them scared…And I don't think it's us."
"Nothing's ever easy." Alistair muttered, having at some point drifted back to rejoin the group proper.
The only building that wasn't locked up tight, turned out to be what appeared to be the chantry chapel. The towering stone structure towered over everything else in the village, and made it hard to ignore.
"Better then nothing." Melina sighed, before setting off towards it.
Upon reaching the sizeable doors, the first they'd encountered that were open and somewhat welcoming, rather then locked and foreboding. They discovered that the interior was much like any other chapel they'd ventured into, the layout obviously being somewhat pre-planned or something of that nature.
Another thing was that the place was full of people. Dozens of men, women, and children. The mage couldn't help but wonder why so many people were here. Admittedly she'd lost her sense of time after they'd left Lothering. So maybe they'd stumbled in during some sort of meeting?
But that didn't explain the downright paranoid reactions from people in the town. Closer inspection revealed most of the people were sleeping as well. "What could be so terrible, that people are afraid to stay in there own homes?" Melina commented as she noted a few people turning to face them, fear evident in each pair of eyes, though upon seeing who exactly it was, they seemed to relax, if only a little.
Shaking her head, Melina quietly weaved her way through the various towns' people and the occasional soldier. That was the most troubling detail In her mind, several of the people she passed wore armour, what she assumed to be the Arl's insignia etched into the chest plate or on the shield's they carried.
Unlike the villagers however, they didn't appear scared or worried, rather they seemed more, watchful, as though waiting for something to spring out of the shadows and try sinking it's claws into there throats.
Now and then one would rest a hand on his blade as the elf passed, though she noted it was more instinct then a threat. Whatever was making people nervous was affecting the militia; they just knew how to hide it.
Her feet eventually carried her to the altar at the far end of the chapel, and in turn the two people that were conversing near it.
One wore the robes of the chantry sisters, much the same as Lelliana had worn on there first meeting. Though slightly more elaborate and distinct. She was obviously of higher rank. Though whether she was the head priestess or not, Melina didn't care enough to ask.
The other was male, and the mage noted out of the corner of her eye Alistair stiffening slightly at the sight of him. He looked to be only a few years older then the warden, if not the same age. Judging by his fine clothing and how neat his appearance overall was, he obviously was a noble. Perhaps even the Arl himself? Though that seemed unlikely to her. Something just didn't sit right with that thought.
Once they were within a few feet of the pair, Melina halted and waited for the time being, politely out of earshot, but still close enough to be noticeable.
Once their conversation was finished. The noble approached them; the sister simply wandered off to do something else and left them alone. "I don't recognize you." He commented, his gaze lingering on Melina for a long moment, before shifting to Alistair.
Confusion briefly flashed across the man's face. Before surprise quickly replace it. "Alistair? Is that really you?" The mage felt a brief stab of anger as she was promptly ignored, the human instead moving to talk to the other warden and seemingly forgetting she even present.
"Melina, this is Bann Teagan. The Arl's brother." Alistair introduced, before returning the favour towards the noble. Melina hastily dipped her head as a sign of respect. "It's an honour of course." She offered in a vain attempt to act diplomatic. She was at a disadvantage, Alistair clearly knowing this, Teagan person and she didn't. At least in their other encounters they were both equally untrusting of whoever they were dealing with. "We've come to see you're brother. It's, rather important." Melina continued, hoping to keep things on track.
Almost instantly, Melina knew there'd be a catch. For as soon as she mentioned the Arl, Teagan's expression grew grave, almost, haunted. The friendly smile he'd been putting on during the introductions instantly being replaced by a concerned frown. "I'm afraid that's impossible."
Before she could ask why, he made a slight gesture towards a door off to one side. Nodding, Melina and her companions followed him into a different part of the chapel. Obviously this wasn't for everyone to hear.
"I'm afraid you've come at a bad time." He began once they'd all filed into the room. "A few weeks ago, my brother fell ill, gravely so." The elf felt her hands clench into fists. Just once could something be easy?
"We did all we could to help him. But his condition had continued to worsen, rapidly…Eventually the knights of Redcliffe left in search of something, anything that could help cure him." Melina nodded slightly, the news was grim indeed. But that didn't explain everything…
"As if that wasn't bad enough…Recently, the castle has grown silent, no one can enter. And what's worse, horrible creatures have began coming from the castle, night after night, and attacking the village."
Melina frowned slightly at the news. "Creatures?"
"The undead. Twisted mockery's of people. I don't know what is creating them. But combined with the lack of any news from within the castles walls. I fear the worst for those inside."
"Surely there's someway in?" Lelliana spoke up before anyone. "We can't just assume everyone is dead and abandon them to their fate!"
"Undead creatures inhabit the castle, coming out at night to maim and pillage. I think the possibility of people still being alive are slim to none. Why risk our necks?" Morrigan countered, causing the mage to tense slightly.
They were both right, in a sense. The chances were slim. Slim or not however, their was still a chance. "Is there no way in?" She pressed, her attention shifting back to Bann Teagan.
"I…Yes, I know of a way into the castle. However, it'll be dark soon. It would be suicide trying to enter the castle now." Melina sighed heavily, they didn't have time to sit around and wait. They had to move, and now.
"What can we do then?" She demanded, leaving the question open for anyone to answer.
"The village won't last the night I'm afraid." Tegan put forth, presenting another problem for Melina and her companions. "We don't have the weapons, or the soldiers to hold out for another night. Too many people have died already, and those left won't stand much of a chance."
The elf quietly thought over the situation. A finger idly tapping against her lips. "You're not actually thinking about helping them, are you?" Morrigan hissed, almost making the elf jump, the witch being right on her shoulder all of a sudden.
"We'll help." She concluded, despite her desire to get on Morrigan's good side, she couldn't just let innocent people die for the sake of her own personal interests.
"I'm not forcing you. But any help is greatly appreciated." Teagan offered a relieved smile, before it faded once again. "Murdock is in charge of the town's defence. Speak to him to see what you can do to help…Though just having a few extra swords will probably be more then enough right now."
Ignoring the mumbled protests behind her. Melina bowed politely once again, before turning and leaving the room.