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Kasha didn't know where in Orzammar she was anymore, and frankly, she didn't care. Long gone already were the trappings of dwarven society and Dust Town – at least for now. She was exiled forever, and it had been the best thing to ever happen to her. Perhaps Rica's welfare should have been on her mind now that her benefactor was dead (highborn and seemingly well-intentioned as they seemed, Kasha trusted no one that had and would sleep with her sister), or Leske's now that the blood of the Carta boss was on his hands as well. But they were far from her mind so soon after leaving, as the prospect of being far from her “home” was exciting her more than she thought possible.
Where she currently was was dark; that's all she could really say about the place – she couldn't see much, plus she never had a very expansive vocabulary. She could make out the man traveling beside her, however – Duncan, the Grey Warden who had come to watch the Provings, and most importantly, saved her hide from a slow death. That wasn't even what she truly revered him for.
“My name is Duncan. I'd say 'of the Grey Wardens,' but I suspect you already know that. Pleased to meet you.”
“I'm Kasha. Of... of nobody.”
“Ah... of course. That's what the face-brand means, then. I remember that now.”
“So what? Now you have to stop talking to me?”
“I never turn down the chance to meet someone new. When we visit Orzammar, we tend to remain in the Diamond Quarter. You forget how much of the city you miss.”
“Is it true you're here looking for recruits?”
“The Wardens are always looking for those who have the courage to spend their lives in battle fighting darkspawn. It's rare we find those with both the skill and the will. The best Wardens are ruthless to their enemies, compassionate to their friends, and inspiring to their troops. It's a lot to look for, but I hope to find it here. And I hope you may also find what you are looking for.”
It was a short conversation, but no one had been kinder to Kasha. Not only had he looked past the brand on her face, it meant absolutely nothing to him. He recognized her skill in vanquishing her every opponent in the Provings and believed she should have been treated as a champion instead of a criminal guilty of the highest offense. And now he was taking her away from the depths of her hell and to where she was meant to be – fighting. If the only way she could repay him was to lose a limb or lay down her life in order to protect him, she would. She was still expendable; nothing could change that. But he had enough faith in her that she felt she would be considered noble for it.
She couldn't gauge how long they had been walking, but it didn't feel like it had been too long, despite the silence. She couldn't help but grow anxious after a while – firstly because she really needed to stop and adjust her armor before it could rub her skin too raw, second because she wanted to be out of the damn... well, wherever the hell they were now. She would have asked Duncan about their location, but a part of her feared that such a “stupid” question would trigger him to treat her just as terribly as everyone else. Hell, she feared that anything she said would be shot down, which was why she refused to initiate any conversation, despite how intensely the dozens of questions she wanted to ask fought to to knock her teeth out and spill from her mouth. He might have even told her what she wanted to know, but she was so wrapped up in her worries that she hadn't heard him speak.
After a few minutes, they passed through a pair of towering doors and were in a large hall lined with giant stone sculptures of dwarves. It didn't take long for Duncan to notice how confused Kasha was by everything.
“This is the Hall of Heroes. Every Paragon of your people is immortalized here. You know about them, I presume?”
She looked down. “I do.” She dug her boot into the ground. “My, uh, my sister sometimes says that I should become one. As if I could.”
“On the contrary, one of the most renown Paragons and a former king, Gherlon the Blood-Risen, was born casteless. Even if that isn't what you become, Grey Wardens are fighters of great skill and integrity, and are revered in many places; you have already achieved a greatness that most in your station do not receive.” Duncan's voice held so much wisdom, and while authoritative, had a strangely calming effect on her. It didn't alleviate all her insecurities, but she felt less worthless for the moment.
“You-” She had to clear her throat. “I...” She was trying too hard to sound more intelligent than she was. “I really like that you have faith in me. It's nice, for once.
A hint of a smirk appeared on his face. “I am merely acknowledging your potential; if you fight the darkspawn with the finesse you did in the Provings, then you are are most valuable addition to our ranks. Besides, if I hadn't conscripted you, you would have been tortured to death, and what good would that do anyone?
She had no idea what “conscript” meant – she assumed it had something to do with saving her life – but she still smiled slightly and chuckled all the same. As they made their way through the hall, the guards and a few people playing their respects whispered amongst each other – both in reverence at the presence of a Grey Warden and disgust over letting a brand pass through and pollute such a sacred place. Kasha drew into herself and walked a little closer to Duncan, willing herself to just instantly be outside where the torment could finally be over. Instead, the room seemed to grow smaller with every step she took, the doors seemed to stretch farther away, and the whispers grew louder and angrier. Her legs became stone, and she had to stop to bend over, attempting to catch her breath despite her lungs suddenly weighing fifty pounds each. Did the Stone really reject her so much that this was the Ancestors punishing her for deigning to step foot somewhere so holy? To think that she could ever escape from being a filthy brand?
Duncan hovered over her. “Are you alright?”
She breathed in sharply and shut her eyes tight, trying to banish all the malicious and intrusive visions of her sinking deep into the Stone while everyone else looked on and sneered. She had several episodes like this before, the last being when she found out what Rica had been doing for Beraht; unfortunately, she had no kegs to stab this time. She ground her teeth and forced herself to stand back up. “Sorry.” She muttered, shaking her head feverishly. “I'm sorry. Let's go.” She took off in a near sprint to the doors, but was stopped by the gruff-looking guard until Duncan caught up with her.
“I hope you enjoyed the Provings, Warden Commander Duncan.” He looked right over Kasha to grumble that out. Somehow, that made her feel even worse.
Duncan bowed his head to the guard as the doors opened... only to reveal another set of impossibly large stone doors. It wasn't until the ones behind them closed completely that these opened slowly, almost painfully so. Kasha quickly learned why as the dull light from the cloudy mountain sky, still brighter than she had ever seen, caused her to pull her forearm over her eyes and cower slightly. It took her a minute, but when she finally felt confident enough to uncover her sight, she took one look up and gaped, instinctively gripping Duncan's arm for support. She hurriedly let him go once she realized what she was going, but not without earning an almost bemused look from him. She checked that her feet were still on the ground, but after that, she couldn't take her eyes off the sky as they descended the steps.
“Leske wasn't kidding, it sure is bright.” She squinted and scrunched her nose up. “Is that the... uh, what's it called? The sun?”
“I'm afraid you won't see the sun until we get out of the mountains.” Duncan took a moment to examine the sky himself.
“I heard Carta boys talk about running errands up topside...” She looked around at all the trees and snow that peppered their leaves and the ground. “They said it was open and smelled all weird, sure, but they never said it was so...” She struggled to find something she knew that was sufficient; “pretty” didn't feel like enough. She could breathe again, the air filling her lungs almost sickeningly fresh. She didn't know what the funny smell was or where it came from, but it was better than dust, shit, and lava. It was still brighter than she was comfortable with, but Orzammar was surrounded by stone at every turned and so terribly dark. Dark... yeah; a Blight on her memory. “So much better.”
She was overtaken by a sudden wave of confidence, and feeling she really had nothing to lose, she spun back towards the doors. “Buncha nug-humpers!” She yelled, earning an extremely furious glare from the guard outside, but she just waved at him with a fake smile on her face.
“Kasha, it would be in your best interests not to aggravate your people.” His voice was commanding, but from the ways the corner of his eyes crinkled, she could tell he was amuse. Or exasperated; actually, that was probably what it was.
“You don’t know how long I've been waiting to do something like that. And I finally won't get guff for it... Still, sorry.” She shivered; damn, it was was cold out here too. Now she had something else her cheap armor wouldn't protect her from. “How long until we get to the place?”
“It's a few days' journey to Ostagar from here. We had best be on our way if we want to make the assault ahead of the darkspawn.”
The prospect of spending such a long time walking to their destination wasn't a comforting thought. But she would get to see the country, the people, and mostly importantly, she would be in great company. It was bound to the most and rewarding exciting journey of her life.
“Lead the way, salroka.”