Chapter Text
The Warden-Commander, Roderick. sighed as he ran through the copious amounts of paperwork on his desk. They were never ending. If it wasn’t warden related matters, it had to do with the Arling. He honestly regretted taking up the post, but where else could his wardens and him have gone after the events of the Inquisition?
They had needed a place to go and Vigil’s Keep was the best option. It was far enough in the south, away from the feuding wardens in the north and he had hoped to keep it that way. But life in Thedas was never like that. Everytime a good man hopes for something good, it gets stolen away.
Upon his desk, he found an unmarked letter. Inconspicuous in every way, with a note from the Ravenmaster that it had arrived. As he read it, his brows furrowed together. The letter was from Weisshaupt, requesting the aid of his wardens. And they had to be quiet. There were instructions to the meeting place.
Roderick flipped the letter around, trying to see if there was any mark indicating who sent it. None. No name, no markings, no symbols, not a clue as to who had sent it. It was interesting nevertheless, and he began drafting a letter to whichever warden wanted to pick the mission up.
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Balgair stood in front of the mission board, holding the leaf of paper in his hand. It was difficult to figure out what it said, but he took the paper nevertheless and made his way to the Commander’s room, knocking politely on the door.
“Come in,” the commander instructed as he looked up from his paperwork. It was one of the newer wardens, the farm boy. Balgair opened the door then blinked, a bit owlishly, at Roderick. He had previous encountered the man, but had not figured out that it was the commander he had been speaking to.
"Oh, ye're te commander ten?" He sounded a bit confused at first before moving into the room and closing the door. He would move over to the desk before laying the envelope down, very gingerly, and stepping back a step or so.
Seeing the letter, Roderick hmmed a bit.
“Interested in carrying out that one eh?” the commander asked with a slight smile.
"And, aye, Ah would be, if Ah knew what eet says. Ye see, Ah canna read, Ser,” Balgair blushed a bit, embarrassed by his lack of education.
Roderick squinted at Balgair. That he had not expected from the boy. He placed the quill to the side, reaching for the letter to assist his warden. "Fair enough. I wouldn't expect everyone to read. Let me see which one is it.”
"Well... this one... seems like someone at Weisshaupt needs our help, and doesn't want the other wardens to know. There's been some infighting of late at the Keep over there. We're kind of just ignoring their letters for the time being," he said gesturing to a pile at the side.
"Mostly just one group trying to get our support, and the other groups trying to get our support... I'm keeping us as neutral as possible. That being said, Weisshaupt is a fair distance from here and I'd prefer you not go alone on this given how new you are to our cause... and your training. Or lack of it. Someone sneaky might be good given the nature of it."
Balgair nods as he listens to the commander for a moment before asking, "What are te details? And, who would ye reccomend to accompany me? What are tey fighting aboot? And, why would te wardens stay out o' te conflict if we've been asked to help by bote sides?"
He was curious, and also concerned about what kind of trouble he might be walking into if he did accept this mission.
Roderick paused for a bit as he gave it some thought. It wouldn’t be right to send this youngling out that far north without some help.
"One of the senior wardens. I might send Skaldrin. He hasn't been out for a while... though Javier works fine. His leg is better and you've worked with him before,” Roderick trailed off as he thought about it. Javier had previously been injured in a trip down to the Deep Roads and while Roderick wasn’t keen on sending him out so soon, the boy was fairly good at being quiet.
"Javier might be better... and well, they're fighting about how things should be done. Politics and the like. Just whether we should support some lord or something. I'm not really clear on the details. I've made our Keep's stance, Darkspawn and nothing else. Perhaps someone in the Keep wants to remain neutral and wants to get out. If so, help them."
Balgair nods, then froze a bit, suddenly remembering something Conner had mentioned about his accent. "Is Javier good wit words? Or, ye dunna tink tey would dismiss me because O' me accent, or tink less O' me do ye, and see it as an insult ta send somebody tat sounds like a peasant?" He had been a little worried about how he sounded since Conner mentioned it to him on the training grounds.
Roderick shook his head. “Wardens are wardens. We don’t care where you’re from or who you are as long as you fight the darkspawn. And no this isn’t an official meeting, else id send someone more senior. I think you and Javier can head out. Subterfuge is better for this. Take along a writ of conscription. If anyone asks why you are out, just tell them you’re recruiting.”
Balgair nods to Roderick before smiling, "Alright ten, Ah'll do it. What do Ah need ta tell Javier when Ah locate him? Wouldena he still be in te infirmary ten?" He would stand and await further instructions.
Roderick thought for a moment. “Come back alive. Both of you. You can brief Javier on my instructions.” He trusted the young man anyway as he sent them away. Balgair seemed reliable, even if he was young. It would be a good mission for the both of them anyway.
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On the road, the two young wardens travelled together, Javier was taking the lead on this, even though Balgair was the one who had asked him. He was the more senior of them, both in age and in the time they served as wardens. The Anderfels was an arid land and he figured mules would make a better mount than horses.
The rogue checked that they had their maps around, before squeezing the side of his mule to get them going. It was going to be a long ride. With him, he carried along his writ of conscription, just in case people wanted to stop them. The road ahead was quiet, recovering from the Blight, the Breach... and all that, there were few people about save lots and lots of farmland. At least things were growing.
Turning to Balgair, he asked his companion, “How's the dreams been treating you?" Balgair had recently undergone the Joining. Not all the Order’s secrets were known to him just yet, but he was just checking in on his fellow.
At the thought of the question, Balgair shudders a bit, "Ah tink Ah saw sometin similar ta Myrrh, only te exact opposite. She was te single scariest thing Ah've eveh seen, and surrounded by Darkspawn." He goes silent for a few moments before looking back to Javier. "Hae ye eveh seen anytin like tat?"
Javier paused. "She... she... oh broodmothers," he said with a shudder. "It is possible... and no I've not yet seen one. I haven't been a warden long enough for us to find one. I've not been a warden long, but I've been... fighting long enough at least. I mean with you lot, it was the first Ogre I've seen as well."
Balgair nods, "Why would Ah start dreamin' aboot te darkspawn?" As they made their way he would look over to the other man, frowning a bit with thought. "What does eet mean ta be a Grey Warden? Te joinin' raises more questions fer me, and I dunna understand why it's done tat way..."
Javier chuckled. "The taint runs in our blood. We are like them, but we have a soul... What they encounter, we will feel. As they will to us. Sometimes we hear the song that they hear, like during the False Calling... you would have heard of that. The time where the Wardens were called and... well that did wonders to our reputation... and why is what done in what way? I'll do my best to explain what I know."
Balgair nods, listening to what was said before speaking again, "So tat's why we dri... take te drink. Is tat te secret ta te wardens' effectiveness?" He had heard very little about the wardens before he decided to join them, and still wasn't entirely sure it was the right decision.
Javier nodded his head. "It makes us immune from... the contracting the taint. We won't turn into ghouls from fighting them. You saw how fast it affects anyone who catches it on Seth. We at least, have more decades of life left. If he hadn't gone through with the ritual, he'd have turned into a ghoul within a matter of days."
Balgair nods as he listens over what Javier had to say. "Ah see," was all he said in response. As they rode he would be quiet, for the most part, a look of utter excitement on his face as he studied the landscape around them, hoping, silently, that their trip would be across mostly open terrain, even though he knew that that could be bad for them, but he'd never been away from his farm home until last week, and now he was a warden, and carrying out his first mission. He would right gone, if he knew how, and tell everybody back home about it. "Are there very many dangers on the way?
Javier looked at Balgair. "Bandits, outlaws, possibly dragons, giants, bears. The usual sort. I doubt we'll run into any Venatori or Templars, but we might run into apostate mages or rogue templars. stragglers. Maybe the Carta if we're unlucky. Although there are perks to being a grey warden. Few would be stupid to attack us. We are known for our prowess."
Balgair nods, "I see..."
He, himself, hasn't seen combat but once, and that was when they went into the deep roads, and he was scared to his words ebd the whole time. He had helped bring down an ogre, so bandits shouldn't be a worry. Right? Right?!
The boy swallows dryly as he thinks over the answer he'd received. He was hoping for a Nothing, it'll all be smooth sailing all the way there, but that wasn't the answer he'd been given. After a moment he would raise a brow, looking to Javier, "Dragons? Surely those ain't real, are tey?" He'd never seen a dragon either, or heard any actual tale of anybody seeing them in person.
Javier looked at Balgair for a bit, realising he might be scaring the boy. "They're real all right, but we probably won't see them. If we do, we'll hide. Not an issue Balgair. I'll take care of you."
Balgair nodded, "Alright." He allowed his thoughts to wander a bit, "You know, Ah've already seen more tan Ah eve tought Ah would in me life, an' all in jes a short time." The boy was but 17, after all, and feared he was te one most likely to screw a mission like this up.
The duo continued slowly down the road on their mules.
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Back at the Keep, Roderick realised that it was probably NOT a good idea to send them off without someone older. And a mage to boot. Hence a note was quickly sent to John, asking him to catch up to the duo. Which wouldn’t be difficult. Since they were both riding mules.
DM’s notes: John at this point joins the RP
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The weather was nearly as good as John’s mood - an azure sky with sparse, white clouds and the sun shining, and the way didn't see too long. After half an hour the fortress was but a small, insignificant dot in the distance. The path was not in a very good condition but still rideable, and the mare he had been given was quite a good horse, not difficult to ride and quite fast. He hoped to meet the Wardens he was going to escort in the evening, although that could vary on the quality of the path he took.
The landscape was quite beautiful, with plenty of emerald green plains, and he relaxed, not worrying too much about his task for now.
The two wardens May have had a head start, but Javier as pacing them so that their mules could last. It would be a long trip after all. Plus he expected mountains.
“Oh life gets exciting. This is Thedas. Things haven’t exactly been quiet since the Fifth Blight. I’m surprised we both grew up alive.”
As he glanced back, he spotted some dust in the distance. “Hullo, we might have a visitor crossing our paths.”
Balgair laughed, "Ah suppose yer right. Eet's still more tan Ah eve' expected." At mention of the visitor he would turn to look in the same direction as Javier, his hand moving to his sword hilt. "Trouble, ye tink?"
Back at John, he could distinguish two figures in the distance. Two persons riding on mules, at the speed of a snail. They turned, but he couldn't see precisely if they were looking at him or something else, the dust his horse was making blocking his sight. He approached at the same pace, thinking the two were merchants until he was able to recognize the uniform of the Wardens and then their faces, which matched the description he had been given.
Hoy they were faster than a snail! Maybe turtle pace thank you. And making decent pace, just nothing galloping and stuff. It’d just be a sustained pace!
“Keep wary,” Javier instructed Balgair as John drew closer.
Balgair nodded to Javier as the man approached, "Alright."
"Excuse me, are you the two Wardens sent for the anonymous letter we've received?" John asked them when he caught up.
“Aye, that’d be us,” Javier said as he looked at John. The man looked slightly older than them. “Are we needed back at the keep? I’m afraid I don’t recognise you though,” he said. But the man knew about the letter. Roderick would have given John some sort of official document to identify himself to the other two.
"No, I'm just supposed to come along, that's what the Commander said." replied John as he dismounted the horse, to search for the letter and orders.
"There we go." he said as he showed the papers. Being Commander truly must get tiring with all the administration to do, he thought
"Forgive my manners, I almost forgot to present myself. I'm John Silvershield, Warden and Knight-Enchanter."
Javier checked the papers. All was in order. Javier looked at John suspiciously though. "Did he send you along to make sure we stayed out of trouble? I know Balgair's joining wasn't the smoothest but we don't need to be baby sat... either way... nice to meet you John, the name's Javier and this here is Balgair."
"To make sure you stay out of trouble? If he wanted to, he'd have sent some Warden he knew. I think he's more testing the three of us, so better show him what we can do. By the way, what are you specialized in? I'd prefer to know that before we get in trouble and can't discuss tactics,” John said as he got to know his fellow wardens.
Once John reached them he let Javier do the talking until John asked about specializations, he knew the correct answer to that for himself was, of course, none. "Ah dunna hae one. Before Ah arrived at te keep Ah had neve' seen battle, but since, Ah hae survived meeting an ogre."
John tried not to look shocked at Balgairs answer. He opened his mouth, wanted to say "Wait, the Commander accepted you just like that?", realized that was quite rude, shut his mouth for a second, then finally said :
"What?... Like, what weapon do you prefer to use then?"
John hoped the boy was truly a good fighter and hadn't just hidden behind a crate during the entire fight against the ogre, since he had "survived meeting an ogre" and not "helped slay an ogre".
Balgair blinks, "Ah hae only used one sword, tis is a new one tat Ah got from te quarter master before tis trip, but te oter one was a bastard sword too. Ah killed tree O' te darkspawn wit it. Ah attempted to sever te tendon on te back O' eet's foot, and ta hamstring it, but Ah dunna tink tat did anytin... Tough, as two others delivered possibly fatal blows I shoved my sword, to te handle, up eet's arse."
"One handed sword or two handed?" he simply asked, quite impressed the fellow had been brave enough to fight Darkspawn without any training.
Balgair thinks for a moment as he turns over ideas and images of different poses in his head before finally responding, "Bote. Ah like te versatility tat te bastard sword gives. Ah plan on learnin' how ta use a shield wit me sword eventually, fer now Ah dunna hae one ta use so Ah'll work on learnin' ta use one wit bote hands, and in eiter hand by eetself."
"I'll give that to you, the bastard sword is quite nice, yet it doesn't have the power of a two-handed sword you'd use against heavy armored opponents. Personally, I use both the two-handed sword and the shield, but it gives the whole set a terrible handling when I don't use magic,” the knight-enchanter said.
Balgair nods, shaking his head, "Ah dunna know how ta use magic..." He didn't remember much about mages from his childhood, but it was never a good encounter when they came to the village demanding supplies be given to them without any compensation. He shakes his head a bit bringing his thoughts back to the present, "Fer heavier armored opponents it might be best ta learn ta use a larger weapon, maybe something like what te commander carries as his weapon." He didn't know that it also served as his staff, he just thought it was some sort of polearm.
"That's better for you - more time to focus on melee, less foes to worry about," John said. It's more a burden than a gift nowadays, with the Chantry's old way of training mages. And the demons don't make it any better.
"I don't think you should train in every weapon for now. Just become a good swordman and that shall do the trick for the moment. Of course you'll need to learn how to use the others in case you don't have a sword ready, but that's rare enough. I didn't get to see the Commander fighting nor training, what does he use?”
Balgair tilts his head a bit as he thinks a little, "It looks like some form of polearm." He could see that pikemen, or spearmen would have a decent advantage in combat when it came to heavier armored opponents, though he also thought that a mace or maul would be a good option as well, though they would lack any real reach.
John smiles in approval. "Polearms and especially staffs are great weapons. You don't need to hide them and you can knock opponents out or disarm them instead of killing them. Hell, I even knew a monk who managed to defeat a group of bandits with his staff."
Balgair nods, "Eet would be nice, haeing tat kind of advantage ove ye enemy. Ah tink eet would make fighting te darkspawn easier too.
"It would. However the tip of a lance surely would break too easily against armor to make it an effective weapon, and I can't imagine even the Hero of Ferelden taking an ogre down with a staff either." John answered.
Balgair nods a bit, "Likely not, but Ah canna say tat Ah know much aboot te hero of Ferelden." He frowned a bit, oh the joys of living in an isolationist village.
"A living legend and probably the savior of Ferelden, if not Thedas in its entirety. That's all one needs to know,” the mage said.
Javier meanwhile watched the two of them talk shop with wry amusement.
John suspiciously glanced at Javier, taking a look at Javier's weapons and asked him, "More the silent, sneaky kind, eh?"
The man was younger than him, wore light armor, seemed rather handy with swords and daggers and was quite silent - the typical profile of an assassin to him, and boy did he despise them.
"So Javier, you're more the bard or the shadow?" he said whilst instinctively checking if his sword was in its sheath.
Javier nodded his head at the mention of the silent and sneaky time. "The commander sends me to where I am needed... and a little bit of both I suppose. Although I'm rather horrible at singing. Studied at the university for a bit. Then got tired of it, so I left."
The last bit was said quickly. "Come on, we best get on our way. You got a horse, we got mules, we need to make the speed. It's a long trip."
Welcome to Vigil's Keep John, here are your teammates : a farmer who has fought once in his life and a rogue that should never been out of your sight if you want to stay alive! Perhaps I deserve this for taking a weird looking mission after all...
"You're right. Let's go before we get covered by dust." He climbed back on his horse, careful to go at a slower pace as the trip would take long.
Balgrair noticed John's discomfort, though didn't know the source so he ignored it, thinking that to likely be the best course for now. His eyes still scanned the area around them with an innocent excitement the road weary seemed to have forgotten. A bright smile rested on his lips as he rode on.
Personally, he trusted Javier, he had been injured on the mission into the deep roads, and yet continued trying to fight. The little man had some spunk to him.
Their journey would be slow, though they might have to put up with Javier prattling on whenever they encountered any avians. The boy chatted to fill the silence. Odd habit for a rogue.
Their travels would mostly be uneventful, save for one night when they were asleep, with Balgair on watch when a roar was heard. A dragon would fly over at night, it’s huge silhouette blocking the night sky, followed by the draft from its wings as it skimmed the tree cover but that was it. It didn’t see the trio and perhaps it was better that way.
Balgair jumps to his feet once he hears the roar before looking around. He looked up when he heard it overhead then ran in the direction it flew off, trying to keep the massive creature in sight for a bit, as he tried to memorize every detail he could about the thing. He only ran about fifty meters, careful not to venture too far from the camp. It was probably stupid to do so, and he'd probably hear about how stupid it was once he told the others about it, but he was excited to have seen something else right out of the paige's of legend.
He would make his way back to the camp, much more carefully than he'd ran out of the camp. Maybe he hadn't woken the others, or maybe the dragon hadn't.
Suddenly a question came to mind. What would he have done had the dragon seen him and decided he looked like a good snack? Become a snack, he guessed.
Javier was not a heavy sleeper and the roar of the dragon had woken him up. When he got out of the tent, he panicked, seeing Balgair not around and started looking about, drawing his daggers... only to see the boy come running back from... wherever he had been.
"What's going on?" he asked, daggers still poised.
Balgair blinks, still smiling a bit, and a little winded. "Ah saw a dragon!", he said with an air of excitement, "Eet flew over, tat way!" He says, motioning in the direction the dragon had flown.
John slept like a log the first part of the night, but then got woken up by a strange noise - something like the roar of an incredibly big creature, probably a wyvern or dragon. No, I must have dreamt - surely I'm too much on my guards. he thought, and was about to fall asleep as he heard footsteps and familiar voices talking.
"Ah saw a dragon!" he heard Balgair say.
He took his sword and shield and left the tent in simple clothes, hoping the beast was far enough but not wanting to take too many risks.
"It left without seeing us you think?" he asked.
"Eet didn't slow down, so Ah tink eet didn't see us, or if eet did eet didn't tink we were wort it's attention." He paused for a moment before he grinned again, "Ah've gotta tell me broters aboot this if Ah eve see tem again.
"If you ever see them again? Don't worry too much about that, your home still is where you left it." John put his sword back and looked at the sky, looking slightly displeased. "A majestic creature like this over our heads- and yet I managed to sleep when I could've seen it. Although it's surely better to not see it from too near..."
Balgair chuckles, "Eet's no tem Ah'm worried aboot still begin ter. Eet's me being able ta return before Ah meet me end. Ah chose ta become a warrior, without any trainin', Hell, Ah canna eve's read and right. Ah hae no delusions aboot livin' a long life, ah can only hope tat I become useful before Ah do die, and Ah'll try my best ta live me life ta te fullest while Ah can."
"Don't be pessimist,” John chided. “You haven't joined the local militia which sends you on suicide missions: you're part of the elite of Ferelden's fighters, and besides the Taint doesn't let everyone live. It chooses us as much as we decide to join the Grey." he answered in a confident tone. That, and the fact I'm not going to let my teammates be slayed that easily.
Balgair gave another chuckle, "Ah'm no pessimistic, Ah'm jes comfortable wit wha' te future might hold. And, Ah understand tat aboot being among te elite, tat's why I struck out to join te wardens. I wanted ta be more tan jes a farmer."
John shrugged: "If you say so. Just keep training and it should be fine.", although he found it strange to talk about having no delusions in living a long life whilst wanting to keep the moral high. It's starting to get late. I'd better get some rest before we have to leave, and I can bother everyone during the trip.
Javier remained silent during the whole conversation. Mostly because he saw no need to add to it, although he was surprised at Balgair being unable to read. It made sense when he thought about it. He had been from nobility and had been taught to read at a young age.
“What much is true Balgair, heck maybe one day you might even be warden-commander.”
"Who knows what the future will bring. Now if you'll excuse me, it's a short time before we leave - good night." With that John returned to his tent, and, at first unable to fall asleep, thought about his family. It had been years since he had seen them, first with the Circle, then the Blight and Thaw hunt. He wondered if they even were still alive, and went back to sleep with more doubts than he had woken up with.