-- warden commander alim surana

like real people do // hozier

I had a thought, dearhowever scaryabout that night, the bugs & the dirtwhy were you diggingwhat did you burybefore those hands pulled me from the earth?I will not ask you where you came fromI will not ask & neither should youhoney, just put your sweet lips on my lipswe should just kiss like real people do

sway // blue october

we swaygrabbed her by the hips and handthen off we wentacross the sanded floorshe said “that’s not sand, it’s salt;it will get worn like we did before”I only wanna dance with youevery time I trywe only get an hour or soit’s time to get personalwe’ve got these times of our liveslet’s take this time to let it showcause these are ours. 

tongue tied // grouplove

take me to your best friend’s house, going round this roundabouttake me to your best friend’s house, I loved you then & I love you now

wish you were here // pink floyd

how I wishhow I wish you were herewe’re just two lost souls swimming in a fishbowlyear after yearrunning over the same old groundwhat have we found?the same old fearswish you were here.

emotionally yours // bob dylan

Is this simply another side effect of the sheltered upbringing one receives in the Circle? Quite the compelling argument for liberation.

“No, I didn’t,” he protests, straightening up. “Nobody told me I was making a choice! So I’m making it now, and I choose you.”

“What the villagers don’t know won’t hurt them. Much. If someone asks, I’ll tell them it’s easier to fight when you can see what you’re shooting at.” Their fingers drum silently on the table. Maybe easier was relative but they could deal - could - survive - seeing the faces. “If anyone keeps asking stupid questions, I’ll tell them the truth. Without something giving orders, undead tend to just be plain old dead if there isn’t something conveniently alive running around within earshot. Cut off the head of the snake, and the rest falls. Any potential repercussions are a… necessary risk.” Most of the skeletons in the ruins hadn’t wanted to do much unless you stepped on someone’s shin, and in the tower they weren’t much more active than that except for - dining hall strewn with dozens of dead, flies still buzzing around upended plates, must have been a mealtime when - when commanded by a far greater force than a few misplaced hunger demons.

“Tamaris, I’m fairly sure being attacked by an army of undead will hurt them.” He goes quiet. The way Tamaris talks about necessary risks, it’s almost horrifying-- but Alim knows, too, that they can’t save the entire village. The other mage is simply more open about it. “--Right. Let’s go.” He stands up and gently grabs Tamaris’s arm to pull them up, too.

--

The Bann, unfortunately, seems to have no alternate routes. Well, shit. Somehow, Alim was sure this would work. He’s the Arl’s brother, isn’t he? And there must be secret routes into the castle. Isn’t that what castles are about? --Maybe actually having visited a castle before would be useful here.

"I’m working on it, but I fear it will take a few more years,” he answers sarcastically. Waking one of the dead for a short time is far from an undead army. He listens to Tamaris and a frown gradually appears on his face. “So you want to lure the dead out of the castle. Are you planning to tell the defenders of the village about that plan of yours, too?” He shakes his head and stares at Tamaris’ fingers drawing on the wood. 

They’re still staring at his eyes. Tamaris forces their gaze to the table, brows furrowing involuntarily. “I don’t think Loghain believes the Grey Wardens can stop the Blight. It’s not like he has any reason to. He doesn’t know about-” -high notes of mana, the Blight’s wordless song, like calling to like twice over focus- “any of it, really. Just that there are darkspawn, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out those need to die.” 

Loghain and the Blight are the last things he wants to discuss right now, which is a shame because those are the things they should be discussing the most. He doesn’t even try to hide his frown. “Of course he doesn’t. Not even us knew about all this that comes with being a Grey Warden. We have Duncan to thank for that, I suppose.” He glances at Alistair, but it’s hard to tell why. A quiet apology for mentioning Duncan, or an accusation because Alistair didn’t tell them either? He turns back to Tamaris.

Zevran folds the parchment up again and slides across the table. “It is hardly enlightening. No doubt on purpose. The arl would not want it to be traced back to him,” he says.

Tamaris picks up the folded note without even looking and hands it to Alim. “He’s right. Read it anyways. Got it from that guy. The one who ran out just now. He’s a spy, as it happens. Not a very good one. Can’t even keep his own cover story straight.” Tamaris rolls their eyes. “Apparently, he works for someone who works for Arl Howe who, as it just so happens, works for Teyrn Loghain himself. They sent Berwick - that spy - here right before Arl Eamon came down with his mysterious illness. And don’t tell me that’s a coincidence,” they add pointedly. ”Because it’s not. Loghain hired an assassin once to eliminate his rivals. It’s hardly above him to do so again. The right poison would look a lot like an old man getting sick, and if he keeps getting dosed, that would explain why he wasn’t getting better either.”

He takes the note and reads it quickly, but as Zevran said it doesn’t help much, or at all. “So he claims he doesn’t know anything about the Arl’s illness, or the attacks? He was just told to watch? That doesn’t make any sense. Either he’s lying, or he’s really stupid if he took the job without any details.” He thinks back to how he found the spy and Tamaris when he stepped in. “Maybe he’s not lying,” he adds. “Then he’s just stupid.”

Arl Howe. The name doesn’t sound familiar, but the fact that he’s an Arl and he works for Loghain seems enough for now. “Do we know anything about this Arl Howe?” he asks anyway, just in case Tamaris discovered more.

The tavern is smoky and warm, dark even with shutters thrown wide open. It’s not hard to find the others - half the tavern is staring openly at them. Tamaris sits at one of the long, low, tables, next to a dark-haired elf man clad in armor. His arm is splayed awkwardly across the table. A trained eye could recognize the tell-tale shimmer of a force field wound around the man’s wrist, firelight glancing around his forearm without touching. Morrigan and Zevran sit across from the pair of elves. An amused smirk plays across Morrigan’s face. Zevran is frowning slightly at a creased piece of parchment. 

Tamaris glances up, acknowledging Alim’s presence with a silent nod, then turns their full attention back to the man with an encouraging smile. Or at least their lips pull up to reveal a flash of teeth. “Is that all he gave you?” Tamaris asks. In any other context, their tone might be considered friendly.

The man flinches back, winces as the force field pulls his arm taut. “Please, I never… I just thought I was serving the King and making a bit of coin on the side. When all this started happening, I was terrified! Please, you have to believe me! Just let me go!” he begs. His eyes water.

“You’re going to go down to the square and offer your services as an archer for tonight’s battle. I expect to see you there.“ Tamaris taps their fingers against the table. The force field dissolves, leaving only the faintest indents in the table to mark where it had been. The other elf snatches his arm back, cradling it protectively in his other hand.

“All - alright. I’ll do it. Thank you for your mercy, I won’t forget it!“ He babbles the words out, then turns and all but flees from the tavern.

He considers interrupting, but finally just crosses her arms and watches the scene with a disapproving frown. The stranger flees the tavern, and Alim glances down at Tamaris without sitting down.

The statement catches him off guard and his frown turns into confused blinking. “So you changed your mind, then?” Part of him is glad. He knew staying in Redcliffe was the right thing, but his motivation to do so was rapidly decreasing-- but if Tamaris wants to stay too, then he’s going to be forced to do the right thing.