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The Mage and the Templars	By : Nyghtlei17 Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 8458 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age or any of its characters. I do not make any money off of this fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 10
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- 12
Lothering was a terrible place, there was nothing beautiful about it. Human and elven refugees alike were suffering, children roamed without supervision, and the moans and cries of the sick and injured echoed. This was much worse than she was expecting. How could something like this be happening? She was clueless about Ferelden, all she had ever known was the tower. “Alistair”, she grabbed his arm abruptly, he almost lost his balance. “Look”, she said as she pointed out a man surrounded by people who seemed less happy than the other people in this place.
“Hmm”, he studied the group carefully. They could almost hear the conversation. One of them mentioned something about thievery and Kitsune started making her way over to them. Alistair followed close behind, “Kitsune, wait.”
She ignored him and joined the group of upset citizens. “You can’t charge these ridiculous prices! This is too much. The people here do not have money for your stock.” A woman wearing chantry robes was one of the people yelling at the man in the center of the group.
“It’s thievery, what you’re doing!” A man said from beside the Chantry woman.
“If you don’t like the prices then you don’t have to shop here. I’ve got to make a living too.” The burly man at the center of attention was trying to defend himself.
“You are taking advantage of the refugees! They have no choice but to pay these outrageous prices!” The Chantry sister was yelling at him now.
Kitsune stepped between them before the argument could get anymore heated. “What is the problem?” She asked the group.
“This horrible man is charging ridiculous amounts of money for simple necessities. The refugees have come here to survive but they are being robbed by this snake!” She explained to the Wardens.
“Who are you, elf? Are you a refugee? One of those who are too weak to defend themselves from a few hungry dogs?”, the man being ridiculed chided her.
She glared at him and before she could make a remark Alistair’s large hand was around his collar, lifting him a few inches from the ground. Ammy was snarling, behind her. “We are Grey Wardens, merchant.” She gave Alistair a look and he set the man down.
“We have come from Ostagar, in need of supplies. But if you have high prices then we must look elsewhere.” She raised an eyebrow and waited for the man to speak, he only made a point of not looking at anyone. “You do not want our business? We need a number of things, which I am sure you have on hand but I will not buy from a thief.”
“Look, I’m just trynna make a living here.” The man’s defense was weak.
“At other people's expense”, the Chantry sister added.
“I am sure if you lowered your prices you would get more business”, Kitsune said. “Or you know, I do have a hungry dog.” She looked to Ammy who was more than ready to snap at something. He was still wound up from the fight with the Highwaymen.
The merchant sighed, “Alright, I’ll lower my prices.”
The Chantry sister had a triumphant look on her face when she said, “Thank you, Wardens.” She and the other man walked away, leaving them with the merchant.
“I expect that my discount will be handsome”, Kitsune said.
“Y-Yes of course, m’lady.”
   They bought a few things from the man. He had some white war paint she could use to paint Amaterasu, lyrium potions for the mages, a new sword for Alistair, and a new dagger for Kitsune.
Amongst the four of them they decided they needed some food after the long day they’d had. They sat down at the only empty table in the nearby pub and waited to be served a lacking meal of hot rabbit stew.
   Kitsune was sure the others had noticed the looks they were getting. “It seems we are a popular group”, she said.
   “Yes, well we are the people who got rid of those pesky highwaymen”, Morrigan said sarcastically. “Maybe they are weary of us.”
   The barkeep set bowls of stew in front of them and hesitated when giving Ammy his bowl. “Barkeep”, Alistair addressed the him. “Who are those men over there?”, he nodded slightly in the direction of the armoured men staring at them.
   “Them be the Teryn’s men, they are”, he said quietly wiping his hands on his apron.
   “How long have they been here?”, Kitsune asked.
   “Bout two days.” Before they could question him further the man walked away.
   Alistair had stopped eating his stew. “Oh, what is it now?”, Morrigan said impatiently. “More pouting?”
   “I’m not pouting”, Alistair whined.
   “You are pouting a little. You need to eat”, Kitsune commented.
   “I’m not pou- ugh! If the Teryn’s men are here don’t you think they would be looking for us?”, he said still not touching his bowl.
   Kitsune slurped her food loudly. “It is not like we are hiding. Let them find us”, she shrugged. She sized them up. There were five of them, one was probably an archer and the others were rogues and warriors with daggers and swords. She stared at the biggest one, waiting for him to notice her gaze. He did and elbowed the smaller rogue next to him. They made their way over to her.
   “Oi, elf. What’s a refugee doing with a nice staff like that?”, the largest man said.
   She looked at him over her spoon. “Why do you care about a refugee?”, she set the spoon in the bowl and watched Alistair and Ammy shift their weight.
   “Something tells me you ain’t one”, his gaze landed on the white griffon Alistair’s breastplate.
   “You are right”, he towered over her when she stood.
   Alistair, Morrigan, and Ammy were all on their feet now. The other men made their way over causing a scene in the pub. “Who are you, elf?”, the large man asked.
   “I am a Grey Warden”, she said. “So is he”, she nodded at Alistair who had his hand on his new sword. She was sure he wanted to test it out.
   “Betrayers of the King!”, he shouted.   “We’ve been ordered to kill all Wardens on sight.”
   His men drew their weapons. Ammy was snarling and snapping, Alistair too had his sword and shield out. “You can try if you like.” Kitsune and Morrigan readied their staves.
   Amaterasu was the first to attack. He latched onto one of the warriors’ forearm. He hollered trying to free his arm, that is what the Marbari wanted. The more he struggled the deeper his teeth sunk in. She couldn’t cast large spells in the pub. Although the bystanders mostly lined the walls and some even managed to escape, it was too risky. She stuck with her Arcane Bolt, first casting Rock Armor on herself. The leader of the men thrust his sword at her cutting into her arm. She didn’t feel it because of the spell but she noticed a bit of liquid trickling down her arm. “Is that the only trick you know, bitch?”
   Morrigan must have heard him because her form changed from a woman to that of a very large disgusting spider. She knew some mages were capable of shapeshifting but she had never witnessed it first hand. She was not alone in this shock, the Teryn’s men were also in awe, or maybe it was horror. Multiple shrieks rang through the pub, coming from the bystanders.
Before he could strike Morrigan, she shot webbing at him, keeping him held in place. Distracted by the apostates disturbing form Kitsune almost forgot she was supposed to be fighting. A thin man with dual daggers was striking Alistair’s shield. His motions were fast, fluid and difficult to keep up with. His speed got the best of Alistair, slicing his cheek. Before he could injure the warrior further Kitsune decided against her previous decision and cast Cone of Cold on the rouge and the other warrior that Ammy was still attached to.
Alistair quickly blocked an assault from the remaining rogue while Morrigan shot webbing at the archer who was aiming his crossbow at Kitsune. Alistair disarmed his attacker, casting his blades to the ground in front of him and holding the tip of his blade at this throat. With all of the Teryn’s men frozen, webbed, or disarmed, Kitsune relaxed out of her battle stance. Morrigan returned to her human form, slightly out of breath, her brow damp.
“Give us a reason why we shouldn’t kill you all and send your heads back to Loghain”, Alistair yelled at the man on his knees. “Speak, traitor!”
She knew how much this meant to Alistair. To him this wasn’t a man taking orders this was the man that didn’t come to the King’s aid. This was the man that sent Duncan to his death. “Alistair”, she said to him. “Back away.”
Alistair gritted his teeth and pressed the sharp point into his throat until a drop of blood fell. “I said speak!”
“Stop it!”, Kitsune screamed. He wasn’t listening. If there weren’t all of these witnesses she would let him kill them. All of them. She pushed him away and stood between the man and the angry Warden. “Alistair, look at me!”
The look in his eyes didn’t change. She felt something pointy in the small of her back. “Drop the blade or I will not hesitate to slit your throat.” A woman was speaking, her voice was thick with a strange accent. Kitsune turned her head to see the man on his knees with her own dagger in his hands. Behind him though was a woman with short red hair. Holding a blade to his throat. “Drop it”, she said again.
The rogue dropped the dagger but the woman didn’t move. Kitsune forced Alistair out of the pub. She shut the door behind him, leaving him outside alone to cool off. The red haired woman released the rogue, throwing his head forward. The two men she had frozen were beginning to thaw. “I want you to take a message to Teryn Loghain”, she spoke to the leader who was still bound in Morrigan’s webs. He groaned a response through the sticky silk over his mouth. She grabbed the dagger and cut him loose. “Tell him the Grey Wardens are coming to kill him.” She melted the remaining ice from the rogue and warrior then cut the archer free from his webs. “Stand up”, she demanded the man who had held the dagger to her back. He wasn’t much taller than her but she still had to stand tall to backhand him across the face.
She stepped out of the way and let the five of them leave. She patted Ammy’s head who was sitting loyally at her side. Kitsune nodded to Morrigan and they left the pub. Alistair sat on the ground outside with his back against a tree. She made her way over to him and pulled him to his feet. “I would have let you kill them.”
He huffed through his nose and rubbed a hand on the back of his head.
She noticed the cut on his face was still bleeding. She touched it and he flinched. “Hold still”, she said as she healed his cut. It wasn’t bad enough to leave a scar. She let her hand linger on his face. She hadn’t touched him since that night in Flemeth’s hut. There was no way she could really understand how he felt when he looked at those men. It must have been similar to the feeling she got when she saw the Highwaymen. “They are going to tell Loghain that we are coming to kill him”, she let her hand drop to her side. “I am not sure if that was foolish or not.”
Alistair sighed and shrugged, “Who cares? I want him to know we’re coming for him.”
“Excuse me.” Both of them jumped at the voice from behind them. It was the red headed woman from the pub. “You are Grey Wardens, yes?”
Kitsune nodded unsure what the woman wanted. Perhaps a thank you. “Thank you for stepping in when you did. What is your name?”
“My name is Leliana”, she said as she bowed her head. “You do not have to thank me. I was not going to stand by and watch as that man took advantage of your mercy. He clearly deserved none.” She smiled, “I do have a proposal for you, though.”
Kitsune glanced up at Alistair who had an eyebrow raised. “Yes?”, she asked hesitantly.
“I would like to join you”, Leliana’s face was full of determination.
“Why do you want to come with us?”, Alistair asked.
The girl’s face turned a brilliant shade of pink. “I was told to.”
Now Kitsune raised her eyebrow. “Who told you to come with us?”
Without any hesitation she stood up straight and said, “The Maker.”
“The Maker?”, Alistair was unamused. “And I thought Morrigan was crazy.”
“I understand why you may think I’m crazy but I know the path the Maker wants me to follow”, she replied proudly.
“What does he want you to do?”, Kitsune questioned further. It wasn’t that she didn’t want her to come along, she just was being cautious. Being responsible for another person’s life was not something she was going to take lightly.
“He told me I should follow the silver haired woman, she would save Ferelden but she needed my help.” There was no sign of doubt or lies in her eyes.
Kitsune shrugged, not knowing is she even believed in the Maker. Leliana did save her life. She might even prove useful in battle. “Come along, then. We are not staying in Lothering much longer.”
The woman’s face lit up, Alistair shook his head. She knew he would have something to say about this. He never let things go.
Amaterasu took nicely to Leliana. He licked her face until she was sopping with drool. Alistair and Kitsune walked a little ahead of the rest of their party. She knew Alistair was about to say something. He always grimaced when he wanted to say something. “What is it?”, she asked before he could ponder any further.
He sighed and looked at their companions behind them. “Are you really okay with this?”
She knew what he meant but she asked anyway, “Okay with what?”
“I mean, what do you think about our growing company? You don’t really like Morrigan do you? Do you trust her?”
She didn’t feel threatened by the apostate. She knew he did. Being raised in the Chantry and almost becoming a Templar didn’t help his opinion of mages that didn’t live in the Circle. “I do not know much about her. So far she has not let us down.”
“But the spider thing”, Alistair shivered. “It’s gross.”
That’s right. Morrigan was a shapeshifter. She would have to talk to her about that. “It is useful.”
Alistair gave her a repulsed look. “Maybe but I don’t want her crawling near me like that.”
Kitsune laughed. “What do you think about her?”
“She’s mean. And overall, evil. I don’t trust her.”
“But she saved us. We would have died in Ostagar if not for her and Flemeth”, she was fine if he didn’t like but she deserved some of his trust.
He ignored her. “What do you think about Leliana? Do you think she’s crazy for saying all that about the Maker?”
She wasn’t one to doubt someone’s beliefs. “No. If she truly believes in her dream then I do not mind her joining us.” She looked up at him. “You did tell me that two is not an army. And she too saved my life.”
“I guess it’s not so bad. But all women?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”, she asked.
“I’m severely out numbered”, he looked back at the others again.
“Ammy is a boy”, she added thoughtfully.
He laughed, “He’s also a dog.”
"What about me?"
"You're obviously a woman", he chuckled.
"No", she laughed. "I meant what do you think of me?"
"I think that you are very smart and brave. A great companion", he didn't look at her when he spoke.
She smiled to herself, "That is it? Just a ‘good companion'?" There had to be more than that. She knew what she thought of him and there was no way he didn't feel the same in Flemeth's hut.
"You make a fine leader", he said nervously.
"Alistair...", she dragged out the syllables of his name.
"You're very beautiful", his voice was barely above a whisper.
"You think I am beautiful?"
"Yes, and a thousand other things you'd probably for hurt me for not saying", she laughed at how flushed he was getting. He was cute when he was like this.
"I would never hurt you", she said. A bit more seriously than she intended. It was true though. Alistair was all she had now. Morrigan and Ammy too. But Alistair was the only one like her. She didn't want to lose that.
"Nor I you", he said with just as much seriousness in his voice.
They were almost out of Lothering. This place depressed her. At some point Alistair had left her side and went to talk to Leliana. He questioned her about her dream to almost no end. On the outskirts of town, Kitsune noticed a very large man suspended in a cage. She stopped to stare at him, her company continuing on without her
She approached the man, unsure if he was even a man. “Hello”, she greeted him. He didn’t respond. Upon closer inspection she realized that he was in fact not a man but a Qunari. She didn't know much about the Qun. She knew that they had horns but this one did not. "Hello", she said again.
He looked down at her. His eyes were completely void of any emotion. "Hmph", he grumbled.
"Why are you in this cage?" She inspected the cage. He seemed to be a very strong, but still incapable of breaking out.
"I murdered a family", he said blandly.
She remained unwavering in her tone, "Why?"
"Why do you care?", he retorted. "I murdered children."
"I do not care. I was just asking you a question. Would you like some food or some water?", she pulled her canteen free from her waist.
"Why are you offering me these things?"
"How long have you been in here?", she avoided his question.
"Thirty days. Maybe longer."
"You killed children?", she was unsure if he was lying to try to scare her or if he was telling the truth.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I am a monster."
She didn't know what to say so she said, "What if I wanted to free you?"
"Why would you free a monster?", he asked.
"I have a use for a monster like you." She wanted to take him with them. He seemed powerful and unrelenting. If he had really killed children, she was still unsure. "What do you say?"
"If you can get me out. But you won’t be able to. The woman who has the key wants me to die."
"Who is she?"
"She is a woman of the Chantry, called the Revered Mother."
Kitsune smiled at the caged Qunari. "I will speak with her." She noted that he did not say a word as she walked away. She had to run to catch up with the others who had never stopped. "Alistair!", she called.
Amaterasu turned and ran back to her at the sound of her voice. He jumped around her. "Where did you go?", Alistair asked. "I turned around and you were gone."
"You did not think to look for me?", she questioned.
"You are known for running off."
She explained her desire to see the Revered Mother. "We were finally away from that wretched town and now we must return", Morrigan said, obviously annoyed.
"It is terrible that someone has been caged for thirty days without food or water", Leliana added. She was more than willing to help.
"Then let's go see the Revered Mother. This should be fun", Alistair said sarcastically.
Kitsune neglected to tell them the part about him being a possible child murderer. She wanted such a threatening man with them, she just wasn't so sure they would feel the same way.
- 10
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- 12
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The Mage and the Templars