Dragon Age: Origins; The RP (Open!)!

"Eight instead of two Wardens? What's that supposed to mean?" Antius asked curiously. Alistair frowned, however.

"I think I should point out that thanks to Loghain, we don't have an army to face the horde. If Arl Eamon knew he wouldn't let this stand..." Alistair stated. Antius raised an eyebrow.

"You know this Arl?" he asked.

"He's a fair and honorable man. We'd still need to replace the army we lost at Ostagar, though... Wait. Does anyone have the treaties?" Alistair exclaimed excitedly.

Seridwen

"Yeah, I do...thankfully enough they happened to be in the chest with the rest of our things; all neatly placed off to the side so as to not get wrinkled and scuffed..." she said quite sarcastically, "No, not really, though I suspect that the...what was it you said? The 'apostate' must be holding on to them." she said, waving her hand off to the side.

Yubri, Lacus, Flemeth, Morrigan

"I have the Dwarven Treaty, actually." Yubri calmly stated, reaching into her clothes and pulling out the aforementioned document. Lacus checked the small pack that Duncan had been kind enough to loan her before the final battle at Ostagar, and found the other two treaties there.

"I have the other two myself." Lacus spoke up.

"Good, Good." Flemeth smiled wide at all the Wardens. "Then you have the tools you need to ensure you can create a new army to replace the one lost at Ostagar. Haha. But I wish you luck. It will hardly be an easy journey. But an interesting one nonetheless, I think."

Morrigan ignored the going ons with the Wardens, giving them a distasteful glance before looking over at her mother.

"I am going to prepare a meal, mother. Shall I add additional seats to the dinner table? Or will our 'guests' be leaving?"

"Of course they are leaving, child." Flemeth admonished, shaking her head at the Witch. "And you're going with them."

"Ah, such a sha.....what?"

"Wait, what?!" Alistair exclaimed, almost in unison with the Witch.

"All help will be appreciated," Daylen noted, grinning slightly at both Alistair's and Morrigan's discomfort.

Marina

Marina looked on, allowing the more talkative warden's get their say. She didn't even know if she wanted another mage with them, especially an apostate. Though they would need all the help they could get, Morrigan did not seem like an agreeable sort of person to travel with.

Morrigan, Flemeth, Wardens

"You are going with them, Morrigan, and that is final." Flemeth stated, before her daughter could raise any objections. "The Blight is spreading across the Koracri Wilds. It is only a matter of time until the Darkspawn come here. Thus, you would be much safer in the company of these Wardens."

Morrigan glared fiercely at the Witch, before she gave a slow nod. "Fine, fine. I will go with them, Mother. Just make sure you do not burn the hut down while trying to cook, whilst I am gone."

Flemeth gave a snort. "Ha! 'Tis more likely you'll return to find my cold corpse, and this area covered in the Blight."

Morrigan gave an almost apologetic look to her mother, but Flemeth silenced her with a raise of her hand. The Witch of the Wild's eyes narrowed, and she looked behind her in the distance.

"The Darkspawn are coming here. It seems the threat of my magic will not keep them at bay any longer. Go. All of you. I will hold them off as long as I can, but I cannot gurantee your safety if you continue to stay. Go to Lothering. It is the nearest habited town, and likely you shall find some very useful information there. And, perhaps, more. Now go! And take Morrigan with you, Wardens."

Seridwen, Elora

"Well? What are you waiting for? Alistair won't turn into a frog on his own!" said the city elf as she turned to leave, adjusting her weapons and armor for the long trek out of the wetlands.

Elora simply gave Morrigan a curt bow, "My lady, please...after you." she said respectfully. Turning to Flemeth, "Don't worry, I assure you I will protect your daughter." she stated.

Marina

"Thank you, for all your assistance," Marina said to Flemeth, though she was still suspicious of the old witch's motives. There was little that could be done about it though, they had a job to do.

"Well, no need to dawdle," Daylen commented, bringing his hands together like Senior Enchanters were fond of doing when they were about to embark on an ambitious project.

"Lead the way, milady," Daylen told Morrigan with a bow, grinning slightly at Elora for having come up with the idea.

"Yes. The Blight won't defeat itself," Alistair said sarcastically. He didn't look to excited at the prospect, but determined nonetheless.

Morrigan, Flemeth, and the Wardens

"Thank you. And your quite welcome, Marina. Now go." Flemeth said. Morrigan grit her teeth and gave a slow nod.

"Very well, then. Follow me."

((Everybody ready for a time skip?))

(Yep. )

(Yeah)

((I talked with Warboss on AIM yesterday, and he approved of a timeskip. Onwards, then!))

Morrigan

After many hours of walking through the Wilds, the group of Wardens (plus Morrigan) were soon approaching the edges of civilization. And as the Witch lead them, she decided to strike up a conversation with the Wardens, if just to pass the unbearably long journey to Lothering they were still undertaking.

"There is something I am most curious about," Morrigan drawled, drawing the attention of the Wardens. "Amongst you, who is the leader, exactly? Back at Mother's, I did not get the impression any of you was the declared leader. Or am I wrong?"

"Well Alistair has been a Warden longer than us. He has seniority," Antius mused, causing Alistair to hold up his hands.

"Wait. No, no, no, no. Me leading equals bad. Seriously. I'm content with whatever decision we make together as a group," Alistair stated.

"Well, that rules him out. And I have little experience outside the Tower," Antius stated.

Yubri

"Well then, I believe it is obvious how we should proceed, in terms of leadership." Yubri announced, a slight smirk on her face as she did so. Arianna sighed and shook her head at the only other Dwarf in the party.

"Let me guess. Because you're a Noble, you should be leading. And since I'm a simple Duster, I have no right to lead myself. Tell me, am I wrong?"

Yubri briefly scowled at her, her eyes briefly flickering toward the tattoo on Arianna's forehead before giving a shake of her head.

"No. I should not lead just because I am...was....a noble, and there are rather valid reasons as to why you should not lead, Arianna. Before Ostagar, you had never even seen a Darkspawn, let alone fight one. Not to mention you've no training in military tactics, among other necessities. I, on the other hand, have been trained to fight the Darkspawn threat all my life, as one of the Heirs to the Ozammar throne. It is only logical that I lead."

Arianna only rolled her eyes in response, which Yubri decided to ignore. The Dwarf went on. "However, I admit, I am limited by my basic knowledge of the human lands. Duncan could only fill me in on so much. So while I might be best qualified to lead this group of Wardens against Darkspawn in general, I would need help in navigating the many problems and potential disasters that might spring up on a Dwarf with less then suitable knowledge of the land she was in..."

Yubri trailed off, and looked over to Elora. She smiled at the human with a wide, if a bit forced, smile. "Elora, you are a noble like myself, yes? And out of all our party members, you would possess the most knowledge of how this land works, correct? Well then, I think it appropriate if you were to become my Second, then. Ah yes, a Second would be both a body-guard, an advisor, and a trusted friend for Dwarven Nobles, to clarify. Do you accept? It seems like a logical and generous deal, in my own eyes. And I would be most honored to have you at my side."

Elora

Releasing a boisterous, hearty laugh, the noblewoman looked at the Dwarf, "I can't deny you make a good argument; you also have the most experience fighting the Darkspawn, so yes, I would be honored as well." she said, giving Yubri a curt bow.

Seridwen

Given the circumstance, Seridwen reacted as positively as she could....

"Hell no, I refuse to be subservient to an egotistical Dwarf." she said, pointing her short sword at Yubri, "I know your a noble; you've been reminding everyone every chance you get, but just because you were a noble, doesn't mean you're the best qualified. if anything, I say this should at least be a group effort."

Yubri

Under any other circumstance, Yubri would have had the annoying Elven girl killed. Either by her hand, or by the hand of her new Second, Elora. But several factors stopped the young Dwarven royal from issuing such a command, or taking action herself. One, she wasn't quite sure if she'd be able to reach her sword before Seridwen chopped off her head. Two, she had no idea if Elora would comply with the order. And third...

A few years ago, back when Yubri was still a Princess and had had a minor obsession with the Grey Wardens, she had come across some...disturbing information. Well, interesting back then, but disturbing now. As far as she could tell, no Warden that faced the Archdemon in combat had lived past the battle.

Now, while injuries sustained during the assault could be behind that, Yubri was willing to bet there was some sort of other, more sinister explanation behind that little fact. Perhaps it had to deal with the Grey Wardens being the only ones who could slay an Archdemon and end a Blight?

Thus, if slaying the Archdemon truly did end in the death of a Grey Warden, it'd be best to have as many targets between her and the Archdemon as possible. Yubri had no intentions of dying, even if it was a noble sacrifice. Therefore, she had no choice but to let Seridwen keep her life.

For now, at the very least. Yubri could tell she was going to be a problem. Besides, without her, the group still had plenty of Wardens to go around...

"And it will be." Yubri promised, her eyes not leaving the short sword. Which wasn't that short from a Dwarven perspective. "I will confer with you all before making any big decisions. However, it would be best to have a leader in this group to represent us all. Do you not agree?"

"And, Elora," Yubri added, moving her glance over to the human. "Thank you for accepting my offer. I have no doubt in my mind you'll prove to be a wonderful Second. You are a credit to your family and race."

Crap. She shouldn't have mentioned family, right? If Yubri remembered correctly, Elora was the one who had had her father, mother, sister-in-law, and nephew slaughtered by some other human lord. What was his name? Cowe? Hm, now, that didn't sound right. Well, anyway, it hardly mattered. It might stir up unwanted emotions in Elora, but she was a tough girl, based on the observations Yubri had made. She could handle it. And no doubt it'd remind her of the revenge she needed to take, which was good. Revenge was a useful tool, if controlled wisely.

Which reminded Yubri, she needed to stick a dagger inbetween Bhelen's eyes at some point...

The worst leaders are those that place themselves into positions of power. Do we really want to follow an ego-maniac? But then, I suppose her argument is sound, I certainly don't know much outside of the tower, Marina thought, mulling over the situation in her head. I suppose someone had to step forward, especially since Alistair doesn't want to lead despite being more qualified than any of us.

"It is fortunate that Dwarves are not connected to the Fade," Antius commented dryly.

"What, why?" Alistair asked. He knew from his Templar training that Mages were more attuned to the Fade than normal people. A demon crossing over would complete his day.

"Because a Pride Demon would possess our illustrious leader like that," the Mage replied with a snap of his fingers.

"Look. She's obviously had experience with command and as long as I don't have to lead, I don't care who does," the elder Grey Warden pointed out.

"And I used to wonder why Templars were so... Golem-like," Antius mused.

"Yes. Didn't you know? The local Revered Mother holds our control rods," Alistair said sarcastically.

Elora laughed, "A Pride Demon indeed! Though I should think it would have quite a brawl on it's hands if it tried!" she said, "I understand that many of you might have issues following Miss Aeducan, perhaps more for her boisterous and brash personality; but you can't deny that she has had more experience fighting the Darkspawn,"

Turning to the Dwarf in question, "You honor me; I do my best, and always have, to do right by my family and my lineage. Arl Howe will regret the day he crossed me and my family. Though as much as it pains me, I believe the Darkspawn are our priority,"

"Yeah, sure, suck up to the arrogant Dwarf; she might have combat experience, but does she have real leadership experience? I don't know what Dwarves consider leadership, and you're right, I don't like her attitude; so I warn you, Dwarf, slip up, and Grey Warden or not...I'll gut you," she threatened, pointing her sword towards Elora, "then you. Now...if everyone's done..."

Yubri, Morrigan

Ah, Howe. That was his name. Yubri filed that information away, for a later date. Who knows? It could prove useful, later.

"If we are done deciding who leads, then I suggest we keep going." Morrigan spoke up, putting on a veil of annoyance, yet secretly delighting in the little exchange the group of Wardens had.

"I agree with the....what'd ya call her? The....Apostate...? Well, I agree with her. Personally I don't care anymore if Miss Noble over there leads us. Can we just keep going?" Arianna said, crossing her arms. Yubri's narrowed her eyes slightly, but nodded her head in her own agreement.

"If there are no objections, then onwards then, Witch."

((If that is all, shall I time-skip us to Lothering?))

(Sounds good to me).

(Skip away)

((Wonderful! And Warboss already gave me his permission via IM. Let's begin!))

General Narrative

The march to Lothering did not take much longer. After slaying some foolish Highwaymen, the Wardens were now in the village proper. However, shortly before their quick slaying of the bandits, they had learned a rather disturbing fact...

"Well, this could be...problamatic." Yubri stated, as they walked into Lothering. Arianna snorted, and mimicked what the other Dwarf said. Yubri glared at the Castless, who quickly went on.

"Of course it's gonna be a problem, you sodding idiot! The Grey Wardens are Enemies of the State in Fereldan. I'm not quite sure what that means, but I've got a good idea of what it is. Now how are we gonna stop the Blight if that Loghain guy is trying to arrest and/or kill us?"

Yubri glared again at the brass Dwarven girl, but grudgingly admitted that she did have a point. Not to mention she had no clue of the workings of this land, so that merely compounded their problems. After a moment she turned to Elora, and decided to seek her advice.

"What is you opinion, Second? Is there something we can do about Teyrn Loghain hunting us?"

Lacus

Lacus sighed as the Wardens talked amongst themselves. She really didn't like the feeling of being left out, but she didn't have much to contribute to the discussion, either.

"Great. On the run again. And I'd joined the Wardens to stop running, too." Lacus commented to Seridwen. She had noticed the Elven girl was quite...well, hostile to everyone, most especially to the Humans. Though she secretly hoped that Seridwen might be more receiving to someone who only had some human blood in them.

"We need to move quickly. From what I've read of Ferelden politics, Loghain is going to have trouble subjugating the Bannorn. While he's doing so, we can visit outlying peoples like the Dalish, Orzammar, and the Circle of Magi. Those should be outside Loghain's reach or at least his main armies'," Antius noted logically.

"And not all nobles will be happy with Loghain. If Arl Eamon in Redcliffe knew what Loghain did, he wouldn't stand for it. Cailan was his nephew through his mother," Alistair pointed out.