open Dragon Age: Shadows of The Deep Roads

[Umbreon 569]

Watching the others go about getting the stew and preparing for the night, Ninarya sighs quietly and turns her gaze towards the tents.  "Do we just take any of them that are free?"  She wasn't all that hungry tonight...  And the stew didn't smell too terribly appetizing from where she was standing.  Without actually waiting for an answer the elf starts to walk towards the tents, using her staff to pull back the cover to one of them to check that it was empty.

 

She didn't want to listen to the others talking about the joining ceremony...  As far as she could tell she didn't have any other choice but to go through with this, and getting worried about it wasn't going to help.  Sparing a glance back to the others in the camp, Ninarya sighs and ducks down into the empty tent to get some rest.

[Scrambled_Egghead 16]

Civ put away her stew without completely finishing it and crawled into one of the open tents. She rested her head and closed her eyes, but it took her a while to fall asleep. The secrecy about the joining only made her more worried. Why would they not tell her and the other recruits? She wondered.

[Anon In Equestria 57]

Connor looked over to the tents that was available for him to sleep, instead of walking over to the tents to sleep, he instead just put his forward and slowly started thinking about ways to spill blood the best in a one on one swordfight, a very calming technique for blood knights.

[Literally Snails 2,307]

 

Connor looked over to the tents that was available for him to sleep, instead of walking over to the tents to sleep, he instead just put his forward and slowly started thinking about ways to spill blood the best in a one on one swordfight, a very calming technique for blood knights.

  

Civ put away her stew without completely finishing it and crawled into one of the open tents. She rested her head and closed her eyes, but it took her a while to fall asleep. The secrecy about the joining only made her more worried. Why would they not tell her and the other recruits? She wondered.

  

Watching the others go about getting the stew and preparing for the night, Ninarya sighs quietly and turns her gaze towards the tents.  "Do we just take any of them that are free?"  She wasn't all that hungry tonight...  And the stew didn't smell too terribly appetizing from where she was standing.  Without actually waiting for an answer the elf starts to walk towards the tents, using her staff to pull back the cover to one of them to check that it was empty.

 

She didn't want to listen to the others talking about the joining ceremony...  As far as she could tell she didn't have any other choice but to go through with this, and getting worried about it wasn't going to help.  Sparing a glance back to the others in the camp, Ninarya sighs and ducks down into the empty tent to get some rest.

  

With Rica having left the issue of his previous predicament alone for the moment, Vk'tir returned to tending his wound. One good thing about sharp weapons was that they were easier to heal. Clean cuts tended to leave far less scar tissue than pulped or shredded flesh. He'd seen the results of toothed weapons and had resolved never to use them. In any case, the gash to his leg would likely heal up without much fuss, so long as he didn't do anything drastic. It seemed like this 'ritual' that the Grey Wardens were speaking of might involve a bit of strangeness though, so he applied a little bit of healing salve to speed the process up. He didn't have a lot of it and used it sparingly as a result.

 

After that was dealt with and the worst of his grime was gone, he took some soup and began to eat. Due to force of habit, he sprinkled some anti-toxin dust into it beforehand. Unlike the salve, it was mercifully easy to come by and or produce. Thus he'd made extended use of it over the years. It wouldn't completely save him from the worst poisons on the market, but it'd make sure he didn't die and could move long enough to escape. One down side was that it tended to make food somewhat bland. In this case it didn't really change much, as the soup had been rather tasteless in the first place.

  

Tessa was still not sure what to think about this. But after a while, she became bored of thinking about it, so she just ate her soup and slept in a feeble position near the fire. She used her cape as a sort of blanket. The flickering of the fire and the nightly winds helped her sleep.Tessa was still not sure what to think about this. But after a while, she became bored of thinking about it, so she just ate her soup and slept in a feeble position near the fire. She used her cape as a sort of blanket. The flickering of the fire and the nightly winds helped her sleep.

 

 

After the recruits went to their tents, Rica and Yuril had a conversation by the fire. They were whispering silently.

 

"I'll take the night's watch," Rica offered.

 

"Nonsense." Yuril replied. "You'll need your strength for tomorrow. All I need to do tomorrow is wait at the camp. I'll take the watch."

 

Rica nodded and stared into the fire. "It's too bright. Any dark spawn could find us."

 

"Fire or not, they can find us easily. They can sense us just as we can sense them. Wardens cannot hide."

 

"Do you know what King Aeducan asked of the order? How serious does something have to be for Orzammar to ask for the aid of outsiders?"

 

"Endrin is a sensible man and a friend of the Wardens, more open minded than most dwarves. It might not be quite as desperate as it sounds. He is more willing to call for aid."

 

"Yet the dwarves of Orzammar should be used to darkspawn. I wish I could have your calm attitude about things, but I worry."

 

After a while, Rica went off to sleep as well. Yuril stayed guard for the rest of the night.

 

 

 

The next morning, Yuril and Rica went around the camp waking up the recruits and telling them to put on their equipment and gather their weapons. Afterwards, they both waited in the center of the camp for the recruits to gather.

[Chivalry Knight 161]

"-Yaaaaaaaawn- is it time to get up already? I'm still drowsy!" Tessa says as she lifts herself up in a sitting position. She looks at Yuril who looks equally as drowsy, probably from staying up all night, watching over us.

 

Tessa looks over at Yuril "Hey Yuri, you dont look so well, didn't you get any sleep last night?" She asks.

Edited April 28, 2014 by Prince Blackquill

[Umbreon 569]

Ninarya pushes aside the tent flap and steps outside, idly scratching behind her ear with short movements.  As soon as she realizes what she's doing she drops her hand to her side, glancing around to make sure no one had noticed before turning to walk towards the Grey Wardens.

 

As she gets closer, Ninarya stops near the outer edge of the camp's center to lean on her staff.  Without saying a word she nods at Yuril and Rica, her grip on her weapon tightening slightly.  The Dalish elf made no move to be social, instead standing by waiting to hear their instructions for the day.  She still wasn't sure what she thought of the others she was going to supposedly be serving what was left of her life with...  Until she had a better idea of them, she wasn't about to go out of her way to make friends. 

[Literally Snails 2,307]

"-Yaaaaaaaawn- is it time to get up already? I'm still drowsy!" Tessa says as she lifts herself up in a sitting position. She looks at Yuril who looks equally as drowsy, probably from staying up all night, watching over us.

Tessa looks over at Yuril "Hey Yuri, you dont look so well, didn't you get any sleep last night?" She asks.

"Don't worry about me child." Yuril said politely. "I'm not the one who's going through the joining today. You needed your rest."

 

Ninarya pushes aside the tent flap and steps outside, idly scratching behind her ear with short movements.  As soon as she realizes what she's doing she drops her hand to her side, glancing around to make sure no one had noticed before turning to walk towards the Grey Wardens.

 

As she gets closer, Ninarya stops near the outer edge of the camp's center to lean on her staff.  Without saying a word she nods at Yuril and Rica, her grip on her weapon tightening slightly.  The Dalish elf made no move to be social, instead standing by waiting to hear their instructions for the day.  She still wasn't sure what she thought of the others she was going to supposedly be serving what was left of her life with...  Until she had a better idea of them, she wasn't about to go out of her way to make friends.

 

Ser Thomas struggled as he strapped on the multiple heavy pieces of his Silverite armor. He almost bumped into Ninarya as he pulled up his left boot and promptly apologized. After he was completely ready, he joined with the others in the center of the camp.

[Chivalry Knight 161]

Tessa stood up and dusted herself off. "Oh right. The 'ritual' is today..." Tessa looks down, her expression as if she's deep in thought. She looks back up at Yuril with a smile on her face.

 

Tessa was about to say something else, but then one of the recruitments came out of the tent. "Hey Yuri, she seems sort of shy doesn't she?" Tessa said while leaning in towards Yuril.

[Scrambled_Egghead 16]

"I'm awake! I'm awake," Civ repeated in a half-yawn as she rubbed her eyes. After she stepped out of her tent she was reminded of how cold Fereldin was. She quickly re-entered her tent and did not come back out until she was fully ready. Even then, she was cold.

[Anon In Equestria 57]

Connor's eyes slowly opened to let in the early morning sun as the light shined into the eye holes on his helmet, as he himself steadily raised up to greet the day.

 

he looked around and noted the rest of the group seemed to be up apart from the dwarf, who must still be in his tent.

 

Connor watched as civ walked out of her tent, shivering due to the cold, connor walked over to her and rested a hand on one of her shoulders.

 

"You know I have a wolf pelt if you need it civ, wouldn't want one of my new battle sisters to freeze before to joining"

[Scrambled_Egghead 16]

Connor's eyes slowly opened to let in the early morning sun as the light shined into the eye holes on his helmet, as he himself steadily raised up to greet the day.

he looked around and noted the rest of the group seemed to be up apart from the dwarf, who must still be in his tent.

Connor watched as civ walked out of her tent, shivering due to the cold, connor walked over to her and rested a hand on one of her shoulders.

"You know I have a wolf pelt if you need it civ, wouldn't want one of my new battle sisters to freeze before to joining"

Civ instinctively grabbed Connor's hand and flung it off of her shoulder. "Please. Keep your hands to yourself!" She demanded. She said this without even thinking about who she was talking to. Someone had touched her shoulder and she didn't like it. When she realized it was Connor, she shook her head and continued putting on the last pieces of her armor. "Sorry, Connor." She said. "I don't know much about this Fereldin. In Antiva, the women must always be on their guard, you see. Maldicion! Why does a place so beautiful as my Antiva have to be so corrupt? I say that Fereldin is strange, but I think I like it better." She finished strapping on her armor. "We should be going now. Yuril is waiting for us." Edited April 28, 2014 by Scrambled_Egghead

[Anon In Equestria 57]

Connor nodded and started to walk to the center of the camp, but quickly looked over his shoulder to talk to civ.

 

I can understand your cautious reaction fereldin can also be a dangerous place, but your in the company of a blood knight, the only people I'm a threat to are thieves, bandits and the chantry..."

 

His voice then started to fill with venom.

 

"However if you ever come across the chantry and their templars I would advise have a hand on your weapon at all times, they don't like outsiders or people who don't follow their beliefs"

[Chivalry Knight 161]

@,@@Scrambled_Egghead,

Tessa looks towards Connor and Civ, who are walking towards Yuril, Rica, and herself. Tessa waves her arm back and fourth in the air, attempting to make a greeting gesture. However it only looked as if she were swatting a fly. Tessa starts jogging towards them and stops in front of them. She smiles and speaks to the two other members "Heya,  I don't think we've properly met, in fact not many of the other members introduced themselves yet either, I don't know why everyone is so shy. Were all nice here right? Haha! My name is Tessa!" She looks at Connor and smiles. "Hey your that guy who Snuck up behind me when you arrived at the camp! Well I just wanna tell you that I wasn't actually scared, Okay?!" Tessa pleades, she looks at both of them together and smiles. "Hmm, why does everyone here wear so much armor? Isn't it all clunky and cold and hard to move in? I prefer light clothing, that way I can easily dodge enemy attacks! But I guess it's your choice if you want t wear armor." Tessa says while smiling.

@@Umbreon, @, @@Scrambled_Egghead, @,
Tessa looks at Civ, her expression becomes confused, and returns to a smile. "Hey... You remind me alot of my mother, you looks pretty similar! Oh that reminds me, has any of you seen my mother anywhere? She looks like this girl," Tessa points towards Civ "Except its not her. I lost her a long time ago and I'm trying to find her!" Tessa Says out loud.

 

Edited April 28, 2014 by Prince Blackquill

[Literally Snails 2,307]

 

@,@@Scrambled_Egghead,

Tessa looks towards Connor and Civ, who are walking towards Yuril, Rica, and herself. Tessa waves her arm back and fourth in the air, attempting to make a greeting gesture. However it only looked as if she were swatting a fly. Tessa starts jogging towards them and stops in front of them. She smiles and speaks to the two other members "Heya,  I don't think we've properly met, in fact not many of the other members introduced themselves yet either, I don't know why everyone is so shy. Were all nice here right? Haha! My name is Tessa!" She looks at Connor and smiles. "Hey your that guy who Snuck up behind me when you arrived at the camp! Well I just wanna tell you that I wasn't actually scared, Okay?!" Tessa pleades, she looks at both of them together and smiles. "Hmm, why does everyone here wear so much armor? Isn't it all clunky and cold and hard to move in? I prefer light clothing, that way I can easily dodge enemy attacks! But I guess it's your choice if you want t wear armor." Tessa says while smiling.@@Umbreon, @, @@Scrambled_Egghead, @,

Tessa looks at Civ, her expression becomes confused, and returns to a smile. "Hey... You remind me alot of my mother, you looks pretty similar! Oh that reminds me, has any of you seen my mother anywhere? She looks like this girl," Tessa points towards Civ "Except its not her. I lost her a long time ago and I'm trying to find her!" Tessa Says out loud.

 

"She has an interesting concept of social boundaries..." Rica commented to herself. She didnt know anything about the recruits and thus had no idea until now that Tessa's mother was missing.

 

Yuril noticed that the dwarf was the only one of the recruits who was not out of his tent yet. He assumed that this must have meant that he was still caring for his wounds from the night before. After Rica gave a sharp whistle to get everyone's attention, Yuril spoke to the recruits. He projected himself loud enough for the dwarf to hear him as well. "I apologize that so little information was given to you yesterday." He said in an honest tone. "I am Yuril of the Orlesian Grey Wardens. And you have all come here willingly to protect Thedas from the darkspawn threat. In order to do that, you must become Grey Wardens. And in order to join the Wardens, you must partake in the Joining."

 

Ser Thomas became more nervous at the mention of the joining. All of this secrecy bothered him.

 

Yuril continued after gesturing toward Rica. "As the junior-most Grey Warden, Rica will be assisting all of you through the joining. Please direct your questions toward her, as Im sure you have many."

[Chivalry Knight 161]

@,

 

Tessa turned her attention away from Connor and Civ. "Uh, we'll talk later! I have some questions to ask Rica!" She said to the two recruits before running towards Rica.

 

She stopped in front of Rica and smiled, swerving back and fourth with her hands behind her back. "So Rica, about the ritual. Is it true that no sacrifices are involved? and not just that, but will there be any bloodshed?" Tessa converted her smile to an ominous expression. "I... I'm just asking because, uh..." Tessa remembers that the ones who taught her magic told her to never tell anyone about them. To protect their safety. Tessa didn't understand why, but she just went with it. "I once saw how a ritual was preformed, and I'm a little concerned." She says to Rica

[Umbreon 569]

Ninarya rolled her eyes as the others went about getting ready, nimbly sidestepping as Thomas nearly stepped into her coming out of his tent but not saying anything in response.  Her usual scowl came back to her face as she eavesdropped listened to the others speaking near her, especially when one of the humans offered another a wolf pelt, but rather than bothering with a response she just pulled the butt of her staff out of the dirt and took a few steps away from them.

 

@, 

The Dalish elf turned her attention towards Rica when Yuril told them to address questions to her, actually moving in closer to the group for once so as to be heard.  "I have a question, can we get started already?"  She lets her gaze flick to the others, pausing on the loud one that had referred to her as shy earlier, before looking back to the Grey Warden.  "The sooner we go, the sooner we get this over with.  Right?"

[Literally Snails 2,307]

@,

 

Tessa turned her attention away from Connor and Civ. "Uh, we'll talk later! I have some questions to ask Rica!" She said to the two recruits before running towards Rica.

 

She stopped in front of Rica and smiled, swerving back and fourth with her hands behind her back. "So Rica, about the ritual. Is it true that no sacrifices are involved? and not just that, but will there be any bloodshed?" Tessa converted her smile to an ominous expression. "I... I'm just asking because, uh..." Tessa remembers that the ones who taught her magic told her to never tell anyone about them. To protect their safety. Tessa didn't understand why, but she just went with it. "I once saw how a ritual was preformed, and I'm a little concerned." She says to Rica

 

Rica thought of a good way to answer this question before she replied. "There is no sacrifice, of course." She said in a matter of fact tone. "...but the joining is not any easy thing, nor is it safe..." Her eyes showed a look of minor despair and stress. "In a group this large, I doubt that you will all survive. There is usually... death during the joining. For this reason, I ask that you not converse with each other until after the joining is complete.

 

@@Umbreon

 

"We will get started once everyone else is ready," Rica answered to the Dalish Elf. "The Dwarf hasn't even left his tent yet."

 

"I am not a coward!" Ser Thomas projected. "But I have to know more about this joining. I will not walk into something that I know nothing about."

 

"We will be going into the forest," Rica explained. "You will need to collect six vials of darkspawn blood."

 

"Darkspawn blood!?" Ser Thomas exclaimed. "Why do we need darkspawn blood? It carries their foul taint! The corruption of man's pride flows within them! Their blood is cursed!"

 

"The blood is for the ritual," Yuril explained. "I will be able to explain more once you have returned."

[Chivalry Knight 161]

Rica thought of a good way to answer this question before she replied. "There is no sacrifice, of course." She said in a matter of fact tone. "...but the joining is not any easy thing, nor is it safe..." Her eyes showed a look of minor despair and stress. "In a group this large, I doubt that you will all survive. There is usually... death during the joining. For this reason, I ask that you not converse with each other until after the joining is complete.

@,@, @@Scrambled_Egghead, @@Umbreon, 

 

Tessa turned to look at Ninarya, who apparently had the same idea as her. Tessa turned back to look at Rica, a smile returned to her face. " you say there's bound to be death? Well if that's the case... Then I'll do my best to protect everyone!" She said in a strong tone. Tessa turns around and looks at the recruits. "You hear me!? I will do my best to ensure your safety! As we all have to do for each other, if we do that, if we work together. We can get through this without anyone dying, haha!" Tessa announced to the group in a happy but strong tone. She turns back to Rica and looks down with her eyes closed. "I know you said not to converse with any of the group..." Tessa looks up at Rica and smiles. "But what fun would it be if we didn't work together? Haha." Tessa smiled at Rica.

Edited April 29, 2014 by Prince Blackquill

[HigurSan 195]

@,

Vk'tir had walked back into camp with just enough time to hear about the Darkspawn, that and Rica bad mouthing him. Rolling his eyes, he advanced into camp and sat down on the same rock as he had the previous evening. Over his shoulder were three rabbits, strung up on a shoulder strap. It looked like all three had been killed by one quick thrust where the head met the neck. Perhaps it bore some thought that it was hard to sneak up on or catch up with hares. A cleaning rag was produced from one pocket, which he used to wipe off the blade of one spear. "There's a time for fun ma'am," he said solemnly to Tessa. "But I'd prefer a level head in this serious undertaking."

[Literally Snails 2,307]

@,@,@, @@Umbreon,  

 

Rica gazed at Tessa until she was finished speaking. She seemed genuine, but she also didn't seem to understand exactly what was happening.

 

"Well, all of you are ready, so we should be leaving now." She explained. "We will be traveling in the west through the forest. These woods have several access points to the lost Deep Roads of the dwarfs, so there should be a few darkspawn about in the forest. I am here to act as a guide, but you must all be on your guard."

 

Without saying anything else, she slowly turned to her left and began to step between two trees that marked the exit of the camp. Ser Thomas walked to her immediate left and she traveled slowly to make sure that the others were following.

[Chivalry Knight 161]

@,

Tessa smiled and ran up beside Rica, she started walking beside her. "You know, Rica, I did mean what I said..." Tessa looks up at Rica while simutaniously walking. "I will do my best to protect the other recruits. I just hope they'll do the same for me, you know?" Tessa smiles and looks forward again. "I am still concerned though, as is something in my stomache won't stop moving around... Heh, I'm sure its nothing though! haha!" Tessa looks at Rica again. "Hey you seem pretty young, sorta like me, except a little older. So how was it for you when you first joined? Was it fun?" Tessa said optimistically.

Edited April 29, 2014 by Prince Blackquill

[Literally Snails 2,307]

@,

Tessa smiled and ran up beside Rica, she started walking beside her. "You know, Rica, I did mean what I said..." Tessa looks up at Rica while simutaniously walking. "I will do my best to protect the other recruits. I just hope they'll do the same for me, you know?" Tessa smiles and looks forward again. "I am still concerned though, as is something in my stomache won't stop moving around... Heh, I'm sure its nothing though! haha!" Tessa looks at Rica again. "Hey you seem pretty young, sorta like me, except a little older. So how was it for you when you first joined? Was it fun?" Tessa said optimistically.

"I joined with two others; one of them was my brother. They both died in the joining." Rica said without taking her eyes off the path. "Being a Grey Warden means that you're giving up everything. That's why most of those who are recruited come because they have no where else to go. Look around you! Have any of these other recruits had happy lives? Civera was raised in a whore house. Ninarya was exiled from her clan. Ser Thomas was recruited after he saved a town from darkspawn, but his entire unit was found dead. Yuril first joined the Wardens as a way to kill himself! Most who join our order do so in order to leave their old lives behind. You are lucky to be so happy!"

[Anon In Equestria 57]

Connor walked up next to tessa and gave her shoulder a firm squeeze to reassure her, then he turned to face rica, his helmet hiding his face.

 

"Oh leave the girl alone rica, just cause she's trying to lighten the mood, so some of us might die oh well, its what we all signed on for, as gray wardens, we all most likely die in battle or other reasons."

 

He then turned his helmet round to face tessa and asked her a question.

 

"So tessa tell me a little bit about yourself"

[Chivalry Knight 161]

@,@,

Tessa looked at connor. "About... myself? uhm." Tessa looked deep in though, but then her expression suddenly looked gloom for some reason. She was thinking about her past. Tessa looks at Rica "Hey, Rica, You said that the only reason that people join the Grey Wardens is to forget their past lives... Well, I guess you could say that, I'm no different." Tessa says in a more whispered voice. "I think I can trust you, for what I'm about to say, and I trust you to not judge me, for this was MY past life."

Tessa looks forward while walking. "I told you before that I saw rituals being preformed before. Well thats not exactly fully true. Because... Because I was a part of those rituals. The sacrifices they made to... to do something wrong." Tessa bites her lip and starts talking again. "You see, I was actually raised in a small village of Apostates. They took me in when I had nowhere else to go. They taught me Spirit Magic, The helped me become a better fighter, and they took care of me for a really long time..." Tessa doesn't look at the others faces, fearing what they may look like.

"They were usually nice, calm people. However... Every month, we would hold a ritual in order to bring us Luck, or have the gods they believe in protect us. But, It was wrong how they preformed it. They would go to other villages and towns and kidnap people, it didn't matter the age, young or old. They would bring them back to our village and strap them down on a stone pedestal. And each one of use would grab a blade... And we..." Tessa tears up. "We would all take turns... and stab the sacrifice in multiple areas of their body. Until they were dead."

 

Tessa wipes away her tears "I was a part of that... for 10 years, 10 long years of torturing innocent men and woman, sometimes even children. I can still hear their screams of sorrow in my head." Tessa cries a bit more but tries to keep most of it in. "So after 10 years, I couldn't take it anymore. I remembered my mother leaving me a note that merely said 'I love you'. She's here somewhere, so I set out to find her. At least that was my excuse to leave the village. I left, and never looked back. I changed who I was completely, My looks, My thoughts, my personality. If you compare me now to who I was back then, you would never recognize me."

Tessa looks up in the sky, her face wet with tears. "I found a large village during my travels to find my mother. And I came across a battle tournament, I convinced the people running the tournament to let me in. After a while they finally accepted me. I fought and won most of the rounds except the last." Tessa looks forward "I recieved a coneslation prize, and went on my way again. But then I was stopped by members of Grey Wardens. They wanted to recruit me, they told me I would have to give up everything however,. This didn't matter to me because I had nothing to give up. So I accepted. And thats why i'm here..." Tessa still refuses herself to look at the other two.

[Umbreon 569]

Still listening to the others as she walks behind them, Ninarya rolls her eyes and scowls as she overhears their talk.  "You Shemlen are barbaric," she mutters under her breath before turning her gaze towards the way ahead of them and looking past her companions.  Her grip tightens on her staff as she walks before raising her voice enough to be heard.

 

"Should someone not scout ahead?  Or do we plan to all walk into an ambush to die together?"  As though to emphasize her question, the Dalish elf started to lean forward as she walked before walking on all fours and quickly taking on her canine form.  The large wolf lifts her head to sniff at the air, her ears scanning around for sounds that may have gone missed otherwise.