Rose Garden: Rose of Grace

Chapter 11

As we walk into the town I hear Morrigan and Alistair talking.

"I have a wonder, Alistair, if you will indulge me."

"Do I have a choice?"

"Of the two of you that remain, are you not the senior Grey Warden here? I find it curious that you allow another to lead, while you follow." I wonder about that too.

"You find that CURIOUS, do you?"

"In fact, you defer to a new recruit. Is this a policy of the Grey Wardens? Or simply a personal one?"

"What do you want to hear? That I prefer to follow? I do."

"You sound so very defensive."

"Couldn't you crawl into a bush somewhere and die? That would be great, thanks."

I was going to say something when a suit of armor called out to us.

"You there! If you're looking for safe shelter, I'll warn you; There's none to be found. Move on if you can. Lothering's lost." It wasn't until we got closer that I realized it was what the humans called a Templar.

"What do you mean?"

"We've had refugees streaming from the south for the last two days. The chantry and the tavern are full to bursting. There simply isn't enough food to go around, and we Templars can barely keep order. You'd be better off elsewhere, my friend."

"Are you going to keep me from going into town?"

"I'm just warning you things may not be as hospitable as you'd expect. People are frightened."

"Geez, is no one in charge here?"

"The bann has marched north with Teryn Loghain, so Lothering's on it's own. Most folks look to Elder Miriam. Otherwise. You could speak to Ser Bryant in the chantry, I suppose. It's up to you."

"Alright, thanks." I said walking around him. We walk further into what I suspect is the town's square and right away, I am stopped by a fellow elf and his family.

"Greetings to you, my lady. If it... isn't too much to ask, might you be able t spare some bread?"

"What happened to you?" I asked. They were in fairly poor condition.

"We thought it'd be safer in Lothering, that the Teryn would bring his soldiers here. But bandits attacked us and took everything! Our food... our clothes... my daughter's pet lamb. Nobody cares about a few elves like us. Surely you understand."

"Bandits?" I thought for a moment "Oh! Those guys, we drove them off not to long ago."

"That's wonderful news! Perhaps our belonging are still there!" The mother exclaims.

"I can't thank you enough, friend. Even if we don't get everything back, it's good to know others will be safe." He says before they leave to where they bandits were before. Morrigan trails off and I motion for Sunny to stay with her. Alistair follows me as I walk up to a small boy shouting for his mother.

"Have you seen my mother?" He asks. He has vivid red hair and is probably one of the many refugee's son. But I didn't know who his mother was to know if I'd seen her.

"That depends. Who is your mother?"

"She's really tall... and she has red hair. We live on a big farm hold, all of us. Some mean men with swords came, and mother told me to run to the village as fast as I could, so I did! She said she would be right behind me, but I've been waiting and waiting and I can't see her!"