To The Tower

Nygozy nodded as Devin questioned and looked up at him as she could not look him in the eye, "The Darkspawn are not inactive as we had figured they would be. They are lessened and not organized as they were in the Blight but we have been finding strange things with them. Size differences for one. We need to find out what is going on with them."

She glanced up at the Tower then looked back to him, "There are Templars within our ranks already and they do require lyrium as do mages. We are able to provide it for both." A smile lit on her face, "Next questions."

"Interesting," he replied. If anything, he liked a good mystery. The Deep Roads, and other places he'd heard the Wardens travelled, sounded fascinating, and he wasn't too scared of the darkspawn and whatever other things they might face, though of course a small iota of fear was both necessary and unavoidable. "I know you have mages too," he said. "No maleficarum, I hope?" This was important to him. He'd heard the Wardens sometimes did what was necessary...but blood magic was evil, as it stemmed from demons and who knew what a blood mage might try even with Nygozy leading the Wardens. She couldn't see behind every closed door, after all, and though unlikely, she could end up a blood mage's thrall just like anyone else.

"One maleficar. And she's nuts." Nygozy said this as if it was nothing to be concerned about as she was curious as to what his reaction to this would be. It was always interesting to watch as Templars' eyes went wide and they reacted. She could hardly expect them to do any less as the blood mages were the most dangerous of them all, having taken in a demon to do what they want to do or in some cases being taken over without knowing. Whatever way it happened the maleficarum were a force to watch.

((OOC: One maleficar, actually. "Maleficarum" refers to two or more blood mages. ^_^)).

Why would the Grey Wardens hire a crazy blood mage? That didn't make sense to him, and he really didn't know what was worse -- a crazy maleficar, or a sane one. The look he gave Nygozy was of disbelief, as he raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'nuts'?" he asked, choosing his words carefully. He would not stand for blood magic, but he had to see this woman before he made his judgment.

Nygozy shrugged, "Margaid is a young woman who has lived all her life in the woods. I think since she was a young child raised by something. Or she could have been driven mad and left in the woods. I'm really not sure. She changes into animals and talks a lot to herself. It is sad to see actually."

The woman let her eyes wander to the water as this particular person was not one she wished to do anything against. Yes, she was a blood mage but it was likely that she had no idea what she had done and it was possible that the reason she was crazy was because of the demon that had taken her. Even so it did not seem that the demon had any control.

((Fixed one of my prior posts to have Devin delivering that one mage girl her trinket. Don't want him keeping it, after all. XD))

He raised an eyebrow. "Raised by something?" he asked, somewhat confused. "As in she didn't have parents? Raised by what?" He didn't relish the idea of working with a maleficar, but at least it was only one and he could keep watch of her. He knew some templars who would have been disgusted with the fact that they had any mages at all in the order, but he knew that mages were a necessary force. In fact, if it weren't for mages, Thedas would probably be under Qunari control at this point, if the history books were correct. He understood their necessity, that it wasn't their fault they had the gift and the curse of magic. Blood magic was a choice, but he really didn't know the maleficar's reasons, and due to that, he would not judge her too early, just as he wouldn't judge a person without looking at them.

"What other Wardens are there?" he asked. He recalled the people she'd come with. Elves, mages, even a Qunari, the first one he'd seen that had horns. "Will I get to meet them all soon?"

"She was raised by animals, we believe. It is hard to tell with her because she is so unusual. She's not a warden though. We are taking care of her to keep her safe."

Nygozy noticed the boat coming closer, "There are some wardens from Weisshapt and a couple from Orlais. Some other potentials found us as well. But it is time to go meet them. Are you ready for this? To leave from here and find a new life?"

He didn't see how a person could be raised by animals. Most likely, it was demons in the form of animals that had raised her. Again, he would not pass judgment until he met her, and what Nygozy said put him more at peace. Watching after mages was the templars' job, but if this girl was as they said, the templars would just end up slaying her on site. That still didn't stop him from feeling nervous about the fact that "That's good that you're watching after her, then. Maybe I can help." With his templar abilities, which included a strong mind to resist blood magic, he was sure that he could. Maybe that was one of the reasons she'd chosen him, aside from the other, obvious reasons -- resisting darkspawn magic.

He nodded. "I am," he replied. "I've lived at the tower all my life, so I guess this is for the best. You recruited Kestral too, didn't you?" He'd seen elves and of course, mages, in the Order, both of which Kestral loathed, and thus he wondered why she'd recruited the other templar. Kestral was a skilled warrior, but Devin could see situations arising.

"Thank you for the offer. I'm sure that Margaid could use a friend who is also able to tell if she's taken over. I do not wish for it to happen but that is always possible. The more who can help the better." She said as she looked back at him. It seemed that she'd chosen well and that was all to the good. Now it was to see if he did as the seer predicted.

"Ah. Kestral." Nygozy grinned, "This you must keep to yourself. I know you are capable of keeping secrets no matter what." She watched his face for a moment then continued, "You see, Kestral and two others were chosen directly by ol Greggy boy. I know that commander enough to know why he does things and Kestral was the least bothersome of the ones he had chosen. If I had not chosen one then Greagoire would have annoyed the stone of me until I felt like battering him with a leg of lamb."

Nygozy chuckled, "Key thing is that Kestral is likely a spy for the Templars. Yes, I know this is possible and I still take him in. That is because it is best to be able to keep track of the spy you know. If I had not taken one then Greggy would have sent others to me to see if I took them in, under pretenses and false sweetness, of course. It gets rather tiresome."

((And here's where I realise my muse flows very freely at night. ^^))

Nygozy already probably knew it, but Devin said it anyway. "I've always tried to be a friend to mages. I'm their protector, not their jailor." He would feel fulfilled in helping the young mage. And likely, there were other mages tending to her. She was in the safest place she could be, he guessed. "I want to meet her sometime soon. Is there anything more you can tell me about her?"

The conversation turned to Kestral, and Devin nodded. "You have my word," he said. Unless someone was planning to harm themself or others, he did not tell people's secrets. And as he trusted Nygozy immensely, he spoke it with great certainty -- no-one would know unless the Warden-Commander wanted them to know. He tried not to laugh at her calling his former commander "Greggy-boy." But the discussion was serious.

He didn't know much about the dwarves, so he didn't realise what she meant by "the stone." "The stone?" he replied. It was, to him, an odd word to say in replace of a more crude word. "I see. Your secret is safe with me. And I assure you, on Andraste's holy flame, that I am not a spy. Nor would I agree to be one." Devin would have made a terrible spy anyway. And one of the reasons that he was being chosen -- he guessed -- was his stance towards mages. It wasn't unknown that he sympathised with them. He was held with contempt by other templars for it. But perhaps his talents were best used here.

After all, darkspawn were not of the Maker. According to the Chant, the ancient Magisters of Tevinter had assaulted the Maker's Golden City. They had tainted it with their sin, and been cast out as the first darkspawn. They found the Old God Dumat sleeping deep beneath the Earth, and raised him as their Archdemon, and the Blight nearly overcame all of Thedas. The Grey Wardens, however, stopped the Blight that time and four times after. Nygozy was a living legend. She had been the one to rally the Circle, the Dalish, the dwarves, and the people of Redcliffe against the Darkspawn, and she herself slayed the Archdemon, or so he had heard.

What the Darkspawn were doing now, he was not sure, but they did not seem to be sure either. It was up to them to find out. Darkspawn emissaries harnessed magic, and it was against those that Devin would be most effective. He would also protect and watch over the Grey Warden mages, whether they wanted this or not. That was his duty, and he was no spy.

"I've always tried to be a friend to mages. I'm their protector, not their jailor. I want to meet her sometime soon. Is there anything more you can tell me about her?"

"Not much to be honest. She's a sweet thing but very crazy. She talks to herself a lot and half the time does not seem to know what form she is in. Past that there isn't much more to say. We all do like her because she is sweet. I guess one of the reasons she may not have been taken over by demons has been because she is so messed up that they can't find anything to control her with." Nygozy smirked with part amusement and part sadness, "What a way to avoid that."

"You have my word"

She nodded.

"The stone?"

Now how to explain the stone... "It's almost a religious reference. As you learn of Andraste, dwarves learn that we come from the stone and sent back to the stone when we die. It's a simple reference used religiously, as a curse or whatever. Since dwarves have for a long time been cave dwellers it seems to fit our society. Rigid and unmoving unless you can roll one over a mountain."

"I see. Your secret is safe with me. And I assure you, on Andraste's holy flame, that I am not a spy. Nor would I agree to be one."

"You never seemed like one, that is for sure. Ah the boat is here. I will set you up with someone to settle you in at camp." She looked at him for a moment as she could never remember the name of the Templar who was in the boat but she certainly never cared for him much anyway, "Let's not give master boat man anything to chew on."