This Is Ferelden Not Orlais

Caterina frowned as she circled an arm around Bosco's neck, absently patting the coarse fur. Bowen was right, as usual. Honestly, the Antivan cared very little for the politics of this country - in Antiva, it was the word of the Crows, not the King, that was law, and everyone knew it - but what concerned the Grey Wardens concerned her, and it was disturbing to think that the King would do such a thing to them, as if they were his personal warriors to do with as he pleased.

"I thought the King of this country was a good man," she wondered, frowning as she looked over at the guardsmen lying on the ground several paces away, and then back up at Bowen. He wasn't from Ferelden either, but he'd been here longer than she had, so he certainly knew more about the situation than she did. "Perhaps we should be worrying less about the order, and more about what might have possessed him to give it?" In Antiva, any out-of-character actions taken by the King were almost certainly the result of Crow interference, whether by threat or blackmail. A good King could be persuaded to bad deeds, if only the threat was high enough - it was generally why no Antivan ever considered any King a "good" King: there was only a King's behavior "before blackmail" and "after blackmail."

She shrugged, looping the reigns about her hands to pass them to Bowen - if they were leaving hurriedly, she would need to help Calliara with their tasks with haste. "It is good that Nygozy will stand her ground - I would not have wished to serve a Commander who did not have such strong convictions as she. One of us may not have gotten off with talking back to the guards so easily, and we may very well have lost the horses." She gave Bosco another comforting pat at that. She would have fought to the end for the stupid stallion, knowing that a Ferelden King had no right to seize the property of an Antivan citizen, but it would have been more difficult for any of the Elves or Ferelden warriors to keep their mounts without repercussions.

Quickly casting a glance over to were Bowen was looking, Caterina smiled, patting at his arm playfully. "Well, shouldn't you be so proud! I have heard that it is not so easy for an elf to gain respect in Ferelden as it is in Antiva - she is a strong woman, to have earned the Commander's favor. A beautiful woman too - and you are so close," she made a show of looking mock disappointed. "Perhaps I should be worried about you favoring her to me?" She didn't think there was a chance of that, really, but it seemed so natural to tease with Bowen so, and she couldn't help it.

Ianto grinned, making a show of rolling his eyes as he stood to make sure that Jez actually want to sit and rest before turning to begin examining the bodies. "Of course I need to watch you," he said without turning around. "If I didn't, you'd magic yourself to death, or go running off after some herb or other and we'd lose you in a forest!" It was an exaggeration, of course, and he turned his head to look back at her and smile to show that he was only joking. Honestly, it was cute how she could be . . . not "scatterbrained," but close to it. It was a little display of humanity that Ianto thought he sorely needed, especially after a fight. There was something nice about being reminded that the world wasn't just swords and screams and blood.

Alright - whoa. Let's get off that depressing line of thought.

The man closest to him was actually pretty fine - just a shallow cut on the leg that looked worse than it really was. Ianto quickly grabbed the bandages and herbs that Jez passed to him and went about cleaning it, tearing the leg of the pants so he could get at it better. As he wound the cloth, he glanced up to get an idea of the condition of the other fallen men. Two were simply still asleep under Jez's spell - not much he could do there - another looked like he had a broken arm, and a few more had non-threatening cuts like this man. All in all, they'd done a pretty good job of not giving an overly brutal display of force. As threats went, it was good to know that they could still hold back against weaker foes.

"Man, you did a number on these guys with that sleeping thing, Jez," he murmured out loud a moment before glancing back at her as the dark-skinned elf spoke. He nodded emphatically, turning back to his "patient" only to tie off the bandage. "I know! She almost scared me, too, and I wasn't even the one she was yelling at. Still, it was nice to see her take charge so effectively - if she's even half as scary towards the king, then I think we'll get some answers." He wasn't sure how excited he was to go to Denerim, but it wasn't exactly a new agitation - he'd been worrying about it for a while, really. He hadn't been back in any of the big cities since he'd left the Chantry, and going back to Denerim - the seat of all of Ferelden's politics - really just kind of made him nervous. That chances of his father being in Denerim weren't that high, but there were still chances, and even though Ianto had forgiven him for sending him off to the Chantry a long time ago, it was still bound to be awkward. Either way, though, it was his duty, and have that made him feel more at ease - it was easier to be there on orders than it would have been to go there on his own.

"Of course I need to watch you. If I didn't, you'd magic yourself to death, or go running off after some herb or other and we'd lose you in a forest!"

Jezarine meekly looked up at him and gave him a puppy look that said easily enough that he caught her at something. Yes, she would do something silly and she had been considering just what he had told her she'd do. Get lost in the forest. Well, not quite get lost but get caught up and immersed in herb hunting so that it would seem that she was lost, or at least lost to others.

"Man, you did a number on these guys with that sleeping thing, Jez."

That was a good point he had just brought up but it was confusing. The men who were still out were reacting anxiously as if they were having nightmares. The healer wondered about that, "The spell shouldn't have put them all out that strongly. Maybe they were really tired beforehand."

" I know! She almost scared me, too, and I wasn't even the one she was yelling at. Still, it was nice to see her take charge so effectively - if she's even half as scary towards the king, then I think we'll get some answers."

"I hope so. Did you hear the rumours about assassins being after him and others in the line wanting the throne?" She asked curiously then noticed that he didn't seem as happy as normal. Was he nervous about something?

"Ianto?" Jezarine tilted her head a bit and blinked curiously, "Is there something wrong? You seem a bit ... I'm not sure. I haven't seen that look on your face before and it's strange." She watched as he patched up the last wounded man, "Did you want us to get the horse ready and talk? What's her name now anyway? I keep getting confused with that."

Now that was an interesting altercation and Guremi was not sure exactly what was going to happen since she did side with the Grey Warden group over the horses. This could mean the end of her tenure working for the king as it had been his decree to take the horses. The warrior woman finished wrapping a man's wound then stood, looking out towards the road where the other soldiers were getting ready to move out.

This was not good. The red head closed her eyes and turned her head towards the woods to avoid some of the looks she was getting from a few of the soldiers. She had fought with many of these men and women, traveled and been at their fires yet she had turned on them for the commander, for the Hero who the king wanted taken care of beyond all else.

She turned around walked over to one of the supplies and started setting them up in order to put them onto the little donkeys and the mule which were their burden animals. It seemed as if eyes were boring into her back and knew that if they could that she would have to deal with at least a few of the soldiers she had turned against but they wouldn't dare try. Not with the Hero of Ferelden on the lookout for any trouble.

Guremi rubbed her forehead and looked about to see how far along others were in their work.

Hm? "What?" He asked, half-turning suddenly to Jez as he snapped out of his momentary reverie. Once he'd come back to himself, he quickly turned back to the wounded man in front of him, finishing off the knot in the bandages before pushing to his feet. Now, almost all of the men had been tended too, and by the time they woke up, their camp would be long gone. Ianto briefly wondered if wolves might get them, but he supposed they could always wake up one of the less wounded guys to keep watch while the others came to.

"Uh, I'm working on her name, actually," he said with a nervous laugh, rubbing at the back of his neck as he turned back to Jez again. "I'm kind of just calling her Auria-Moonlight, for now. She seems to like it." But that wasn't the only thing Jez had asked about. It could probably wait, though, if he tried to stall. It wasn't that he'd been thinking of something overly private, but it was kind of embarrassing for a twenty-eight year old man to be nervous about maybe-possibly seeing his father again, and his being shipped off to the Chantry had never been a favorite subject of his. He wouldn't insult Jez's powers of observation by trying to insist that he was fine, because she'd obviously noticed something wrong, but he could continue onto his next question and hope she didn't notice.

"So," he started, looking down the line of men and then back at Jez, who was still looking at him with that worried expression. "What were you saying about the sleeping spell? If they're under too long, with they be alright?" Even if they'd tried to take all of their horses, these guards had still only been following orders - as stupid as those orders had been - and Ianto would feel more than a little guilty if they'd died because of it.

"Auria Moonlight." The healer said savoring the sound of the name and considering the inflection to it. That was a pretty name and the horse certainly liked Ianto and seemed to not mind her either which was good considering that she rode with him, "It has a tender, almost romantic feel to it."

He was stalling and that was bad since even she could see that. Then again, she seemed able to tell more with him than with other people. It was strange. Normally her mind would be traveling quickly around to ideas and concepts around the world while still acknowledging what was being said and understanding but never truly connecting enough to see how they felt. It must have been a protective way to keep from feeling the sadness of others while healing because there was always so much pain associated in that.

Jezarine stood slowly and put a hand on his arm just below the shoulder, tilting her head to see his face better as she looked up at him as he spoke, "They should be fine. It's just strange as if they are having bad dreams."

She squeezed his arm gently and moved a bit so he would go with her, "Whatever it is," Jezarine said in a quiet voice, ,"I'm here for if you ever wish to speak of it, or just to have a shoulder without saying a word. You know I won't treat you any different no matter what. But let's get ready to go. It looks like everyone is almost ready and you probably need some lyrium. You're beginning to shake a bit and it seems that Auria-Moonlight is looking for us."

The healer indicated the referred to horse looking about like a kitten looking for it's mother and smiled.

Robert was a bit startled when Drake decided to pat him on the shoulder. Now that he got a bit of a closer look at him, that feeling of seeing him before came back up again. Maybe there was someone he remembers from Redcliffe with a similiar facial structure. "Sorry, Drake. I know your probably right, but I can't help but feel they just faked everything to make themselves look legit."

"Well, when you are only a day or two behind someone you are looking for, you tend to do whatever you can to lessen the gap. For example, traveling light and packing quickly." He looked as he saw Drake walk off. He shrugged and returned to watching the guards. He took out his bow and kept his hand near his quiver. Even though Calliara warned not to hurt them, it can't hurt to threaten it to make sure that they don't do anything.

Ianto nodded, glad that, at least, the soldiers would be alright. Jez would know if something in her spell had gone wrong, or if she'd cast it too strongly. Giving the men and women nightmares, he could deal with - accidentally killing all of them, he couldn't. If he looked back down at the row of sleeping guardsmen one more time, it was only to make sure all of their bandages were still clean and in place, and not just so that he could stall for a few more seconds.

When he finally looked back at Jez, he smiled at her. He suspected it was a tired smile, but it was better than nothing. He lifted a hand to gratefully press against the hand she had against his upper arm, squeezing lightly before dropping his hand. Letting out a sigh through his nose, he ran the same hand through his hair and looked to the side, then back at Jez.

She really had adorable eyes. They were the biggest he'd ever seen (it might have been because she was an elf, but he wasn't sure). They were clear, too - Ianto wasn't sure how much a guy was supposed to appreciate his own eyes, but the light-ish grey of his eyes were kind of just ... weird looking. Anyway, Jez's eyes just kind of added to her cuteness, and that was probably why he was having a hard time keeping it all back. If Bowen or someone had asked him what was wrong, he would have shrugged it off with a cocky smile and left it at that. Damn. Jezs cuteness was worse than a knife to the throat. Maybe the King should employ her for interrogation. 'I won't tell you anything!' they'd say, and she'd just look at them and say please and everyone would crumble and spill everything.

Not that he felt like he was being interrogated by her - she obviously only wanted to make him feel better - but it was still just as effective.

"Yeah," he finally said. He wasn't sure what he was agreeing too. "I - maybe I'll talk to you about it later. When we set up camp tonight?" He looked at her hopefully, silently praying that that would be enough to stave off the conversation. He could have just given her the shorthand version, but there was a lot to the story, and Jez of all people deserved to hear it in its entirety. He'd feel as if he was lying if he didn't take the time to tell her all of the reasons why going to Denerim equaled 'bad idea' in his head.

As for the lyrium, well, that would probably do him some good. He inwardly cringed at the idea that using it to calm himself down had come to his mind so quickly, but for now, he wouldn't think too much about it. Technically, he should have been fine for the rest of the day, unless he used his rawr-evil-mage-killing powers, and the shaking was probably just from useless anxiety, but he figured it would help, regardless. "Alright. You want to get Auria ready, and I'll go get our bags?" Jez had been absolutely wonderful with helping him with lyrium recently, but he did usually like to take it alone, and since he wasn't in convulsing fits at the moment, he could manage. Mages could take it out in the open, because everyone knew they needed it - even a Templar, in the middle of a battle, could feel, if not comfortable, at least alright about taking it in front of others. But not many people - aside from a few mages - knew that Templars were addicted to it in even a non-combatant sense, and Ianto liked to keep that as much a secret as he could, thank you very much.

Fa'hallen kept her steady, black eyes on the horses that had been so worked up a moment ago. Twitchy, easily frightened things, but she felt badly for them. They couldn't have known what was going on, why they were being taken from their masters, after all. She admired the loyalty of the tiniest of them, who had kicked and bucked and had refused to be taken.

Iauron stood next to the halla, her white fur almost glowing in the early-morning sunlight. The fires had still been going from the night before, and the soldiers had shown up so early. He was glad, though, they they hadn't given in without a fight, and was even more heartened by the fact that Nygozy had so well asserted herself, insisting that the horses stay. Calliara had been an impressive force, as well - it was clear that she was working her way up the Warden ranks, in Nygozy's eyes.

One of the more obviously inexperienced guards had tried to approached Fa'hallen when the horses were being rounded up. In truth, Iauron didn't blame the boy too much - he'd been young, and he'd almost certainly never seen a halla before. It was possible that he thought he'd take her along with the horses, as per his orders. Iauron hadn't been worried, though - in fact, when the others had been outraged at the forced seizure, Iauron had watched with a smug smile as Fa'hallen simply kicked the guard who'd tried to take her in the knees, and then in the back for good measure. The elf had checked to make sure the kid would live, though he would be sporting an interesting set of hoof-shaped bruises come tomorrow.

Now, things were winding down, and he and Fa'hallen were content to stand off to the side to avoid getting in the way, watching as everyone packed their things and tended to the wounded men. All of his things were in a simple pack thrown over Fa'hallen's shoulders, so there was no need for him to scramble about gathering this and that. Still, he was eager to help when the white-haired Calliara called him to patrol after the retreating soldiers. He grimaced slightly when she instructed him to go with Margaid, but the reluctance quickly faded into weary amusement. Speaking of the addled mage - Iauron didn't see her about. Perhaps she'd been transformed as a horse when they were being rounded up, he thought with a smile.

Of course, he could be right . . . When her name was called, a horse separated from the herd, and walked over to him, looking more shaken than any of the other horses. Iauron spent one bewildered moment wondering why he was surprised that he'd been right, and then just shook his head. Fa'hallen watched the mage-horse with interest, and then turned to Iauron so he could jump onto her back. Without a word to the touched apostate, Fa'hallen moved into the forest.

It would be best to make sure that there were no bandits anywhere close by - though he doubted there would be, considering the size of their camp. Thieves and wanderers were more likely to attack a smaller band, like the group of soldiers who had just left. He spared a thought to them, wishing them a safe journey back to their King, before turning his attention back to scouting. This shouldn't take too long - it was simply a precaution to ensure their speedy departure went undisturbed.



[Wasn't sure about time of day. I can fix, if needed.]

Nygozy watched the group as they went about their business doing what Calliara had requested. She had expected some form of reaction from Lithawen at least but was unable to see the determined Elven woman. That was just fine. There was no need invher mind to say in words what her stance said when Calliara had spoken. It was and was not so much a subtle show that she had given at least some authority to the white haired woman as all Nygozy had done when the other spoke was show physically by moving her head and looking at what was going on without making any changes to the orders.

"I did not rebuke your words." The smaller woman stated as she watched the activities and what each person did, "The people in our midst are more than bright enough to understand the inaction and we can see they are doing as ordered. There will be time later for official announcements but for now they realize that you are speaking for me."

As Drake came towards them she just caught movement from the side of her eyes then the almost unhearable whish of daggers being returned to their sheaths while Drake spoke. A tiny grin flitted to the edge of her lips if only for a moment in acknowledgement of Kai' capabilities. There was an unspoken routine which her assasin guard had noted and reacted upon since Drake did have a look to his eyes when he had come to her. It was simple enough to one who watched reactions as carefully as the man to her side was prepetually conscious of due to his proffession to see that the larger man was not pleased with Nygozy yet due to their routine he only told her with a swift look that said simply "later."

"Good." It was all she would give to the fighter as she was not going to get into anything with the man yet.

She turned from Drake before he left, not concerned as Torture went off to keep Calliara's pup in check, "Time to be off." Nygozy stated to Kai as Palindrome trotted up to her and she gave him a sugar cube. Kai's horse came right behindbthe little spitfire now used to always going where the war pony went.

"He was unhappy." Was all Kai had to say, certainly almost a question but also a statement of fact.

"He will live. We have business to deal with no matter how some think."

Nygoay mounted with Kai's unrequested help then waited until he was beside her on hois own steed before speaking to all,"We are off. Come as your duties are completed." She then maneuvered Palindrome and was off at a trot.

Well now this was all quite a situation indeed. Sinjan found the situation to be very amusing as it had given him the chance to beat a couple heads he had felt required some knocking about. He had waited to see what would happen first then got right into the fray when he heard the screech of the large bird.

The half Elf enjoyed himself even though he did get some bruising from the fight. At one point he pushed a soldier towards Lithawen with an expression of amusement, "True Elf hater." He pointed out as he turned and ducked a punch from a female fighter and then pushed her away just as Nygozy and Calliara came out.

Sinjan sighed with resignation from being pulled away from a delightful fight but was pleased that he had gotten in a few knocks on some who had enjoyed beating him for helping Elves in the Alienage.

He scratched behind his ear and looked up as Calliara started giving orders,"Looks like Ny decided who she wants as a Warden second and advisor."

The warrior smirked, waiting to see if Lithawen would say anything while they went about their duties.

Lithawen was hardly concerned by the Kings apparent snapping from reality. Though it did cause her to wonder if soon he would come after the Orlasian Wardens next, and although she was Dalish, she was technically Orlasian. Her mood was not bad, though she wasn't one to be in 'good' temper, and she easily snapped when guard was pushed close to her, with speed she unsheathed her nameless blade and beheaded the poor man. She would not allow anyone to take her horse.

Arlathan was a smart horse, but a tamed one none the less and would go without complaint. When the man came and tried to lead him away he stood still stubbornly until a rope was tied around his snout, his hoofs lifted in step as he was taught all those years ago. To follow as a tamed beast. And although the Dalish was trying to brake him of these tenancies.

Lithawen's body shifted easily, she wasn't tense from the scuffle around her and it was visible that it caused her no dismay. She looked over to Sinjan and cocked an eyebrow, confused as to why he seemed so excited about a simply won fight. And then her face turned to a deep frown as her eyes traveled behind her one nighter and to a face she had never wished to see again, and had previously been assured she would not.

"I see even scum are allowed to join the Grey Wardens. Do their ranks know no honor?" Kestrel had not joined in on the fight for their beasts of burden, nor had he yet seen the Dalish Mage was among those he had joined. He already had contempt for the group, but now he had reason to loath, and all thanks to the disgusting presence of that mage. His eyes wondered to the other man, who's back of the head he had seen walking closer. "And murderers as well? Truly the Wardens are desperate,"

Kestrel remembered the encounter with the half-blooded noble well. It had left him scared and bruised for at least a week. Although Kestrel was not participating in that nights "activities", he was still targeted by the frustrating shorter knight.

He straddled one of the horses that no one was particularly sentimental about - a horse whose name he did not even know, nor care to know, as was his way with any sort of equipment; Griffinhart simply thought of the beast as "it" whenever it was necessary to think about it - and fell into line an appropriate (or so he hoped) distance from Nygozy and simply waited, eyes always roving and roaming underneath his helmet.

He was considering her offer, that much she could tell, and he seemed to be caught off guard somehow. Her head tilted slightly to try to figure out what it was he seemed so off balance about. There was no way she considered her eyes and cuteness to be the reason for his reaction. The woman never realized that her big eyes were a wonderful device to use against some people to loosen their tongues.

"Yeah, maybe I'll talk to you about it later. When we set up camp tonight?"

Jezarine rubbed his arm, "Maybe." She repeated quietly, "If you wish to. If not we can just sit back and relax. I think I will need it and a big cushion after riding again."

The healer watched people walking about and doing their jobs then looked back at him when he spoke again.

"Alright. You want to get Auria ready, and I'll go get our bags?"

"Of course! That I can do." She smiled engagingly as she turned and walked off towards the horse. One of the things she had learned to do was to saddle a burden animal even though she originally did so with hallas. Horses were not as bright as the beautiful deer like animals but it was the same general idea.

On the way to Auria she noticed that Lithawen, Sinjan and this new man she had not seen before were directly in her way of getting to the sweet equine and stopped when she realized that there was some stress in the threesome.

"Hasn't there been enough fighting today?" She asked a little shaken, "Nygozy is going to be upset if we don't get going."

Lithawen's cocked eyebrow amused Sinjan enough that he grinned, "Just a few ex friends. Maybe I will tell you some day." He admitted calmly with amusement until he saw the look on Lithawen's face the next moment. His heart jumped and he was ready, turning to see what danger it was that made the woman react with such a horrified expression.

The man who stood there made Sinjan snarl, looking at the person with a sneer he could hardly hold back while the other male spoke.

"I see even scum are allowed to join the Grey Wardens. Do their ranks know no honor? And murderers as well? Truly the Wardens are desperate,"

"Lithawen is not scum. She at least has the courage to stand up for what she is." Sinjan snarled as he glared at the man, "And either you are a ghost or I was lied to. What in the world are you doing here and how did you survive?"

The fighter remembered the other man with the same amount of hatred. He had not cared if Kestrel had been involved in the festivities he had fought the others for. The simple point was that he was one of the men who fought him when he tried to stop the actions and Kestrel had been known for bad treatment of Elves.

Jezarine's voice cut through the air but did nothing to lessen the almost palapable tension. If anything it made things worse. Of all the people who should not be around Kestrel the seemingly frail Jezarine was the biggest one.

Ianto wondered if it was normal to feel as bad as he did that he might have offended Jez by not telling her right away. Regardless, this really wasn't the time or place for it, and it really would be best to wait. Heck, he wasn't even really sure right now what he was going to tell her, or even what he'd wanted to tell her.

He offered her a brighter smile than before as she agreed to go find Auria and saddle her. "Yeah, that'll be great. She likes you, you know." He winked playfully and turned to check on the sleeping men one last time. Before he did, though, he glanced back at her and shrugged. "And thanks. You know, it means a lot that you'd say that. Just about talking, I mean." He smirked slightly, then turned back to the men. "The Circle full of guys in armor was never exactly the 'share your feelings' kind of place."

As Jez walked off to get Auria, Ianto jogged back to his little corner of the camp, quickly throwing his few belongings together into his pack before moving to Jez's stuff and doing much the same. He didn't exactly have anything that could get damaged in the hasty packing, and Jez's herbs wouldn't exactly suffer for it. Once that was all done - it took a bit more time than he'd thought, but not much more - he dug around in his pack for his lyrium potions (already made this time, thank the Maker). He took a quick drink, swallowing it hard as it burned a little on the way down. Let it never be said that anyone - he or any other mage - drank lyrium potions because they tasted good.

A few more moments of standing, looking about to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, and he was satisfied that all was gathered. With a completely unnecessary nod to himself, he turned and walked off towards the horses. It looked like Nygozy had already started out with her small band, so the rest of them should probably start off, as well.

Guremi finished her duties then mounted her horse, silently moving to the captain of the king's men. She spoke with the man looking upset at something then turned her horse's head, moving back towards the others. She was not one of the commander's people, neither Grey Warden nor one who had come to join this party. She had come along due to her own convictions of what she had to do in order to follow her orders which came from the king himself. Now that she had fought with the soldiers it was a difficult situation at best and possibly a court martial in the least. The female soldier was no deserter and this bothered her greatly.

Her eyes scanned the road ahead of her as the horse continued on it's way and stopped in front of Nygozy. She waited a moment then looked up, ashamed of not being able to find a way around this situation in such a way that would not tarnish any of her values but it was not to be accomplished. She could have gone up against Nygozy's group and been subject to termination from the king himself or go up against those with whom she was bound and be put on trial for what she had done.

Life was never easy.

"I have to leave." She said to the warden, "This incident has placed me at odds with my commitments and I see no way to adhere to either. It was a pleasure to have met you, Nygozy." Guremi nodded her head then turned her horse to go back to the soldiers.

Marcus was a little upset when the fighting stopped. He hadn't had a good fight in a long time. But, it would have been treason to kill soldiers of Fereldan. Shame. At any rate, Nygozy broke the fight up handily and the giant elf admired her for her steadfastness in the face of such flaring tempers. There were others joined in on the fighting, but Marcus felt a shudder run up his spine at the coldness of the Warden called Griffinhart. The man was brutal and conscious about it. Whereas, Marcus would just go into a berserker rage and lose himself to the fight.

But, then a lightning bolt struck his heart. Guremi was leaving? Marcus didn't know why it would affect him so, but it might have been because they shared in cutting down a few trees together, in more ways than one. He was sad to see her go. "Availing us of your alluring auburn-headed attitude, my vexxing vixen?" He asked her. "We call all only be who we are, no more no less."

A voice stalled the woman as she was about to leave, Tempest shaking her head in confusion as Guremi petted her mare's neck and looked towards the voice which bade her to halt if not only for a moment. There was little she would do when addressed but to answer, "The military is where I have been directed and cannot become a deserter. There is no other way that I know of without becoming one and being hunted by my own country men for having done so."

It was noticeable that the woman had no knowledge of Grey Wardens besides what had come from the King which did not seem like much. She did not know that Nygozy had the ability to recruit any she wished to and would if she pleased.

"It is beyond my ability to repair therefore vexxing will be required by another." She partially smirked at that, without much humour as she knew what she would be in for when she returned to Denerim, "It was pleasurable learning the tree trade." Which in her words actually meant she had enjoyed his company.

Marcus watched Guremi for a time as she got herself ready to leave. He nodded to her with arms folded over his chest. "Well, Maker watch over you then. Perhaps we shall meet again someday." He said with a smile, then reached into his pocket and tossed her another one of his carvings. This one was cut from the tree she clumsily felled and nearly killed herself with until he saved her. The carving was as masterfully crafted as ever, and this time it was one of himself, standing with one hand on his hip, and a foot planted on the beard of Durbans, while his other hand grasped the shaft of the giant axe.

"To remember me by until then." He smiled and winked.

Her hand shot out to catch whatever Marcus had thrown to her and was surprised that it was a figurine of himself. She blinked at the carving for some moments then looked at him with a slight smile, "If it is in the stars." She said quietly, not looking forward to what she would have to go through. Cages were not things she liked but they were likely to incarcerate her which meant behind bars. Guremi shivered for a moment then took a deep breath, saying what she believed was a lie, "We just may meet again. You never know."

Guremi nodded her head once before riding to the soldiers, still looking at the figurine but put it away before reaching her former compatriots who were now her guards.

Nygozy watched the interaction between Marcus and Guremi with a calm eye and kept her mouth shut as she tried to figure out what was going on. She had hardly even spoken with the woman since she had joined the group. Then again had she spoken with Guremi? No. The two had not talked and Nygozy was suddenly curious as to what was going on.

"Marcus." She said in a normal voice, neither commanding nor requesting, "I wonder ... what exactly is going on here? Is she leaving?"

Marcus felt misty eyed. Knowing that opening the flood gates would more than likely cause him to go into a rage and murder all of his companions or get killed himself, he forced the emotion back and waved Guremi off. Closing his eyes and then opening them again, he heard Nygozy speaking to him. Pivoting on his heel he turned to face her, putting on that boorish grin of his when he was in the Durbans persona. "I am afraid our auburn-headed ally is availing us of her presence. She is going to Denerim with her fellow fighting fools in armor." He said, tilting his chin upwards.

Nygozy watched Marcus carefully then looked up to watch Guremi going to the captain of the group ahead of them. She considered the prospectus and realized something as her mind churred out the information.

"She is a soldier and fought beside us instead of helping her batallion." She stated in a cold tone as she figured it out, "They will try her for treason."

The giant elf's heart sank deeper. Treason. Shaking his head, he sighed. "Maker's blood... Well we can't have that. Perhaps you could speak in her defence, boss?" He asked her, his hands clenching and unclenching restlessly. Things were getting out of hand. He did not expect all this to happen.