A long voyage ends...Another begins

"Yes Ser," Sloane replied to Kaine's commands. She walked up the stairs and barked some orders to the Innkeeper and the able bodied patrons inside and then turned her attention to Lamont. "So, you still up to being our guide for good coin or do I have to force you? I'd really rather not have to force you."

Lamont shook his head to clean it and turned to look her in the eye. He seemed to reach some sort of decision as he had earlier in the evening. "Aye, I'll come with ye lass. Leas I know I don hav'ta fear bandits on this trip! An I need the coin." As they spoke Sobaka had run over to the nearby horse water trough in an attempt to get the taste of abomination out of his mouth.

"Excellent choice. Now let's go deal with this mess so we can have some sleep before we hit the road!" Sloane called to Sobaka and they quick marched to catch up to Kaine down the road with Lamont a few steps behind them.

Kaine approached the chantry gates, and was almost reluctant to enter. He took a deep breath, and thought of his mission as he passed into the grounds of Andraste.

He took the steps two at a time, and pushed open the chantry doors, with Sobaka, Slone, and Lamont close behind him.

Shadows danced as candles flicker about the entrance room, as the door shut behind him. This chantry was quite quaint compared to others that he has visited in the past.

He spotted a Templar milling around; he sighed heavily as he knew this guard was suppose be on watch. He hated slackers, and there was nothing worse than a slacker templar that didn't seem to respect the title of being a knight.

Kaine stormed up to him, and with an open palm, he slammed it into the guard's back. The templar went flying forward, crashing into a wooden support pillar, and fell to the ground before he really knew what was going on.

The templar rushed to his feet, drawing his sword as he went.

"Who dares strike a templar?!" the templar demanded.

"I am Knight-Captain Kaine, from Kirkwall. You will stand down boy, and address a superior officer properly!" Kaine replied, arms crossed over his chest.

The knight quickly saluted, "Ser, Yes Ser. Sorry Ser." he stammered.

"Where is the mother of this chantry?" Kaine asked.

"I will get her for you right away SER," the knight saluted one more time before rushing off to find the mother, almost running right into the same support pillar he was slammed into before.

"Please excuse me." he said to the Pillar as he ran off.

Kaine looked over at Lamont, "How many of these greenhorns are there in this place?"

Lamont replied, "Only five."

"Only FIVE!?" Kaine shook his head and knew now why there was an apostate blood mage running a muck in this town.

"Can you believe this Sloane? Five templars for this whole area? Next thing they will tell me is that they fight with wooden swords too."

Sloane couldn't believe the lack of discipline in the chantry as they entered it. There should have been at least two guards on the door outside as well as several templars at attention inside the chantry. Sure guard duty was boring but that was no reason to ignore discipline.

Sloane had to clench her jaw to stop herself from laughing out loud as Kaine slammed the only templar into a pillar. She was a Knight-Lieutenant after all and it wouldn't do much for trying to drill discipline into these small town templars if she laughed herself silly at a superior officer's actions.

She made one last visual sweep of the room before she and Sobaka took up positions on either side of the chantry doors. Sloane stood at parade rest while Sobaka sat at his best impression of the stance, loose and relaxed but ready for action.

"I know the templars lost a lot of men in the circle uprising during the blight, but surely things here can't be as bad as this. Five templars, seemingly badly trained at that? No, there is no excuse for that at all. Perhaps it is a good thing we have arrived to give aid to our Fereldan brothers and sisters."

Lamont wasn't sure how this night had gone so pear shaped. Instead of a nice quiet night of drinking at the Inn he had watched Sean turn into a monster and then be slain. And now these strangers were mocking the templars of Highever. And the giant man was a Knight-Captain? He didn't know much about templars, but he doubted anyone of that high of a rank had ever been to Highever. He decided that this was none of his buisness and took a seat in a pew in the darkest corner he could find.

What only seemed like minutes, the young templar came running back with a beautiful woman in tow, her hips swaying side to side; each step taken with extreme grace.

The woman wore something more suited to a warrior than a woman of the cloth. She had on an elegant red and white blouse and a golden skirt that came down to her ankles, trimmed in white lace. The front of the skirt was red, crisscrossed with black stripes.

Upon her shoulders she had silverite pauldrons, which were linked to a large symbol of Andraste that covered the top of her torso.

Her forearms were armored with white leather bracers, outlined in red, grey runes embedded all over. What seemed to keep her blouse tucked in, and her skirt from falling was an armored gold and red belt that seemed to protect her waist, as well as her upper thighs. Lastly she wore armored boots upon her feet, looking to be made from silverite wrapped in drake skin.

She had bright green eyes and long flowing locks of red hair could be seen coming from underneath her hood. She was slender, yet still muscular, and a red tattoo of Andraste was on the upper part of her bare arm.

She walked with a tall staff, that was topped with a large blue crystal with multiple facets. The bottom of the staff looked like a blade from some sort of sword, it took up about a third of the length of the staff. The sound of metal against stone echoed quietly with each step she took.

Kaine raised an eyebrow, not knowing if this was the Mother or another templar, as she was dressed more to kill than to calm.

"Ser, may I present Mother Selene," He saluted Kaine, took a step to the side, as he bowed to the Mother.

She smiled at Kaine, her purple colored lips parting slightly. The smile was more seductive than meant as a greeting."You are the Knight-Captain from Kirkwall I presume?"

"Yes your grace I am." Kaine said smiling back.

"What can I do for you then, at such a late hour?"

"This town has been hiding a blood mage in its midst, and the church has done nothing to prevent this." Kaine accused.

Before she continued, she nodded over at Sloane, "Who is that?"

Before Sloane could answer Kaine piped up, "That is Knight-Lieutenant Sloane, also from Kirkwall."

"I see." she smiled wickedly.

"Ian, go and guard the doors outside, make sure no one enters while I meet with these people."

"You Lamont, you stay here and make sure no one enters. Ian isn't exactly a model Templar."

"You two, follow me to my chambers." she commanded

With that she turned on her heel and led the way, with Lamont standing guard on the inside, and Ian on the outside.

Sloane was extremely glad of her templar training or else her jaw would have hit the floor when the woman escorted by the inept templar entered the room. She managed to hold her composure with barely a twitch, but only just. The woman who was introduced as Mother Selene was, well, stunning.

Sloane wasn't often attracted to women, but this looked to be one of the exceptions. She mentally shook her head at her thoughts. A templar sleeping with the Chantry mother would be beyond inappropriate. Maybe this was just a sign she'd been cooped up on that ship far too long. Hopefully they could get out of here early enough that she could find some company for whatever was left of the night.

Sloane was relieved when Mother Selene sent Ian to guard the door. At least one guard was better than none.

Lamont took the Chantry leader's orders with a silent nod, and obeyed immediately.

"Yes Ser," Sloane replied as she followed Kaine and Mother Selene.

Kaine followed in suit, just behind the mother off to the right.

Selene led them a double doorway, which led into the chapel part of the Chantry. She immediately went down the isle towards the statue of Andraste, turned left without slowing or stopping, and entered a small study.

There was a large wooden desk, with various parchments, quills, and ink wells upon it. Three walls were covered in books, from floor to ceiling, all neat and tidy. She directed them both to sit in the two chairs in front of the desk, while she took the comfortable high backed chair behind it.

Kaine looked at the chair, and then at Mother Selene, "Who are you? And where is the REAL mother of this chantry?" Kaine demanded.

Selene chuckled, "What gave it away? The clothes? It was the clothes right?"

Kaine shook his head, "It was the fact that you didn't bow before the Antraste Statue as you passed it by."

"Yea, I keep forgetting to do that, " she shook her head, and smiled mischievously at Kaine.

"Tell me why I should not draw my sword and strike you down right now?" Kaine said angrily.

Selene crossed her arms over her chest and continued to smile.

Kaine looked at her curiously, and relaxed. "Tell me who you are and what you want." And with that he sat down in the offered chair.

" I am glad that you didn't have to kill me," she laughed. " No, I am not the Mother, however I do bare a strikingly resemblance to her." She pointed at a picture on the wall behind them over the doorway. The picture did indeed looked like her, with just a few subtle differences that one would hardly notice unless looking for them. The color of her yes were blue not green, and she had a small blemish below her right eye that Selene did not have.

Selene continued, "It was about a month for two ago that the Mother was traveling back from Orlais where she was visiting the divine. She and her templar guards were attacked and slaughterd by a group of darkspawn. All the templar were killed, and the mother was gravely injured."

"I happened upon them several hours later, with the last of the mother's life leaving her body. I bent down next to her, and she asked me to send word to her chantry here in Highever to let them know what happened. I agreed. She died in my arms moments later." Selene looked down and shook her head. She looked back up with an evil grin.

"How could I resist taking the Mothers place. It seemed like a cushy job for awhile. Plus I knew this is where u were going to land. Then over the weeks that I was here, I actually got to know the people, and admired their courage."

"This is all fine, however why are you telling two templars this? And what do you mean that you knew I was landing here?" Kaine questioned.

"Well, I know of a Kaine that matches your very description. He was said to be a giant of a man, that wore the bones and skins of dragons, with tattoos all over his body." She put her fingers together, and starting tapping them against one another. Her green eyes grew brighter as she continued. "I asked some of my, more less reputable contacts, and they said you were a mean spirited brute, who defied every rule he could. And commanded an underground very unorthodox group of templars called , The Reapers. And that he was headed to Fereldan by way of Highever."

"Well I would have to say your sources are rather accurate. But this still does not explain why I should not strike you down, skin you alive, and hang your body to those who would commit such sacrilege against the church."

Selene cleared her throat, sat back in the chair, and gripped the arms tightly.

"As fun as that seems, I something quite a bit better in mind. I wish to join you, and become one of your reapers."

Kaine looked over at Sloane, "What do you think of all of this?"

Sloane followed the others through the chapel, stopping briefly to bow her head to the statue of Andraste. After a life in the Chantry it was as natural as breathing, and she found it extremely odd that the Mother did not do it. Something very strange was going on here and Sloane found herself instantly on edge.

When they entered the study Sloane looked around briefly to assess the situation, but like Kaine she declined to sit. Sloane stood in silence as she listened to the other two talk. Even when Kaine relaxed and sat she remained standing, wary of the imposter. Unlike Kaine who came to the templars later in life, she had been raised in the Chantry since childhood and found the deception left a bad taste in the back of her throat. Sloane couldn't help the frown of dissaproval that was creeping it's way onto her face.

"What do you think of all of this?"

"I'm not sure what to think, Ser. I will of course follow your orders, but I would not be so quick to trust this one. How do we know she did not kill the real mother herself? If she can pull off a deception here for weeks how can we trust anything that comes out of her mouth." Though what an attractive mouth it is! She couldn't help but thinking to herself.

"And where did she come from that she has heard so much of you? She hasn't given actually given us much information to work with."

"This one is wise is she not?" Selene stated.

Kaine smiled and nodded, "She is right, we have no reason to trust you. You have yet to tell us who you are, like I asked you in the first place. I do not like to repeat myself."

"Well, lets just say we work for the same people. I am from your Kirkwall as well. The Kirkwall you know and love, " she smiled.

"I heard about you coming here from some of my underground contacts, and figured I would try and get here as quickly as possible. I was much closer to Highever than you were when you started out, so I made it here with plenty of time."

"The mother and the templars were killed and left at the road side, darkspawn seemed most likely, so I added that in."

"Allow me to travel with you and prove myself. I will tell the village that I am sending another mother to take my place here. Lamont can easily be bought with some extra coin."

She looked at both Sloane and Kaine, waiting for an answer.

"What do you mean MY Kirkwall?" Kaine asked standing and placing both of his hands on the desk, glaring down at the imposter.

"You know exactly what I mean." she replied, standing up, and putting her hands on the desk, glaring right back at him. Only she had a wicked smile on her face. She looked over at Sloane for a second and winked.

Slowly a small grin appeared on Sloane's face. "Well I don't trust her as far as I can throw her, but she would make the trip more interesting Ser."

Sloane's face turned more serious as she turned to the stranger. "Know that I will not hesitate to put a dagger through your heart if you endanger myself, my superior, or the mission in any way." Once she was sure her point had been made she grinned once more. "Hope you like dogs, because as far as I'm concerned Sobaka outranks you."

She then turned her attention to Kaine once more. "Are we going to continue to investigate this Blood Mage matter tonight Ser? Or can we finally go find some booze and maybe some good company? You should also have your injuries seen to before we hit the road Ser."

"Well I don't trust her as far as I can throw her, but she would make the trip more interesting Ser."

"Well I am sure that I could throw her pretty far," Kaine smiled evilly, "However, you are right, she will have to earn our trust."

"Are we going to continue to investigate this Blood Mage matter tonight Ser? Or can we finally go find some booze and maybe some good company? You should also have your injuries seen to before we hit the road Ser."

"Naw, there is no real point in pursuing this matter further really. The blood mage is dead, the demon slain, that is all that matters really. I think a few good drinks are definitely in order. And don't worry about my injuries, they will heal soon enough, just need another good battle and they will be as good as new"

He turned to Selene, "So is that even your real name, Selene?"

"It's the name I've been answering to for two months. You can't get any more real than that. But if must know, my real name is Alexia. But just call me Selene, its not every day a woman can pick a new name." she smirked.

"Alright then, we leave first thing in the morning. Its best to get some rest, gather all of your belongings, because we have a long trek ahead of us."

"I will meet you back at the inn."

With that, he nodded to Sloane, ruffled Sobaka's head, and headed out in search of a good stiff drink.

Sloane gave Selene one last wary glance and then headed for the door. She stopped briefly to talk with Lamont, telling him to meet them at the inn by sun-up, and then headed out into the night. Since everyone on the docks was now probably terrified of her, she chose to make her way to a tavern in the market district.

An hour later Sloane was on her third mug of ale and having a great time. She had found a decent tavern and joined in a card game with a group of merchants. Sobaka sat at her feet under the table while she proceeded to rob several of the merchants of their pay. Men often thought they were better card players than they actually were, especially after several mugs of ale.

When she tired of the card game she wandered over to an attractive elf sitting alone staring at the fire. He had short messy dark hair and intense dark blue eyes. "May I join you?" Sloane asked as she approached his table, two mugs of ale in her hands. The elf looked up at her and smiled nervously before nodding."Name's Sloane," she said as she sat down and set the mugs on the table, pushing one his way. "And this is Sobaka" she added as the mabari sauntered up and wagged his stubby tail.

"My name is Tevin. I saw you beat the pants off those merchants, good job. Better watch your back later though, they're sore losers." He looked her over appraisingly and decided he liked what he saw.

Sloane could see the thoughts behind his eyes and decided she had chosen well. Now that the card game was over it was time for her other favorite game and she planned to win. It was a good thing she knew how to sleep in the saddle as she doubted she would be doing much sleeping tonight.

Kaine woke just before day break, rolled out of a bed, and stretched. His shoulder was a bit stiff from being dislocated, but he knew he would have a speedy recovery.

He armoured up, strapped his sword to his back and left the tiny room. He took one last quick look around, just to make sure he didn't forget anything.

The tavern was pretty much empty, except for a few left over drunks from the night before. He walked towards the door, just as a man fell out of his chair in front of him. He stepped over him shaking his head, thinking to himself that people should drink if they can't hold their booze.

The sun hadn't quite made it over the horizon yet, but was starting to turn the sky pretty colors as it was edging its way.

He whistled, calling Horus to him. The bird replied with a shriek, diving down to land on Kaine's shoulder.

"And what have you been up to all night?" Kaine asked as he gently scratched the birds breast. All Horus could do was caw in response.

People were starting to enter the streets milling about, heading in the direction of where ever they worked.

He figured it was time to check on their horses and supplies before he got a quick meal.

With Horus on his shoulder, he strolled into the stables. The stable master was working on brushing down the horses for their long journey ahead. All the supplies had been delivered and packed onto the mules, ready for transport once they were all ready to go.

He gave the stable master a quick nod, and headed back out. Just as he stepped outside, Selene turned the corner. She smiled mischievously at him, and came to walk beside him as they both strolled into the market place. She placed her hand in the crook of his arm; he looked over and down at her, rising an eyebrow. She just smiled, and patted his arm with her other hand.

Kaine just shook his head, and escorted her to the nearest breakfast vendor.

"Such a beautiful bird you have there Kaine." Horus cawed in response, and hopped over to his other shoulder to get a better look at the lady. He stood on Kaine's shoulder proudly, puffing out his chest, enjoying the complements from the new comer.

"Don't encourage him, he already has an inflated ego." Horus cawed in defiance, and shook his head as if to say no.

"Does he actually understand you?" Selene asked.

"He sure does. I've had him for quite a while, nursed him back to health, and after that he hasn't left my side. I guess he thinks he owes me a life debt or something." Kaine replied, shrugging his shoulders.

He ordered up some eggs, sausage, and a large helping of ham. Then he ordered double.

"Hungry?" Selene asked, her eye brows raised in amazement.

"It's just a light meal. Plus, we won't be eating this good for at least three weeks. So you better eat up while you can. We leave in about two hours." Kaine stated as he turned and walked away, found a nice sturdy barrel, and hopped up on it to enjoy his small feast.

Sloane woke just as the sky began to lighten with the first rays of dawn. She had only been asleep for maybe two hours and she really didn't want to get up, but duty called. Placing a gentle kiss on Tevin's cheek she rolled over, got out of bed, and stretched. Sloane did several minutes of warm up stretches before getting dressed and heading out the door.

Sobaka was waiting for her in the hallway and the two headed down to the tavern's kitchen. The room was silent and empty as Sloane went about making breakfast. She found some raw meat for Sobaka and then set about making bacon and pancakes for herself and Tevin, whistling as she cooked.

When she got back upstairs with breakfast Tevin was just waking up. "Mmmm, looks delicious." he mumbled. "Oh and you brought breakfast, that looks good too." he joked as he sat up.

Ahhh, too bad I can't keep this one Sloane thought idly to herself as she leaned over and gave him a kiss. Breakfast was over much too soon and it was time for her to hit the road. She said her goodbyes and headed out into the town with Sobaka.

As they walked through the market district she picked up the familiar sound of a falcon and Sobaka let out a bark of recognition. Sloane slowly made her way through the gathering crowd and soon spotted Kaine and Selene.

"Ho there boss, good morning!" she called out as she approached the pair. "Ready to hit the trails?"

"Morning Sloane. Have fun last night I hope?" Kaine smirked as she walked up. He threw Saboka a couple of sausages, which the hound happily gobbled up. Kaine gave him a quick pat on the head, as he swallowed the last bit of his breakfast.

"Yes, it would be time to hit the road. Go get our guide, and Selene and I will meet at the stables."

"I would like to get as far away from this place as quickly as possible."

With that he nodded, and headed in the direction of the apothecary .

He swung open the door, and a wave of different herbs attacked his sense, and he coughed for a second, before heading to the back of the shop.

An aged man sat behind a wooden counter surrounded by drying herbs, a mortar and pestle, and many other tools used in making potions and poisons.

He looked up, and then way up, and squited behind his glasses, "Uhh, what can I do ye for sonny?"

"I need ten fire bombs, and if you have it, five quiet deaths." Kaine stood there, looking down at the old man, hands braced on the counter in front of him.

"Quiet Death?!? Are you crazy, no one is allowed to sell that. Do you know how much trouble I will get in just for you asking for it." he wheezed, clutching his chest in fright.

Kaine raised an eye brow, smirked for a moment, and took a pouch of gold off his belt, and threw it down in front of the old man. "That should cover everything."

The man looked down at the pouch, and then back up at Kaine. He tilted his head, jumped off his stool, and took his glasses off.

And in not such an wheezed voice, but one with lots of strength behind it, he replied, "You've got it. Give me a sec." And he scurried into the back room, coming back with a box loaded with firebombs and quiet death poisons.

"It was a pleasure." the old man nodded, put his glasses back on, and returned to be hunched over his counter, seemingly working on some potions.

Kaine grinned, scooped up the box, and returned to the stables, carefully packing his new special supplies away.

"Course I had fun last night boss. Lamont should already be at the Inn I hope. I'll have the horses saddled and ready when you arrive."

Sloane sauntered off towards the Inn, happy to be getting out of the town. She'd always enjoyed herself much more out in the forest, on the trail than stuck in a stuffy town. Towns had their advantages every now and again of course, but they weren't places she liked to stay long. A long, hot bath, a good meal, and a night of good company, and she was ready to be on the move again.

Lamont was just riding up to the stables when Sloane arrived. "Ho there, mornin' lass!" He called as he spotted her and dismounted. He seemed to have gotten over the shocks of the night before and had a big grin under his bushy beard. Sloane guessed that like her he was much happier out in the wilds than stuck in town.

"Good morning!" She called in response. "The others should arrive shortly. Let's get these horses saddled and double check the packs before they arrive. I never trust the work of a stable boy when it could mean my life." With that she headed into the stables and got to work. She had decided to name her horse Loshad, and had named Kaine's Kon.

The horses and mules were packed and ready to go, standing outside the stables when Kaine arrived. "This lovely stubborn boy here is Kon. Hope you don't mind I named him boss, you can change it if you like." Sloane said as she handed Kaine the reigns to his horse. "Haven't named the mules yet if you want to do the honours. We're ready to move out as soon as you give the order."

Kaine just shook his head, as he took about a piece of apple, and fed it to his horse. Giving him a good pay on the muzzle as it chomped away.

He ran his hand along the side of the horse, all the while speaking softly to it, so that would get to know his voice, and ease the tension the animal was feeling.

As he did one pass around, he fed the horse the rest of the apple he had with him, and mounted the horse liked a seasoned rider.

He gently nudged the horse forward, and once they were out of the stables, he kicked the horse hard. The stallion reared up, jumped forward, and galloped down the street, leading towards the edge of Highever.

Selene mounted her white mare, and edged it into a slow trot following in the dust of Kaine's Stallion.

( The Adventure Continues... https://dragonageafter.forumotion.com/t286-journy-from-highever-to-the-north-road#4400 )