After Gavlan seemed to withdraw from the conversation a bit, Rasie turned her focus to Zeynap. "To answer your question would take an inordinate amount of time. The Kossith were not a singular culture. Each group had its own system. For example, my village actually encouraged the magic users to hone their craft and it even provided assistance in trying to resist the influence of demons. As such, unlike other societies, we had virtually no abominations. My village even accepted blood mages to help them hone their craft. This made blood mages far less desperate and they actually worked as great village guards. Mages today seem to be the antagonists in the story." She paused for a moment to let her final statement sink in to help her make her point about her original life compared to this one. "Pressing on, if you have ever seen the elven art of melding magic, weapons, and armor, then you know what one of my skills is. I can use the same type of ability, though it is not the same style nor is it based in elven belief. My village militia, with the help of mages, created their own style. I showed promise in it and developed my skills for it. This means that by improving my magical abilities, I am also improving my martial prowess."

Leaning back in her chair, Rasie reverted to talking about her village. "Despite its high acceptance of magic, there were of course problems. We had to often deal with other villages going on witch hunts to try and stamp out what they called a danger to everyone. The humans of my time seemed especially bothered by the mages. We also had to try and balance laws and regulations for both magical and non-magical groups. That did little more than slow our lawmaking process, however. We also had a few groups crop up that were zealots. They either wanted magic gone or wanted only magic to remain. I was tasked with killing the groups if they would not cooperate. It was more an example than me being the most skilled. I was a perfect meld of magic and martial might. They wished me to show the zealots the error of their thinking. Most low level followers gave up willingly. The leaders...well I had to bury them the following day."

Zeynep

Zeynep let it all soak in as she listened to Rasie's answer for the Kossith. She couldn't say that she liked all that she heard, particularly the acceptance of those who used blood magic but it sound better then how mages were treated in the Qun or even the Circles that she learned the rest of Thedas used to control mages. Then Rasie talked about the problems that her village had even with the acceptance of magic into their culture. It was somewhat disappointing that magic had been frowned on even so far back in time but at least it had been accepted to an extent at some point, it gave her slight hope that maybe it could happen again even if it was small.
Listening to what Rasie did to zealots well, Zeynep would say that Rasie did the right thing, zealots were nothing more then people that used another form of control over people. Zeynep hated all forms of control and zealots had no place in this world in her eyes.

"Elves don't particularly enjoy the other races this day and age," Zeynep said once Rasie seemed done ",Understandable even, how they are treated in cities, and then how mages are treated. Better then the Qun but still under watchful eyes of others. I partially wish I had grown up in your time now, to be able to practice my talent freely and without worry of getting my tongue cut out, taken back to the Qun and getting turned into viddath-bas, or having the templars catch me. You can hardly trust anyone and always living with one eye open."

She let out a small chuckle and shrugged. "Perhaps it was technically a better time for mages, but it was far worse for Blights. We had no Grey Wardens and we had no idea the darkspawn would attack us. We all were caught unprepared. Only by a fluke was I preserved and able to pass on what I know to this day. I do note, though, that the Templars and Chantry are obsessed with stigmatizing fringe magic like blood magic. So, magic now is far more restricted. I am none too fond of that. I do not practice blood magic myself, but I have seen what they can do if given a good outlet and given the proper treatment. It also seems my shapeshifting magic would bother Templars as well due to it being an apostate style of magic. Then again, I am simply a target as I am an apostate myself, a really well trained apostate that is actually formally trained from another era."

Zeynep

"Any form of magic bothers the Templars and Chantry," Zeynep mumbled ",I find the Circle of Magi are better then what the Qun does to mages but it still just a means of control, to enslave them and keep them wrapped around their finger. Eventually it will just lead to rebellion or worse, more weak mages making deals with demons." She stopped when her drink finally came to the table and quickly chugged it down in one go. Having to drink with a dwarf all these years, it became somewhat of a little game of her and Gavlan's to see who could drink the fastest. Unfortunately for Zeynep she all ways was on the loosing end but she would beat him one day.
"Shapeshifting magic, sounds interesting. My main gift in magic is force magic," Zeynep then added once she put the mug back on the table. All mages specializations manipulate energy but force mages revel in it. Zeynep was still somewhat new in it but she did enjoy the little force magic she knew and wanted to specialize in it.

---

Gavlan

While Zeynep and Rasie were conversing, Gavlan had gone to wander around the bar with his drink, finding a few fellow dwarves he could speak with and get at least some news from Orzammar. Seemed that the last free thaig was having difficulty of its own in this time. The doors to the upper world had been sealed to prevent the darkspawn from entering that way from what he understood so the fight for Orzammar would be through the Deep Roads. He also heard tale of a grey warden coming to Orzammar to gain recruits and apparently had found the ancient legend of the Anvil of the Void though it had been destroyed. A shame Gavlan thought, he would of loved to see the days when Orzammar had the golems again but there was probably a reason why it had been destroyed. At least he could add the tale to his others and perhaps spruce it up a bit for the fun of things. Then there was news about how a new king had been chosen but Gavlan didn't catch who it had been.

The Grey Warden
Val Royeaux

Eventually, luckily before they wasted too much time, The Grey Warden and company found the inn where the wife would be staying at. From the wet cloth she clutched and the tankard of wine near her, she was drowning her sorrows away. The Grey Warden chose to approach her and told her about the quest she posted on the Chanter's Board. She was all too happy to finally see that someone has taken an interest in her plight and told them all she knew. She told the group why her husband first left; their child has a fairly unique infection that must be treated using the extract from a young deathroot plant. Such thing would be available in the city, as wild deathroot is usually uprooted and burned, and most shops sell mature deathroot, which would be too powerful and could kill their child. And for that reason her husband left a few days ago (Three to be exact) as he knew a place where deathroot would grow, and it was around the right time where the plant's seeds would begin to sprout. She admits that the city would never allow Deathroot to even be grown near their city, so her husband would have likely have gone out into the wilderness. But even so it was less than a ten hour trip, even quicker as he supposedly took his horse. After that the wife began to break down into tears, worrying about what sort of dangers might have caught her husband. Bandits, wolves, darkspawn, he even spoke of blood mages and demons, though eventually the Grey Warden left her to be consoled by the others. While he doubt some of her more extreme claims (Like a dragon swooping down from the skies to eat him), he did understand her concerns that, as a fairly well-off merchant, he would be a prime target for thieves and brigands. Wealthy but also weak. The Grey Warden didn't bring this up, but nonetheless he mentally prepared himself for the worse.

Before the group left the woman she (Possibly out of desperation and intoxication) gave each of the adventurers a lesser healing poultice. While she wants her husband back, the last thing she wanted was for anyone else to get killed because of her. Her final words to the group before The Grey Warden once again took it upon himself to leave was the general direction of where he husband left; Deep into the Heartlands just south of the city. Before they departed, The Grey Warden's stopped his group right before the southern gates. "Alright, this is it. Once we leave, I am not expecting to come back without some proof of what happened to the husband. This would be your final chance to either quit or get any additional supplies. I would also like to ask, do any of you know what we could expect within the Heartlands? Things that might pose a danger to us. I know that the Darkspawn shouldn't have gotten this far into Orlais yet, but aside from that I am fairly new to these lands and do not know what could come."

Karine Madeleine
Val Royeaux

"Tch! What's wrong with you?! You've given those Templars such a hard time, but you're nothing to me." Blood dripped from her viciously spiky morning star as a heavily armored knight strode through the Alienage. She received word from the Grand Cathedral that there was a blood mage operating in Val Royeaux's Alienage, either using the elves as source of power or perhaps being an elf himself and trying to hide amongst his kin. She didn't really know nor did she cared. She jumped on the call, more so when she was told that they had already sent a few Templars who were either killed or came back defeated. She had hoped that there would be strong opponents to be had, but instead it seemed that many of the Blood Mage's allies relied on sneak attacks and cunning to win their fights. That might work on a few Templars who never had to deal with assassins or bards, but for Karine such fighters were common place in the royal court. They were fairly amusing to fight against when she's in the middle of a formal occasion, but more often than not they need that surprise as they themselves were rather weak. The same went with these elves; who leaped out from the shadows hoping to kill in a single strike, but not only did Karine's armor nullify any attacks that hit her, but she was able to react quick enough to often get the first blow herself. After that she figured out that she wasn't even fighting trained warriors, just elves who've been enthralled to act as guards for the blood mage. "Despicable. Cowardly too. And worse of all, boring!"

Karine kicked down the door of another small building, scaring away a few elvish children who were nearby. A few adults came out to see what was going on, and quickly hid when they saw Karine strode by. One elder elf was too slow to get out of her way, and soon the elf and Karine were face to face. For a moment, there was only silence. Some elves watched form a distance, fearful of what would occur. "You there. There is a blood mage operating in the Alienage. Do you know anything about him?" The old elf looked at Karine. There was no fear in his eyes, as though she was not the worse thing he had ever faced in his life. he simply shook his head that he did not. "Fine. Regardless, I would suggest that you evacuate the building, along with all the other inhabitants. I cannot ensure your safety if I find the Blood Mage." Karine than walked around the old elf and continued on her way.

After killing a few more thralls and asking some elves about the whereabouts of the mage, she eventually tracked the mage down to a single building. It was a dock house, but there was no boats on the docks. Karine quickly went to the building and broke down the door, but cursed under her breath when she found no one was there. It seemed that she was too late however, as she saw a boat in the distance. On it was the Blood Mage and his thralls, who no doubt had already discovered Karine's presence. It seemed that the mage would have escaped, but she had one more chance to capture him; if he was going to try to leave the city, he'd have to go underneath a bridge that exits out of the Waking Sea. All Karine needed to do was get to that bridge before the boat passed it. So she whistled loudly with her fingers, and soon the sound of hoof beats thundered in the alley ways.

A pearl stallion with a golden mane emerged from the alley. On it's body it donned steel armor, and upon it's head was a horn as sharp as a sword. Karine's horse, Benedictus. She mounted her animal companion and rode off with lightning speed. She shouted ahead of her to make way, as she had no intentions of stopping, and nothing short of a stone wall would have been able to slow down Benedictus. She easily reached the bridge before the boat did, but than she realized that it would be a good thirty feet drop if she was going to land on the deck. If she wanted to get down safely, she needed to time her jump just as the sail was below her; she didn't want to know what would happen if she jumped too soon or too late. She had little time top try to do something such as rope her way down either, as right as she dismounted and made her way to the edge of the bridge her only chance to get on the boat occurred. It was now or never. Sheathing her morning star and shield, Karine jumped off the edge of the bridge, creating a few spectators. She reached out and grabbed onto the tarp sail of the boat, and her weight caused it to tear almost instantly. Her fall was barely slowing down, so the best she could do was curl up tightly and hang onto the tarp. Luckily the tarp was just short enough that Karine would not hit the deck below her, and she bounced up and down a few feet above the deck. She dropped to her feet no worse for ware and immediately drew her morning star. "Halt! By order of the Chant of Light, I, Knight-Templar Karine Madeleine, have come to enact justice! Turn yourself in peacefully or be struck down!" She knew they never did, she she wasn't really going to capture the blood mage even if he did surrender. The thralls drew their weapons and attacked, but much like before their weapons could not get through her thick steel armor. She dispatched them with ease as she went up the stairs to face the Blood Mage. He had his staff out ready for a fight, but his face made it clear that he was cornered.

Karine smirked. She took her fighting stance with her shield in front and her mace poised to attack. She didn't charge just yet; she wanted to see what the mage would do. Would he try to freeze her with an ice spell, or maybe try to cause her to see illusions? Or would he take out his dagger and slice his wrist, and use blood magic against her? Perhaps he would try to summon a demon to aid him. The possibilities were endless. Just as was Karine's excitement. "Your move, scum."

Rasie herself took a massive drink from her flask, though she seemed unperturbed by her own drink. At the very least, it was obvious it was not making her any less sober. She laughed very lightly as Zeynep talked about the controls being a path to rebellion. "Has it not already come? Malicious mages are far more common now. The stigma to magic and death sentence to blood mages has driven most into desperation. I am not surprised the Chantry is suffering the poisons they so carefully concocted. I would love to see the day that mages can once again live normally, but the Chantry stands in the way of that at every turn." She leaned back in her chair as she scooted it back a bit to give room to rest her feet on top of the table. She folded her hands across her belly and crossed her ankles. "So, you are a force mage, hmmm? I remember a couple in my village. They were quite powerful artillery, but they tended to be a bit weak on the control side. For that, we had others. I functioned as a frontline fighter for our mages, complimenting the warriors with entropic magic to curse and drain key targets."

Angelo simply shrugged "lets just get this show on the road. I don't want to see that woman become a widow anytime soon" Angelo said as he walked past him, his sword and dagger in each hand standing a few feet beyond the gate waiting for them. He hated to see that woman so desperate for her husband back and their child so sick that the child's father had to out alone like this although he couldn't really blame him, how would he earn an escort if he barley had enough money for his children. seeing what was happening to that family made him feel so pissed off and upset that he wasn't going to stop until that man was back with his family safe and sound. He may be an assassin but that didn't mean Angelo was harmless, he killed those that had it coming to them and he would help people that would allow him he looked to the area surrounding him his sword and dagger out as a challenge to any creature that would try to take him on while his eyes glowed in determination and anger to get his job done

Zeynep

"Well I doubt the day mages can live peacefully will come anytime soon," Zeynep replied ",I don't know what blood magic was back centuries before but now it is merely for the weak. Making deals with demons is disgusting." She grimaced at the thought of bargaining with one of those abominations. They were creatures that fed off of emotions, twisted the person to do their bidding, while that person hoped to get something in return. Usually the demon merely used them and that person would go insane eventually or become something like the demon, merely a pawn. Blood magic may of had some uses but until mages learned how to use it without aid from demon's, that would be one form of magic she would stay away from.
"One day mages will fight back, it merely is a matter of time," Zeynep added changing subjects ",It probably won't happen though until this Blight thing is quelled by those who are meant to stop it. Those Grey Wardens as they are called." Zeynep still had plenty she did not know much about, such as why only the Wardens could stop the Blight but even Gavlan had no idea why only they could do it, the Grey Wardens kept that part secret it seemed. In Par Vollen there was never any history of the Blights, probably because they never seemed to effect the Qunari. Only other tid bit that Gavlan had given her on the Blight was that this was the fifth Blight and from understanding on what archdemons were, there were still two more Blights that could come to be, that is if this Blight was stopped before destroying the world of Thedas. It all involved something called the Old Gods or whatever, Zeynep didn't really pay attention to the details of the history of the Blights that much but going by names of the Old Ones of the past Blights that come to past there had first been Dumat, then Zazikel, followed by Toth, the fourth was Andoral, and now the Old God Urthemiel led this Blight as the archdemon. Five Old Ones had risen, and two remained hidden underground. The threat of the Blights truely would not be quelled until those final two rose but that wouldn't happen if the Grey Wardens didn't stop this one.

Corraich followed the group at his own pace, shouldering beggars out of his way as required. He could already tell by the way they held themselves that half of his merry band were soft-hearted, the way they glanced at the refugees like they were fragile creatures made of glass. Corraich pitied them too, but his pity was edged with the knowledge that these fools had allowed their home to be taken from them. In this world the strong prospered and the weak suffered, it was just the way of things. He had learnt that lesson himself, the hard way, which nowadays was the only way.

They found the wife with little fuss, the one known as the Warden nominating himself to speak to her. The Wildsman was more than happy for the helmed rogue to take point here, as Corraich had always had trouble speaking to women. Not enough practice probably, especially since his wife had passed all those years ago. Thoughts of his lost family stabbed the barbarian with knifes of regret, so he quickly subdued the feelings and forced them to the back of his mind. His attention was grabbed by the conversation once more when the wife forced a healing poultice into his big hands. Corraich was overtaken by a wave of embarrassment, unused to receiving things that he had not earned. He muttered his thanks, his cheeks colouring red. He was only to happy to leave the inn after that, keen to get on with the mission and escape his awkwardness.

The mismashed group arrived at the main gates not long after, the Warden stepping forward and speaking up.

"Alright, this is it. Once we leave, I am not expecting to come back without some proof of what happened to the husband. This would be your final chance to either quit or get any additional supplies. I would also like to ask, do any of you know what we could expect within the Heartlands? Things that might pose a danger to us. I know that the Darkspawn shouldn't have gotten this far into Orlais yet, but aside from that I am fairly new to these lands and do not know what could come."

"I reckon our biggest threat would be running into a bandit company. More than a few of them have been hassling the countryside lately, eager to bleed the refugees a little. Had a run in with a group of them myself, as per the Chantrys request. Most are just thugs, but get enough of them together and they can be a pain." The Wildman didn't think it bore mentioning that the group he had run into weren't gonna be posing much of a danger anymore, seeing as they were little more than mud now.

One of the elves stepped forward then, sprouting some optimistic crap about not letting the woman hiring them from becoming a widow. Corraich sighed, before steeping after the elf. Some people just never managed to open their eyes to the world they live in.

"The worlds full of widows. Unlikely that making one more is going bother it much." Cautioned the big man as he headed out for the countryside.

The mage attempted to use a frost spell against Karine, hoping that this would slow her down.

Those who had left on the search for the woman's missing husband, assuming they were in the wilderness and knew where to look, would be able to find a rather conspicuous trail of blood. It was clear that it led south, and further into the woods. There were some torn up plants and arrows embedded in the ground, evidencing a struggle. Whomever had been here had made no attempt to hide where the were going, as there was a clear path of cut plants leading in the same direction as the blood.

Rasie couldn't keep herself from chuckling at Zeynep's blood magic comment. "Oh my, that type of blood magic is the commonly known one? That explains a lot. I assume the Chantry is behind this as it only seems concerned with demonizing anything they don't explicitly condone. Hmmmm, seems I may have to teach you some of the points about old blood magic. History seems to be muddled this age." She was getting a little more concerned by the new society. It seemed intent upon crushing any form of magic. Sure, magic had its negatives just like anything else, but it was also a highly positive force, at least in the past. "Do you think Gavlan may know history as to why magic is so hated now?"

Airthel stayed back as their group made contact with the wife of the missing man. He was close enough to listen, but he didn't speak at first. Growing up with the Dalish elves, Airthel knew about the many uses of deathroot, including the anti-microbial properties of it's sprouts and earliest leaves. He also knew about some other effects it could have, depending on maturity and preparation, including a particularly potent sedative. He also knew where they would grow in the wilderness: deathroot liked decaying matter, and things like manure. It was late winter, some would almost call it spring, and luckily that was a time with good chances for deathroot sprouting. Deathroot fed on death, but it still needed the slight warmth of spring to sprout. As of now, there was much death vegetation on the ground from the winter (although Orlais was a warm country, and there were a decent amount of living evergreens were keeping the wood verdant), and deathroot would be snaking it's tendril roots through dilapidated fallen trees. He took the offered health poultice when a word of thanks, and smelled the bundle to see what she had used to make it. Smelling things like willow bark and tea tree oil, a few different possible locations popped into his mind. He asked her a few brief questions about the area she said he was headed.

The Dalish followed dutifully behind the armored Warden as their cadre of strangely appareled foreigners traversed to the Southern gates of the city. During the walk, he thought of his known knowledge of the Heartlands. A good majority of Orlais's large cities resided within it, which makes the area scarce pickings for Dalish camps. However, that also meant that there were places where, having been foraged and otherwise cleaned out, are left alone to regrow for years, and places left alone were good for deathroot. He knew of a grove where it would be possible to find, which lies off the path to a white willow tree, and he guessed was where the herbalists got their supply of the tree's pain killing bark. He thought about the bit of directions the wife had given them, and decided that he could very well be thinking of the right place.

The arrived to the Gate without incident. As the large human spoke, Airthel turned to listen. "I believe you are right... Corraich," He hesitated a moment to remember the outlandish name, and wondered if it meant something in his land's tongue. "But I also believe that animals that are normally hostile will be even more irritable thanks to the many refugees swarming the countryside and invading their territory." After a moment, he spoke up again, "I am familiar with these lands. I know the Heartlands, as well as many of the areas around Orlais. I believe I know the location she told us about. It is not to far, if we take a fast trot we might make it by late afternoon. It is just before high noon now, and although she said ten hours, I think we could make it in six if we take a different way I know. We could go that way, but I understand it is not just up to me."

Airthel watched, face slightly scrunched in a visage that suggested confusion, as the elf who had just a little while ago asked to keep bloodshed to a minimum was leaving the city with weapons drawn. If he didn't want a fight, he shouldn't look like he did. The Dalish shook his head, and reached slightly to feel his bow strapped to his back, but did nothing but run a sensitive finger along it's sinew line. He agreed with the barbarian's statement, but kept his thoughts to himself.

Zeynep

"Perhaps he might, it's hard to say really," Zeynep relplied ",Though are dwarf friend has seemed to of wandered off so you'll have to ask him when he returns." She had never thought to ask the old dwarf on the matter of magic, perhaps it was due to the fact the dwarf never seemed to show any interest in the subject. He didn't mind magic but his interest in it was minute when compared to Zeynep or others who had magic. It could of be just that fact that dwarves were never considered able to have magic, being that no dwarf had ever been found with magical capabilities.

---

Gavlan
Gavlan was still with a few other dwarves, no defending his title as the dwarf able to handle the most mead without passing out. The dwarf he was against had just taken his next mug of mead and was trying to hold it down but ultimately gave up and shoved the drink away while Gavlan chugged his next drink down as well as the next. He showed them that he could handle his drinks, though by now even he would have to admit the room seem to be slightly moving so he figured he had had enough mead for the day. He would have to return to his table to grab his axe sooner or later. The only disappointment for him was that he had partially left the table to find a job for him and Zeynep. If they were sticking to Orlais for awhile, they would have to find some jobs to keep the money flowing for them.
He managed to find the table after pushing through the crowds of people.
"Speaking of our dwarf friend," Zeynep said ",Here he is now."
"Yeah what of it?" Gavlan replied sitting in his chair to try and keep the room from moving.

The Grey Warden
The Heartlands

The Grey Warden nodded his head towards the others. They seemed ready to go, and for the moment The Grey Warden allowed himself a moment to really think about his current compatriots. Airthel was a quiet fellow. Seemed competent, if aloof. The Grey Warden wondered why he was here, not out of distrust, merely curiosity. Not often that Dalish would leave their clans. He spoke of beasts who they may face, but as luck would have it he was no stranger to these lands. If they move quickly they could, they would be able to return to the city within the late afternoon. That is, if all goes well. "I will be relying on your knowledge, Airthel." Than there was the large human Corraich. A boisterous fellow, seems to be rather rough around the edges, but so far has done The Grey Warden no wrong. He kept to himself and did as he was told. The Grey Warden wondered if he worked in the army, as he carried himself as though he was an old soldier. Corraich also warned them about possible bandits; desperate men looking to prey one desperate refugees. The Grey Warden has yet to deal with any himself, but he would soon get his chance. "I am certain that no mere bandits will be a challenge for a formidable warrior such as yourself." Lastly, there was Angelo. The Grey Warden wanted to tell him to stay behind, but couldn't . They would need all the help they could get... Even if it was from this strange fellow. He already had his weapons out before they even left the city, which seemed contradictory to his previous request to keep their encounters peaceful. But as they say; if you want peace, prepare for war. Angelo also optimistically wanted to prevent the wife from becoming a widow, to which Corraich remarked would not matter on the grand scale. The Grey Warden agreed, in his own way. "To be honest, I am expecting to find his corpse. But it would make for better news to bring him home. Now than, let us leave."

Soon afterwards the group left the city. They took the roads until the Grey Warden allowed Airthel to lead them into the forest proper, through thick bushes and trees. Everyone kept their eyes open for any sign of the husband, and soon enough they did find a rather conspicuous trail; blood and arrows. Following the torn plants, soon a trail was formed. The Grey Warden knelt over a small puddle of blood. The ground kept it moist, but it's top layer was congealed. Not fresh, but not old either. The Grey Warden put his finger into what little of the crimson liquid was left and tasted it. "Human blood. Might be the husband's, or a careless hunter. These arrows don't look to be your normal game arrows however. They looked more suitable to puncture chain mail than animal hide. Likely the bandits you mentioned Corraich. I do not see any Deathroot around here however..."

The Grey Warden walked further along the path to see where it lead when he saw something jump out of the bushes and attack him. "Wolves!"

Karine Madeleine
Val Royeaux

The mage used a cone of cold on Karine, hoping to freeze her solid. But her blood was boiling too hot to be frozen in ice, and she charged. Slowly, but she was charging nonetheless. By the time the mage's spell was over Karine emerged from the frost and tackled the mage over with her shield. It knocked him against the railing and nearly over the water but he managed to keep himself steady. Karine's body was weighed down by ice now, but she wasn't going to worry about that. "Pathetic!" She roared as she charged the mage again. He ran to the opposite side, his light weight and speed being the only thing keeping Karine away from him. He tried to blast a bolt of magic at Karine, but it sputtered into nothingness against her shield. Right as he was going to try to run again Karine caught up to the mage and knocked him over with her shield. She raised her morning star up high and brought it down onto the man, who managed to block the first place at the expense of his staff. The second blow managed to crush his ankle as he tried to roll away, and now he was in no position to run. Underneath her full-face helmet Karine snarled at the mage. "Is that it? That is all that you could do? Weakling!" Karine brought her morning star up high to kill the mage, but he had one last trick up his sleeve.

Using the blood that was pouring from his ankle, he used the last bit of his magic and some of his own blood to summon three demon of rage between him and Karine. The summoning caused a small explosion, one that knocked the mage down to the lower deck and caused Karine to stumble, but she stood her ground. The warrior smirked as the demon roared at her, and she resumed her stance. "This should be fun... Let's go!" Karine charged at the demon just as the demon lunged at her.

The scene on the boat did not go unnoticed by the city however. Various onlookers ran away screaming, hoping to warn the local authorities of what was going on. One man in particular, more interested in spreading the news, went inside a tavern and shouted over the noise. "There are demons in the city! They're just underneath the bridge, a Templar is fighting them all by herself!" This caused a few people to get up and head towards the bridge to watch the fight, against all better logic.

The Kossith woman focused upon the now drunk dwarf. "Do you know why people hate magic so much anymore? You seemed academically versed, so I figured you would know if anyone." She scooted her chair closer as she returned to her normal sitting position and took another healthy drink from her flask. She kept an eye on some of the drunker patrons as they were beginning to move about as someone shouted about danger. She was not too fond of involving herself or her magic, but if her current companions felt the need, she would follow along and end the conflict.

Angelo followed the grey warden being determined to bring home good news, he has seen death and most often caused to often to not prevent anymore that weren't necessary. Angelo knew that they were right that one death wasn't going to count in the grand scheme of things but Angelo was a firm believer that in dire times their would be greater hero's it was in times like these that the greatest of hero's were born and lived Angelo was no saint but that didn't mean he was heartless in someone's plight.....especially if its a woman. Okay so Angelo was a chivalrous pervert but can you blame him when it came to beautiful women in distress even if they were looking for her husband. He followed until he saw the blood and started to think that things weren't going to go very well for them. It was odd how he noticed the arrows were meant for chainmail rather then normal game but then it would mean bandits really did take the husband, he then saw the movement as well and since he already held out his blades he jumped in front of the grey warden and blocked the wolves attack pushed the wolf aside before he took his offensive stance "aren't wardens supposed to be better trained then this?" Angelo asked merely a playful jest to his comrade who he blocked a wolf for and watched as wolves tried to surround them

Four arrows fell upon the wolves that had just attacked the group, killing three of them. These arrows were of a completely different make than the ones which they had found moments ago, and a trained eye would recognize them as Dalish. Whoever had fired them was out of sight however. The remaining wolves continued in spite of this, as two of them attacked the Warden and three tried to overwhelm Angelo.

Jolly brevity and flagons clanging and clashing filled the cramped the Tavern of the White Horse. Most patrons were drunk and complete strangers to the establishment. Refugees likely spending their last bits of rescued money to drown away the poverty they'll be facing for the rest of their lives. Oh sure it looked like a cheerful sight but to those who could see it for what it truly was, the whole scene was pitiful. Only one of the current patrons displayed a more appropriate mood to the rather somber and depressing world that was slowly getting grimmer each and passing day. An Elven bard sat towards the back of the tavern, far away from the entrance, with her head and arms resting gently on the table she had to herself. She wasn't swollen with grief or despair but rather boredom.... At least it was better than that false cheerfulness.

Ellaria Marcell, the Emerald Bard of Val Royeaux, sat bored out of her mind, tapping her fingers on her table to a beat she made up in her head. Very quietly she sang along but nobody in their drunken stupors could hear her. But she didn't care because she didn't make a living off playing for tips, she was merely passing the time until something interesting would happen. Not to overlook the numerous contracts she had to carry out certain "work" that required discreet hands, but she just didn't really want to do any of that now.

As Ellaria kept playing a song along in her head, a man came up, stumbling as he did so, and dropped a silver coin on the table in front of the Elf. Such an insignificant amount didn't even attract Ellaria's attention to the coin or the man. His loud shouting did.

Ellaria's beat stopped as the man kept shouting for her attention and finally out of annoyance, the bard looked up and locked eyes with the man. He looked like a sailor just wasting away his recent voyage's pay. He was fat but not obese and awfully sweaty, likely due to all the drink he put away in his time. When Ellaria finally met the man's gaze, he stopped his shouting mid-sentence and sat there in dead quiet for a few seconds before finally finding his place again. "Hey! Hey! I want you to play a song for my friend over there!" The sailor drunkenly pointed over in some direction that Ellaria didn't even so much at glance at before continuing. "If ya know that song, Drunken Sailor..." He stopped unexpectedly and Ellaria gave him a few seconds to pick back up but he never did. It was like his brain died right then and there. He was probably trying to work that little wheel of his and summon up a joke or something about his friend being "the most drunk" or some stupid thing. Whatever it was Ellaria didn't care.

Turning back away, Ellaria slowly slid her arm across the table and shoved the silver coin off the table. It landed on the floor with a ping and Ellaria hoped that was the end of that conversation. She didn't play for coin (unless you were stupid enough to give her a large sum), but at least being offered coin for her music was a nice change of pace. Men would usually offer it for a desire a bit more primitive.

To the utmost annoyance of Ellaria, a second man came up to join the sailor. The two of them looked at each other and shared a brief exchange, using the ambience of the tavern to cloak their conversation, before turning their attention back at the Elven bard. "Hey!" The second man shouted. He kept shouting it to, but it didn't take as long for Ellaria to bring her attention to this second man, more out of anger than anything else. The second man displayed anger that probably matched Ellaria's temperament right now. "My friend offered you to play a song. He likes you girl. You should be nicer to men who like you." Ellaria clenched her teeth in fury as she knew where this conversation was going. The second man placed two gold pieces out on the table. "My friend isn't the... best with women and has never been with one." The man scooted the three coins closer until they just reached Ellaria's arm. It was at this point, Ellaria looked over at the first man who was now pooling in sweat, erect, and expressing complete fear in the tension mounting behind just what the answer could be.

Ellaria quickly rose from her seat, a sour scowl on her face. She slammed the table and was about ready to yell at the two idiots when...

"There are demons in the city! They're just underneath the bridge, a Templar is fighting them all by herself!" A man barged in, slamming the Tavern door open drawing all the attention away from what was in front of them to the man yelling about a Templar and demons. Even the two idiots who were standing before Ellaria. Her blood cooled a bit as a mischievous grin formed along her face.

Clung!

The second man was startled at the sound as he quickly turned around to see the cause of the noise. Right as he did, the blunt end of an axe came crashing into the man's face, right on the nose. Laughter soon followed as he heard hurried footsteps run towards the door. When the man was done nursing his, now broken, nose he pulled himself up using the table and noticed that his two gold were missing.

---

A light chuckle soothed Ellaria's earlier mood as she ran two gold pieces through her fingers. The easiest money she had ever made and she held no remorse for those two drunken idiots. Those two pieces were probably the man's savings for some time and maybe he even did intend on using it to get his friend laid but now that plan and those gold will never be seen or heard of again. Now time to see all this fuss about a demon and whatnot. Someone dying was better than sitting around that Tavern and if the Templar died, it only meant a body to loot. It was a win-win.

--

When Ellaria got to the bridge in question, people were gathered on one side looking down. A boat was slowly being taken by the current away from the bridge with a large, armored woman fighting three demons on the ship's galley, just like the man said. However what was undisclosed was just exactly happened before the demons. Bodies lay prostate all over the ship but one in particular caught her interest. The only body on the galley...

Ellaria had seen that face before so quickly she dug into a pouch located on her belt and dug out some crumbled pieces of parchment. She flipped through them to find that same face was also on one of the wanted posters but the money wasn't for his death, it was for his staff which he reportedly stole. That was the item someone would have to retrieve to get the bounty and there the staff was. Laying on the galley of the ship. "Oh happy day!" Ellaria sang in thrill. This day was turning out to be a good day after all.

Ellaria pushed and shoved her way to the front of the crowd and mounted the bridge's railing. From there, she leapt and grabbed a hold of the ship's mast. The crowd collectively gasped as they saw someone fling onto the ship. From there, she slid down the mast until her feet landed on a platform halfway up the mast. Taking no time at all, she found a rope rigging that would swing her towards the cabin of the ship but also where the fight and more importantly, the staff. She cut the rigging and swung up, releasing the rope timed just right so she glide up to the galley.

Ellaria paid no attention to the Templar woman as she drew her short sword and her tomahawk and charged for the staff. Of course she drew her weapons for the very reason of one of those creatures getting in her way. One of them, the farthest away from the Templar but the closest to the Bard, charged Ellaria with no hesitation. Ellaria breathed out a "Ha!" as she rolled to left. The creature quickly turn and swung his massive arm at the elf. "Way hay and up she rises Ellaria broke out into song as she dodged demon's attack. The demon unphased by his lack of success so far, continued with a barrage of pounds and swings. Ellaria kept on dodging and singing. Way hay and up she rises! Way hay and up she rises early in the morning!

Ellaria's dodges just looked natural and the demon landed nothing. Finally, she went on the offensive when the verse kicked in. Shave his belly with a rusty razor! Ellaria ducked and sliced at the creature's belly. It cut it but not too deep. She rolled to the side, dodging another pound that was designed to smash the elf. Shave his belly with a rusty razor! Ellaria swung and planted her tomahawk right into the creature's shoulder. She pulled it free and leapt back just as the creature swung wildly with it's arm. Shave his belly with a rusty razor early in the morning! Ellaria countered the wild swing with a swift stab to the creature's belly before pulling it out and leaping back out of reach again.

The Grey Warden
The Heartlands

Angelo managed to deflect the attack of one wolf from biting into The Grey Warden just in time. He managed to draw both his weapons out and got ready to fight. He heard Angelo's little joke and responded. "You have seen nothing..." Suddenly, the Grey Warden's appearance looked hazy, like an after image. Try to look at him, and suddenly he's gone. He seemingly vanished from sight, and left no trails as to where he went. The two wolves who lunged at him would only meet empty air. Soon something else flew through the air; a fire flask. It exploded, causing the underbrush to catch flames as well as the wolves and anyone else unlucky enough to be near the blast radius. Even still however, The Grey Warden did not reveal himself. He actually was concerned with something else he saw; arrows flying from the opposite direction of their group, slaying a few wolves. Who was their mysterious protectors, he wondered? Certain that the others could handle the wolves, The Grey Warden continued to stay undetected as he investigated the possible source of the arrows.

Karine Madeleine
Val Royeaux

Karine charged the three demons as they attacked her. Two of them jumped on her, thinking they could crush her under their combined weight. But Karine was no lithe elvish lass; the weight of both demons were nothing to her. She tossed the off her back, one who fell into the water, the other who landed on the deck below. It was than that Karine noticed the other elf who came in and seemed to be attacking the other demon. "Oi! Leave, elf, these monsters are mines to kill1" Karine ran off the upper deck and jumped on the demon below. Perhaps not expecting a mere human to use the same tactic it had, the demon was once again knocked onto the ground. Karine than began to brutally pummel the demon despite suffering burns from it's flaming flesh. The pain from her weapons was much greater than the pain of the demon's fire. With a final smash, Karine felt her morning star break through the deck as the demon was no more. Only a blacken smudge remained of his existence in this world.

Standing to her feet, Karine looked at the Rage Demon fighting the elf. She weighed her options to attack the demon while it was occupied, or go after the Blood Mage. On one hand, Karine did say that she wanted to kill these demons herself. On the other hand, she had her mission to kill the Blood Mage. Who know,s with any luck he'd turn into an abomination and give her a better fight than these lesser demons. Karine used a health poultice for her wounds before she sought out the Blood Mage; he was the most immediate threat right now, and Karine doubt that the rogue-looking elf could really take on the demon. Karine would likely have to come back and save her.

Karine tracked the Blood Mage down into the lower deck, his trail of blood giving him away. How he planned to escape Karine wasn't certain, as he was hardly trying to hide himself. He leaned against the wall of the boat, his breath heavy and his body shaking. He would likely be killed by his own blood lost within the next few minutes, and would prove to be no challenge at all. Karine regretted not going to kill that Demon first, but she had a job to do. The Blood Mage began to throw insults at Karine, taunting her Templar Order and decrying them as an evil organization who does nothing but oppress innocent mages and force them to do evil just to escape their regime. He might of have more to rant about, but it was quickly silenced when Karine smashed his skull in with her Morning Star.

Angelo grinned hearing the fire flask go off and that gave him the distraction he needed, although he couldn't do that image trick that the warden pulled off he was able to use his blades with skill as he used a duel weapon sweep taking out two of the wolves with ease and before the last wolf got him Angelo dodged it and proceeded to slice it down the middle when it past him. Now with those wolves dead he looked around to try and find out who shot out those arrows to help them, although Angelo was a city elf that didn't mean he didn't recognize elfish work before, he knows how they prefer to style their weapons and those arrows were a close if not an exact copy of what he has seen before. Angelo knew he had to wait however until the fires died down before thanking their saviors from a much harder fight if they hadn't helped them