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"Can you hear them? Crying as if they have lost someone important to them." Landon frowned.

"Broodmother." said Hespith from a cliff. "That's why they need us. That's why they feed us, change us..."

Hali leaned on her sword, gasping fior breath. It sank in slightly, reminding her of the thoroughly disgusting surface she stood on.

She looked up at Hespith apprehensively. "You mean..." She began. "That... Thing... It used to be a woman? A dwarf, elf or... Or human?"

"Dwarf, yes... Taken first from us, filled and filled until she no longer minded..." Hespith sputtered, her eyes showing a feeling of true despair and hopelessness.
"The men, they kill... they're merciful. But the women, they want. They want to touch, to mold, to change until you are filled with them. They took Laryn. They made her eat the others, our friends. She tore off her husband's face and drank his blood. And while she ate, she grew. She swelled and turned gray and she smelled like them. They remade her in their image. Then she made more of them."

Arathir spat, trying to contain feeling of loss, triumph, and disgust all at the same time. The First Warden would value this information; but at the cost of Gideon's life, it meant little to Arathir. They had successfully cut down a source of Darkspawn, probably the first to do so in a long time, but once again, the cost was too great for the Bard shakingly gripping his sword and dagger.

Aimred got sick at the news.

Landon sighed at the loss of Gideon. He was there comrade, "We should send him to the Maker." He held bits of flame in his hands.

Even Sertin felt queasy at the news looking a bit green, she looked in the former woman, and pitied her. She felt thankful she wasn't captured...

"Well, it's dead." Arathir said. "Not much farther to the Anvil, right Oghren?"

Oghren nodded solemnly, just as shocked as the rest of the group.

Colette made a face. "I wonder what Branka is doing right now. Can you imagine how that woman smells after so long down here? Simply awful."

"Gideon." said Airmed softly. She let out a sigh.

"Oh how I hate Orlesians," Landon said at the end of his patience, "Can we please leave her behind now, Commander?" Landon did not specify who that was.

"Gideon." Hali echoed, approaching the crack in the floor cautiously.

Brennis frowned. He looked back at Sertin, briefly laid a hand on her shoulder, and strode slowly to Airmed. "Ir abelas, ma vhenan. I am...sorry, for the loss of your fellow Warden. I share your sorrows." He walked forwards, placing himself somewhere between Airmed and Hali, and spoke loud enough for all to hear. "Allow me to perform a brief rite for the departed. He may not have been Dalish, but he deserves ceremony, nonetheless." Brennis bowed his head. "Hahren na melana sahlin. Emma ir abelas.
Souver'inan isala hamin...vhenan him dor'felas. In uthenera na revas. Vir sulahn'nehn. Vir dirthera. Vir samahl la numin. Vir lath sa'vunin." Brennis kept his head bowed for another moment, before speaking again. "I will plant a tree in his memory." The Dalish slowly returned to Sertin's side. "I hope I helped." He said to Sertin, quietly.
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"At least the Darkspawn can't get at his body." Roanor noted, rather matter-of-factly.

"Gideon." Arathir muttered in addition to Airmed and Hali. He had lost a friend this day, and the loss would stick. "Thank you, Brennis. And Roanor's got the right idea."

Arathir turned to Colette, glaring. He was angry and at this point, he could really use a source to vent. "Lots of damned help you were!"

"When we get back to the city we should leave her there." said Airmed.

"And how!" Arathir said, clenching his fists and pointing. "You have impeded us, lied to us, and have contributed nothing to what we're trying to do. I don't know about you, but the entire world is at stake here and I'm not about to let these hellbent demons destroy everything that I love! The very fact that you're still here is a testament that I have failed as a leader."

Sertin drew her dagger, she always got rid of her failures, Brennis could see the cruel dagger in her hand, not in a grip for stabbing, more for throwing.

Colette crossed her arms. "I am not here for you, Grey Warden. I am here for Loghain. I am here to learn how to survive on my own. I am here for my father. You are saying that I am selfish? Of course I am! I was cast out of my home to live on the street as a child, I had to hear the news of my father's death from a passing drunkard, Maker be damned I sold my body just to survive! I have nobody else! If I don't spend my time helping myself, who will?" Colette was in tears by now, standing unmoving as they rolled down her pale face.

"I'm guessing the word "friend" doesn't exist in Orlais," Landon said.

Brennis gently took folded his hand over Sertin's. "I don't think that'll be necessary." He cleared his throat, and spoke a bit louder. "Perhaps she should take point until we've found the Anvil and Branka? I...will join her, in forging our way forward. I feel I could have been more of a help than I was, but...I wasn't. Perhaps Gideon would still be alive if I fought harder. ...Perhaps everybody should have fought harder. It is my belief that we should ALL fight harder, in Gideon's memory...But this is your business. I have said my piece, and will say no more. I will stay near the front of the group, for now." Brennis slowly made his way across the room, towards the Broodmother. He made a face at the smell, but composed himself, and waited to press onwards. He warily awaited further argument--or, perhaps, violence.
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"Scrawny little human should be pulling her own weight." Roanor commented disapprovingly. "All 80 pounds of it." She was utterly unmoved by the girl's tears.

Arathir lowered his hand, taken aback by her unexpected tears. "Roanor, Landon... Stop." he said, raising a hand.

"Colette." he said with a sigh. His sense of morality was definitely getting the better of him. "Dammit, not every problem can be solved alone. You may have successes, but you will fail eventually. Loghain will kill you should you attempt to go after him. If you cannot stomach fighting these darkspawn, then you will not fare well against well-trained bodyguards either."

He walked over to her. "Believe me when I say that I hate Loghain as much as you. You lost your father: I lost men who I considered to be my brothers. Hundreds of them. There is nothing he can do or say to redeem himself, and he needs to be punished."

Alistair crossed his arms and pondered, seeing Colette in a new light. He still found her incredibly Orlesian, though much less optimistic than a certain Orlesian lass he knew.

Arathir pointed to Colette, much less accusingly and threateningly this time. "If you want to help us on our way to stop the Darkspawn and Loghain, then you will listen closely. First, you will change your attitude to that of one that supports the group. The enemy outnumbers us more than can be comprehended, and alone, you will not live."

He pointed to her dagger next. "Second, you will see me when we are resting at camp or taking time to rest. I'm going to teach you how to fight, how to duel, so that you can defend yourself when the element of surprise is not yours, so you can assist us in battle and reach your potential. You've seen me in action, and I'm sure that the tutelage of a Grey Warden will help you fight Loghain's men."

He lowered his and and crossed his arms. "If this isn't acceptable to you and you still wish to go this course alone, then we're going to leave you in the next safe settlement we arrive in. I'm not going to leave anyone in the Deep Roads, no matter how detrimental they may be to us. That is not a fate I'd wish on even Loghain himself. I'm giving you a choice, Colette. Take it or leave it for whatever reason, know that we are your best chance to get to Loghain. Let us help you. Don't be afraid to accept help from those who offer it."

Colette did not move, not a single hair twitched as she stood there, crossing her arms, as Arathir talked. The Orlesian closed her eyes, contemplating Arathir's words. "I will agree to be trained by you. As much as it takes for me to be ready, when the time comes when you face Loghain. As for my personality... I make no promises." Colette took a deep breath and released it in a shudder, expelling the last of the tears from her body. "But I will try."