Soundtrack:

Hope Has a Place ~ Enya (The Alienage)

The Elven Alienage wasn't much cleaner than the city itself. In fact, I think it was dirtier. How could anyone willingly live like this? This is what our lost kinsmen were forced into after the fall of the Dales? I pitied them. Not because of the way they were forced to live, but because they would never know the freedom of wandering the forest. Of hunting. They would never know the sound of the wind rustling the trees or the quietness of being one with the forest or the rush of pursuing a buck through the trees. These thoughts made me miss my clan. Perhaps I would take Alistair's advice when we defeated the Archdemon and ended the Blight. I couldn't lose what made me Dalish.

We are the Dalish: keepers of the lost lore, walkers of the lonely path. We are the last Elvhenan. Never again shall we submit.

The Oath of the Dales. I hadn't thought of it in months. I was Dalish. I would die Dalish, but I would also die a Warden. My old life and new life come together. I pushed those thoughts away and focused on the task at hand. The time would come for me to face myself.

"Keep a tight hold on your purses," Zevran said.

~~~

We needed to find out what was going on. We went to a random house and knocked.

The Elf that we had freed from Howe's dungeon opened the door. "It's you!" he cried. "Come in!" He led us into the small house. The Elven woman we'd freed as well was there. She was sitting in a chair staring at the tiny fire in the fireplace. "I didn't thank you before, did I? I-I wish I could give you something."

She looked up when we entered and stood.

"Everything I owned was lost to looters after the purge. Not that I had anything valuable to begin with. Oh, dear. I'm being so rude. I'm Soris." He motioned to the other woman. "This is my cousin, Kyrie."

Kyrie nodded her greeting.

"Realin," I introduced myself. "What's going on here?"

"It's a plague. Or so they say. I've seen a few sick people since we've been back but I don't know how bad it really is. There are Mages from Tevinter here helping to treat it. But there's something odd going on, though." I had the same thought. Something didn't feel right. "Our cousin, Shianni, could tell you more. You can't miss her. Just look for the angriest woman in the Alienage."

"The second angriest woman in the Alienage," Kyrie said, bitterly.

"That's probably true. Vaughan murdered her betrothed on their wedding day before we ended up in that dungeon."

Kyrie glared at Soris. "Are you going to tell them everything?"

I was pretty sure angry didn't quite describe Kyrie.

"The Chantry allowed foreign magic here?" Alistair asked, changing the subject.

"I guess so," Soris said. "I'd expect Templars here otherwise."

"If there's a plague, why hasn't the Alienage been closed off?" I asked. In my experience since coming into the human world, they would cut off the Elves from Denerim and abandon them if it meant the humans wouldn't get sick.

"Between the civil war and Ostagar, the city doesn't have enough soldiers left to seal the Alienage. And only Elves and refugees have gotten sick." Convenient. "I'm sure that if anyone important gets the plague, the Alienage will burn. I guess the plague's been pretty bad. I've seen a few sick people myself but by the time we got here, it seemed to be under control. I... I know you've already done a lot for us but... I have to ask... Could you talk to Shianni? Please. I... I don't know what's going on here but I know she's in over her head. She has a knack for getting in trouble."

"I'll see what we can do."

"Really?" He must not have thought we would. Or he thought I would turn away from him. Pol had told us that many of the city-born thought the Dalish were only a myth. "I don't know what to say. Thank you! Maker bless you! Err...." He seemed to remember that I wasn't a City Elf.

"Take care of yourself." I had gotten used to everyone blessing me in the Maker's name.

Soris gave me a grateful look. He showed us out.

Back on the street, we made our way in the direction we had been heading in. There were several notices throughout the Alienage. I chuckled when I read one.

Bearing arms is strictly prohibited. Elves who bear swords shall die upon them.

I'd like to see them try. We heard a crowd and followed the noise. We saw the biggest tree I had ever seen in my life growing in the middle of the Alienage. Even the Brecilian Forest didn't harbor a tree so large.

"Wow," I said.

I knew it to be a Vhenadhl, the Tree of the People. It was meant to represent Arlathan and the homeland we'd lost. Pol said the City Elves no longer remembered why it was kept, but it was now just the only tree they were allowed to have. He'd heard that some Alienages no longer had theirs, that they'd allowed it to die and they used it for firewood. The Denerim Elves kept theirs well. There were a few candles around the Vhenadhl, much like my people kept candles around the small statues of our gods when we camped.

"That is a big tree," Alistair said. "I wonder if the children get to climb it?"

We walked closer and heard a woman's angry voice. "How do you even know they're working magic? They could just be chanting jibberish! It's not as if you'd ever know. Didn't the wedding teach you anything? Nobody is coming here to help us. We have to help ourselves!" We approached the woman, who was wearing a faded green dress and her vibrate red hair was cropped short. She was standing near the crowd of Elves.

"I have children at home!" one silver-haired woman said. "I can't wait out here for another day."

"So go home!" the red-haired Elf said. "The best thing you can do for your children is not trust these charlatans!"

"Everyone remain calm." One of the Mages stepped out of the building everyone was gathered in front of. "We will help as many as we can today so long as we can do this in an orderly fashion."

"Oh, you're 'helping' us, are you, Shem? Like Valendrian and my Uncle Cyrion. You helped them, didn't you? Helped them never to be seen again!"

The Mage sighed. "We've explained this to you before, girl. More whining will not persuade us to let you into the quarantine to carry plague back out to the Alienage."

"Quit trying to get us all killed, Shianni," a man said. "Some of us have still got things to live for!"

"If this spell of theirs works, then why are half the people they quarantine perfectly healthy?"

"What's going on here?" I asked.

Shianni turned to us. "You must not be from around here," she said sarcastically. She gave Alistair and Morrigan suspicious looks. Then she gave me a good look. "Wait... Soris and Kyrie told me about you. You're the Dalish who freed them from the dungeons. These foreigners say they're here to help with our outbreak of plague." She seemed to have decided that I was trustworthy. "Funny thing, though, all the people they 'help' disappear."

"That's not true and you know it, Shianni," the silver-haired woman said. "Both my sisters got the Tevinter spell cast on them and they're fine." I had a bad experience with a Tevinter mirror. I really didn't trust them.

"Where's your niece, then? And my Uncle Cyrion? And Valendrian?"

"Slow down and just tell me what's happening here," I said. I wasn't about to admit that Anora had been right about them speaking to me because I was an Elf. In fact, I was pretty sure she was only talking to me because I'd saved her cousins from the Kendells' dungeons.

"These foreigners have taken dozens of Elves into that house over the last few weeks and none of them have been seen again. One of them was our Hahran, Valendrian. And I don't know what we're going to do if we don't get him back." My clan would be lost without Hahran Paival. He was just as important as Keeper Marethari. I didn't think that the City Elves had Keepers, though. They were always Mages.

"Then I need to take a look inside the hospice."

"They won't just let you in."

"Maybe there's another way in?"

"Well... there is another entrance in the alley. There's no crowd watching, no Mages, and only one guard. You can try. Those guards mean business."

"And there's that look again," Alistair said.

"Is that bad?"

"Depends."

"Shut up, Alistair."

"Good luck," Shianni said.

We stalked into the alley and saw only one Elven guard. He stopped us. "Where are you going?"

"I need to go inside just for a moment," I said.

"No, you can't go inside 'just for a moment', so you might as well walk right back around to the front doors. You shouldn't be out on the streets now anyway. What with the plague."

"Keeping your people from their families doesn't bother you?"

"Look this is how things are. I didn't make the Blight or the plague or anything. I'm just trying to make a living. Not that a Dalish would understand."

I ignored that. "Aren't you afraid of getting the plague yourself?"

"What's worse? Dying of the plague or dying of hunger? I'll take my chances with the plague, thank you, if it means I'll get paid. I've been hungry. The novelty's worn off."

As we spoke, Zevran had slipped behind the guard, dagger in hand. 

"Sorry, but I really need in there."

Zevran's blade found its way into the guard's neck. When the guard lay dead, Zevran cleaned his dagger and returned it to its place. He plucked the back door key off of him and turned and unlocked the door. He opened it and gave a bow. "Ladies first."

Morrigan and I both rolled our eyes. Tristan snarled and rushed forward. We drew our weapons and ran after him. He tackled a guard and began to bite and shred at him. We took out the rest and we stalked around the room looking for clues on what was going on here. On a desk, I found a note and a key. I frowned when I read it.

"What?" Alistair asked.

"'Bring eight males and six females for the next shipment.'." I looked at Alistair. "Does that mean what I think it does?"

"I certainly hope not."

I walked over to the door across from the desk and opened it. "By the Creators!" There were two cages, mostly filled with Elves. They were doing what I thought they were.

"Maker's breath!" Alistair exclaimed.

"Help us!" one Elf cried. "We're not sick! Let us out of here!" I took the keys off a hook on the wall and unlocked the cages. The Elves scattered. The one who spoke remained. "Thank you, friend."

"Where's Hahran Valendrian?"

"They took him away already. Through the back alley. We don't know where, exactly."

"You should get out of here."

"You don't have to say that twice." He took off.

"This may be a bit rash, but I say we put the Tevinter Mages out of business," Alistair said.

"Sounds good to me." We headed to the front door.

We caught the guards by surprise and sent them sailing out the front door, catching the Mages outside completely off guard.

"What in the Maker's name is this?" one Mage cried. Then he saw me give a guard a swift kick to the behind, sending him face-first into the dirt. "Stop her!"

Zevran, Tristan, and I handled the guards while Alistair and Morrigan handled the Mages. But there were more Mages than guards. Alistair got the same look on his face he had in Redcliffe before displaying his abilities.

"Morrigan, get to the alley! Now!" he cried.

"What? Why?"

"Because what I'm about to do can harm you also."

She seemed to realize he was about to delve into his Templar training and retreated.

"Get back, Zev," I said, following my own order and jogging backward.

Alistair looked to make sure Morrigan wasn't anywhere nearby. With a cry he threw his arms out, a white light going out from him. When it touched the Mages, they collapsed. Alistair staggered as Zev, Tristan, and I went to finish off the Mages. I went over to Alistair when they were all dead. He was bent over with his hands on his knees.

"You alright?" I asked, worried that he'd overexerted himself.

"Been a while since I've done that one."

"What exactly was that?"

"I drained their mana to keep them from casting spells."

"Quick thinking."

"Thanks."

Zevran had gone to find Morrigan and returned a few minutes later.

"I should thank you for the warning, Alistair," she said, looking at the bodies of the Mages. "Perhaps having a Templar at your side wasn't such a bad idea after all."

"You're welcome?"

Tristan nudged Alistair and he reached down and scratched him behind the ear.

"I'm alright."

Tristan gave a short, happy bark.

Shianni ran towards us as Alistair straightened. "What happened? Some of the Elves ran out but I didn't recognize any of them! Where are all the others?"

"They were the only ones inside. And I found this note. You might want to see it."

I handed it to her and she read it. "What does this even mean? They can't be shipping people, can they? Shipping them where?"

"Have you seen them bring anything out of the hospice?"

"No. People go in but they don't come out. They aren't shipping anything out of there that we've seen." Shianni thought a moment. "They could be using the back alleys. There are all sorts of buildings back there. They could be using one as some sort of... warehouse? Staging area?"

"There was a key with the note."

"There are apartments off the alleys. I would go to the back of the hospice and follow the alley from there. If you find any more information, please let me know. I refuse to accept that they're all simply... gone!"

We went down the alley to the back of the hospice and followed that alley to run-down buildings. We went inside and saw that this was the apartments that Shianni spoke of. It was grimy and dusty. And deathly quiet.

"Anyone else feel like something is going to pop out at us any second?" Alistair said.

"So you can scream like a little girl?" Zevran said.

"I do not scream like a little girl."

I smiled and shook my head while Morrigan chuckled. Tristan put his nose to the ground to smell out anybody and sneezed. He sneezed and snorted a few more times before the silence descended again. After several long and heavily silent minutes, we finally found a sign of life. An Elf was sweeping debris into a pile.

"Who's there?" he asked when he heard us coming. "Stay away!"

"Where are all the people who lived here?" I asked.

"I don't know. You gotta ask someone else."

"You must have seen what's going on here. Tell me."

"Nothing is going on! Everything's fine!" He laughed nervously. "You can't bully anything out of me! Nothing you can do is worst than being the only one left..."

"Where is everyone else?" My voice was sterner this time.

"They took them!" Just the simple change in tone caused him to confess. "Took them right out of their beds! Dragged them down the hallways. Maker, the little ones crying..."

"Where did they take everyone?"

"Through the landlord's old office. They go in there, they never come back."

"What about Hahran Valendrian?"

"I saw him. They marched him through the hall with a bunch of others. All tied together like pack mules."

"What else have you seen?"

"Every few days they come back. It's like a parade. A silent one. Men and women and children... You have to go. They'll be back soon. They'll find out I talked and they'll take me, too! Please, just go!" He ran into the apartment we were standing by and slammed the door shut. We left him alone and walked down the hall.

Zevran stole into a room. "Wardens, you should see this."

We followed him inside and saw dried blood on the floor along with a broken vase with dried blood and some hair on it. "I'm not liking this at all," I said.

In another room, a set of chairs was arranged around a table as if a family was just about to sit down to eat. I crouched down and picked up a dirty and patched-up doll, left abandoned. If this little girl had been anything like me as a young child, that doll wouldn't have left her company unless forced to. I ran my fingers across the doll before I stood and set it on the pallet. We needed to find these Elves. And pray that they hadn't already been shipped out to a slave market.

I picked the lock to the landlord's office and found a small group of the slavers. "A nosy one, aren't you?" one said. "We'll fix that!" He and his fellow slavers charged us. We cut them down easily and left the apartments.

We were met by a few soldiers. "What's this?" one asked when he approached us. "Another shipment already? We weren't...," He trailed off once he realized we weren't slavers. "Wait. You're no Tevinter. Who are you supposed to be?"

"Who are you supposed to be?" I asked.

"Quick! Get them! Hurry!" He lost his head before he'd barely finished his command.

Morrigan sent an ice spell on everyone and we went and destroyed everyone. We quickly entered the building they had been guarding.

An Elf with an elaborate bow approached us and crossed her arms. "What is the meaning of this? We were told there would be no interference from the authorities!"

"No interference in what? What is going on here?" I asked, hoping for a confirmation on our theory that these were slavers hunting in the Alienage.

"You simply fought your way in here to ask questions, did you? You will regret this, you know?"

"If I had a silver for every time someone had told me that, I could retire to a large estate," I said.

Zevran chuckled.

The Elf was not amused. "Believe it or not, we have been given dispensation to do our business here. The humans talk a great deal about how wrong slavery is but isn't it funny how quickly the smell of gold overcomes such ideals." So we were right. They were using the plague and the hospice as a front to enslave the Elves. Again.

"You're an Elf. How can you willingly be a part of sending your kin to slavery?"

"Oh? This makes us kin? Don't be a fool. I am a Tevinter first and a servant of the Minrathous Circle second. Those are the things that matter!" I was wrong. She was no Elf. Not anymore. "But enough. I am here to halt your slaughter, nothing more."

"I'd certainly like to see you try." I drew my swords.

"Let us finish this then. I intend to see you pay for the damage you've done here."

"Then stop talking."

We rushed at each other while her guards rushed at the others. I will admit she was a match for me. It had been some time since I'd had an adversary that didn't smell of evil and had bad breath. We both used duel blades. We both broke through each other's defenses, she leaving a deep gash on my right forearm, I leaving a deep, and fatal, wound to her chest. She fell and I turned to help the others. When the adrenaline ebbed, my arm began to throb.

Alistair took bandages from his pack and tended to my arm. "There we go. Good as new," It was still throbbing but at least I wouldn't be leaving a trail of blood in my wake. At least not my blood anyway.

"Let's go and see what she was protecting."

We fought our way through the warehouse until we came upon a large room with a couple of cages against the wall. It was full of Elves. We were on the upper level of the room. We looked down upon a bald Mage with a goatee.

"I am Caladrius," he said, as if we cared. "And you, I assume, must be the Grey Warden I've heard so much about."

"Get to the point. What do you want?" I said.

"What I want is my business here to be concluded smoothly. If that requires that you and I come to some terms, then so be it."

"Just how would you know if I were a Grey Warden, anyhow?"

He chuckled. "One can hardly get a word out of Regent Loghain besides 'Warden' these days. It surpassed even 'gold' in popularity."

"How exactly do you know Loghain?"

"Yes, you would be curious about that, wouldn't you? I have heard you are trying to erode Loghain's support. It must be a difficult task, yes? Like washing away a mountain. Perhaps you could use some help?"

I raised a brow. "Oh, this should be good."

"Sarcasm is beneath us both, my dear Warden. Truth be told, there was always a limit to how long we were going to be able to operate here. We've paid for many of Loghain's troops but once the Landsmeet is over we become... inconvenient. So here is my offer. One hundred sovereigns from you for a letter with the seal of the Teyrn of Gwaren upon it, implicating him in all of this. Then we leave a few days earlier than planned with our profits and remaining slaves, unharmed."

I crossed my arms. "You're trying to bribe me?"

Everyone spoke at once as Tristan growled at Caladrius.

"'Tis a reasonable enough starting offer," Morrigan said.

"I suggest you look those Elves in the eye before you agree to have them hauled off to slavery, Realin," Zevran said. I could hear the coldness in his voice. He'd been in their place once.

"I feel dirty. We're not considering this, are we?" Alistair asked.

"Of course not," I turned to Zevran, "And you should know me better than that."

"So... do we have a deal? Even a Dalish must admit it's much better than resorting to barbarism, yes?"

"We do not have a deal. As you pointed out, I am Dalish. So I should tell you that bribery doesn't work on us."

Caladrius sighed. "Pity. It looks as if we shall have to settle this the hard way then. My apologies."

I leapt off the balcony we were on, landing on one of the guards and snapping his neck with my weight. I darted over to the next guard while Morrigan and Caladrius had a Mage's duel. Zevran's bow sang and the sound of blade against blade rang loudly. Caladrius tried to send a blast of magic at me. I grabbed the guard I had been engaged with and used him as a shield. The blow killed the man. I shoved him into the Mage and spun around, leaving two deep gashes on his back. He screamed and fell to his knees.

"Enough! Enough!" he cried. "It... seems your reputation is an accurate one. I surrender."

I scoffed. If I let him go, he'd only return for more slaves. "Surrender? I think not."

He threw his hands up. "Wait! Hear me out, dear lady! Were I to... use the life force of the remaining slaves here, I could... augment your physical health a great deal! Allow me to leave this place alive and I would be more than happy to do this little service for you."

"An interesting offer," Morrigan said. "If a tad messy."

"So... is my offer of interest to you? Yes?"

"Do I look stupid? I didn't fight my way here for you to use these Elves as a source for your blood magic. No. It is not of interest to me."

"Then... I don't suppose you would consider just letting me go?"

Apparently, he did think I looked stupid. Let him go so he could try again? Nope.

"I'm sure you know the answer to that."

Caladrius sighed. "Ah. Well that is a shame, isn't it?" He stood and I shoved my blades into his chest before he could consider fighting me. I took the letter, and a key to the cages, off his body and went and freed the Elves.

An older man, who reminded me much of Hahran Paival, walked over to us once he had made sure everyone was free. "An Elf with no chains? Now that is unexpected. Are you one of them? What happens to us now?"

"Are you Hahran Valendrian? Shianni was looking for you."

"Shianni? Did she send you here? Praise the Maker!" A smile warmed his worn face. "We will not trespass long on your good graces." He turned to the others. "Come, everyone, let's go home." He led the others out and once I made sure no more Elves lingered, we followed them.

After some asking, we found Valendrian's house. I wanted to make sure he made his way home safely. I knocked and sure enough, the Hahran had made it home. His face split into a wide grin. "Ah, it's you! Welcome! Come in! Come in!" His house was just as small as Soris'. "Tell me. How is Duncan?"

Alistair and I looked at each other. He hadn't heard?

"You know Duncan?" I asked slowly.

"He's been a friend of mine for many years, yes. From the look on your faces, I take it the news is bad."

"He," I sighed. "He died at Ostagar."

Valendrian looked down. When he looked back up his eyes were filled with sadness. "I am... sorry to hear that. I knew the Wardens had suffered great losses at Ostagar but a few escaped... I had hoped Duncan might be one of them."

"More like two," Alistair muttered. I touched his arm.

"How did you know Duncan?" I asked.

"He came here now and then to look for potential recruits. Perhaps that seems strange to you but Duncan was a man who knew that talent could emerge in the most unlikely places."

I smiled. That I did know. "It's not strange at all."

"Considering where he found you," Alistair added.

Valendrian chuckled. "Yes, considering he managed to convince a Dalish to join the Grey Wardens." I didn't have much choice, but that no longer mattered.

"What will you do about the plague now?"

"We've been through outbreaks of pestilence during the war with Orlais. We'll endure. I doubt very much now that Tevinter intervention would have helped us anyway." He turned and opened a chest and pulled out a sword. "Please. Take this. Duncan gave it to me years ago. I suspect you'll put it to better use than I would." The sword was light, perfect for a rogue who used duel swords. On the blade closet to the hilt was etched the Grey Warden Griffon.

"Thank you, Hahran Valendrian." Now a part of Duncan would help defeat the Blight.

"And good luck, Grey Wardens."

We found Shianni to give her the news that the slavers had been driven out. "I'm sorry if I was rude to you before," she said. "Andraste's ass, you'd think I'd learn some social graces! Anyway, what I mean by all this is thank you. For everything."

"Try to stay out of trouble," I said with a smile.

She laughed. "I can't promise that." She left us and we began to make our way out of the Alienage.