The Moon's Imprint

As the templars showed themselves, Garren emerged with my bow and quiver. I gestured for him to get back in the cave.

I may have to use the Onixa.

"What do you want?", I demanded.

"Come with us, elf", was the reply from the wing-helmed templar.

"The chances of that happening are very slim. What have I done to attact the attention of the Chantry?"

"Listen here, malificar. I'm the one who's asking questions, not you. Come with us, and we won't ask what unspeakable things you did to that poor man over there", he responded, giving a short glance to Garren.

"I did nothing against the law, Chantry or otherwise. I suggest you leave before you insult me too far."
 
Templars? Here? And Lydia... a malificar? That can't be right. There had to be a mistake. Lydia had just saved my life. Malificar don't spare lives... they take them.

She seemed to insist I walk back inside but there was no way I was going to let Lydia face these two on her own.

"Templars, stand down. I don't know what brings you here but this woman just saved my life. Without her help I would have been lost and starving to death right now." I put out my hand and lowered it slowly towards the ground. Things did not need to escalate out on control with the Chantry. "Now, why don't we all just settle down."
 
"Settle down?", the templar nearly spat. "You have no idea how much trouble this one has caused us. I suggest you stay out of this."

"I'm afraid I must correct you on one thing, templar. I'm no mage. Now, I strongly urge you to consider your options here. Walk away, and you'll live a long and happy life. If you continue to pursue me, I'm afraid your life will be not so long, and honestly, not so happy. Choose wisely."

The templar next to the wing-helmed human decided to speak up. "You better watch your mouth, knife-ear, and do what you're told."

Another growl rose from my throat. "You dare call me that despicable name? I'm not like the other elves you see in the Pearl, waiting for the next person to rim them so they can get money to pay their rent. You watch what you say to me!", I shouted.

"Hrive suula", I muttered under my breath. Instantly, the one who called me knife-ear froze into a giant cube of ice.
 
I couldn't believe my eyes. Without a chance to react, the templar who had called Lydia a knife-ear was encased in a block of ice.

I found myself looking at Lydia, wide-eyed. Did she really do that to him? She didn't seem much like a mage to me. Mages don't use bows, they have no need to. Besides, this still wasn't proof she was a malificar as the wing-helmed templar had accused her.

This didn't change that I owed Lydia my life. Mage or not, I couldn't stand by and let her be captured by these men. Not after the state I had found her in. I drew out my longsword and held it up to the templar. What are you doing? You can't afford to be an outlaw...​
 
As much as I hate to admit, I had never even seen an elf out of the dalish before, so my remark about elven whores was slightly out-of-line. But that didn't mean anything to the templars, who obviously didn't know about who I was, my history, and what I know. Therefore, I wasn't the idiot in this situation.

My eyes caught Garren's gaze, and I actually felt sad for him. "Don't do this. Don't throw your life away for me; a stranger. If you gave me up to them, I wouldn't blame you. You would still be able to have a wife, and so on. With me, there is no future."

The wing-helmed templar stood strangely quiet, looking from me to Garren, and back at his frozen fellow.

I looked back at the wing-helmed templar, and sighed sadly. "I'll go with you. But on two conditions. One , my mouth does not get sown together. Two, you do not charge this man for harboring a disgrace to the Chantry. Deal?"

"LIke I'd make a deal with a knife-ear", was the reply I got.
 
So my assumption was right after all. It was humans who had done that horrible deed to her.

I stepped around Lydia to put myself between her and the still unfrozen templar, my sword extended towards his chest. "This is my own choice. You saved me Lydia, I will not abandon you." I spoke with my back to her while looking intently into the templar's eyes. "Not all humans are so disgraceful that they shun anyone who is different from them."

I addressed the wing-helmed templar with an ultimatum of my own, "You, if I hear you calling her a knife-ear again then I can promise you that the fate of your friend will be considered lucky by comparison to yours."
 
A small smile spread on my face. Why am I freaking smiling? This is a real situation. Stop smiling. STOP!

"Step aside, soldier. This isn't about you", the wing-helmed templar replied, unsheathing his sword by three inches.

I sighed. "You never give up, do you?"
 
I could feel that my strength had not yet fully returned to me despite the vast improvements over earlier. Given this templar's rank I was uncertain if I could defeat him in a sword fight like this. Still, his sword was not yet fully drawn.

"I guess I didn't make myself clear enough. Leave. Now. I will not stand down, nor will you be taking her with you." my eyes went towards the templar frozen in ice for a brief moment. "Tell me Lydia, is it possible for the man inside of there to still be alive?"
 
"He's still alive. He's suffering bone-crushing pain right about now, but he's still alive", I smirked, looking at the frozen templar's horrified face.

"Want me to defrost him?"
 
I struggled to keep my expression stern after that description. "It would probably help our cause if you did." Saving innocent lives was why I had become a soldier in the first place. While templars weren't exactly innocent, they're not necessarily bad men. If we all walk away from this maybe they'll get reassigned to a mage that was actually a danger to society.

"Will you accept this templar? Your friend will live and we can all go our separate ways."
 
"Fine", I sighed, clapping my hands.

The templar gasped for air, and two tears made their way to his cheeks. I almost laughed at the sight.

"We will be back", the wing-helmed templar threatened, as he and his friend walked away.
 
The wing-helmed templar's words felt like a promise and it made my skin crawl. I turned to face Lydia once the two of them were out of our sight.

"Thank you for that, I understand if you would have rather seen those templars killed." I wasn't sure how to address this myself really. "I just hope the mage they are ordered to hunt next is actually a dangerous one. People may not like it but when they do their job correctly they serve us a great deal... if only the Chantry weren't so paranoid."
 
"Indeed", I agreed. "Now, we ought to get moving. It won't be long until other templars show up."

I dropped my dagger back into my boot, and walked into the cave to collect my things.

...Where are we even going?, I asked myself. He doesn't have any "proper" family to return to. I know I'd hate to be with Tamlen and his childeren all the time. That is, if he...never mind.
 
I glanced over my shoulder before entering the cave behind Lydia. "That's a fine point. We shouldn't linger here longer than we have to."

I slid my sword back into it's sheath and followed her inside. "How long do you expect it to take us to get out of this place?" Come to think of it, I didn't really have a safe place to return to now after letting those two men escape with their lives. The Chantry will surely be after me.
 
"If we're lucky, a week. If we're unlucky...we wont get out."

Finished packing my bag, I turned back to Garren. "Do you have any place to go after this?", I asked, starting to walk out of the cave.
 
I scooped up Lydia's canteen and hastily tied it to my belt in order to keep up with her. I gave her a shake of my head. "I'm afraid my place in Denerim will not be safe for me to return to for some time. The Chantry will be after me for what happened with the templars."

As we exited the cave, leaving it behind us, I considered my possibilities. "The best place for me right now is probably the Frostback Mountains. I have an old friend who lives there." to be honest I haven't seen him in many years but right now he was likely my best option. My sister's home in Red Cliff would be too obvious. I looked towards Lydia, "What about you? Where will you go after this? I can't imagine you'll be able to find your clan again."
 
I sighed sadly. "I'll probably remain a nomad for the rest of my life. The Frostback Mountains are about a month's journey from here", I replied.

"Best we travel with haste", I said, checking that I had everything, and holstered my bow and quiver.
 
I quickly nodded in agreement. "I believe that's for the best. The sooner we leave the Wilds behind us the better."

I fell a few paces behind Lydia, observing her silently. She really intended to live as a nomad for the rest of her life? A solitary wanderer is not the safest of life styles.
 
(a few hours later)

"So, Garren...what's your friend in the Frostback Mountains like?", I asked awkwardly. I had never been the one for small talk.

I hopped over a fallen tree, landing in a bunch of dead leaves.
 
I gave a brief laugh to Lydia's question, walking over the fallen log. How do you explain someone like Hugh? "He's an odd fellow at first glace. If his height didn't give him away you'd swear he was a dwarf. He often travels to Orzammar to trade with the surface dwarves. Still, he's a loyal friend so I trust he'll aid me."
 
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