She'd been watching him for a while now. It was only a day after, from what she understood, Romulus and Cyrus entered and returned from a rift in time. In all honesty, Asala did not understand the mechanics behind time traveling, and fortunately she wasn't required to. Still, from what she heard and saw secondhand, it was a journey that left its mark on them both. To say she was worried about them was an understatement. So when it came up that there was a small castle nearby that contained a cult, and that Romulus and a few of the Lions were to investigate, Asala volunteered to accompany them.
It was no secret that she was worried for them, she knew she was terrible at keeping her emotions in check. Whenever he was to throw a glance her way, she always tried to avert her gaze and pretend she wasn't studying him. Asala was transparent however, and once he turned his gaze forward again, her eyes went right back to him. He was a hard man to read, as it turned out, and her survey of his back yielded nothing.
The journey they took through the Hinterlands was relatively quiet, due in no small part to the efforts of the Inquisition and the Lions from what she had heard. The castle they were heading to lay eastward from Redcliffe, built into the side of the mountain from the scouting reports. Apparently, they were seeking a sign or something or another. Truthfully, the reason of the journey didn't matter to her as much as the man leading it. Not for the first time, Asala tilted her head as she watched Romulus, trying to suss out anything she could from his body language.
When that didn't work, Asala finally decided to say something. Or rather, attempt to. "Uh..." she began, hopefully catching his attention. "Rom-Romulus? How... how are you... feeling?" she stammered out. She didn't know if that was the right thing to ask, but it was the only thing to come to mind.
Romulus was hooded as usual, but turned to look back at the Qunari woman when his name was called. Though he led the way for the group, he merely followed in the tracks of the Lead Scout, Lia, while Donnelly and a few others of the Lions followed closely behind. Romulus was as stone faced as ever, an expression that only softened for the briefest of moments, upon observing Asala's difficulty even addressing him.
"I'm fine, Asala," he answered, looking back ahead of him again. "I wasn't injured, and I've been assured the spell we passed through would have no ill effects on me. You don't have to worry." His answer was delivered somewaht brusquely, perhaps a bit more than he intended, as a quiet sigh soon followed, an exhale from his nostrils, and he reached up to rub his face.
"That is not..." Asala frowned and scratched the spot under her horns. She was unsure how to go about this without prying or infringing too far on his own privacy. "It is just..." she tried again, but once more the words didn't seem to come to her. She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to figure out a succint way to put what was on her mind. "I do worry," Asala revealed, "For you and Estella both."
A blush seeped into her features as her eyes fell to his heels. A memory of one of Tammy's lesson's then came to her. "Sometimes... The injuries are not on the outside, but inside... And those can be the hardest to heal." No sooner than she'd said it, her eyes widened and her face flushed. She held up her hands defensively and waved them back and forth. "I-I-I don-don't mean to pry. N-not at all," she stuttered, her eyes now on the ground behind Romulus's feet. "I-i-it's just that if you...ever want to talk... I'm always here." she added with a nervous chuckle.
Romulus slowly came to a stop upon Asala's mention of injuries on the inside; a brief nod to Donnelly and the other Lions allowed them to go on up ahead, ascending the hill in front of them. Waiting until they were out of earshot, which wasn't far considering how softly he spoke, Romulus pulled back his hood and rubbed his temples. After avoiding Asala's gaze momentarily, he finally met her eyes.
"Perhaps you shouldn't be." The words weren't spat or hissed aggressively. Instead they were quite gentle, and the look in his eyes was as haunted as ever; they lingered for a long moment upon her horns. "Our enemies have shown themselves to be the worst kind of people the world has to offer. I've seen the aftermath of what they can do." He shook his head slowly, uncertain of himself.
"It's the kind of thing that breaks a person like you."
"I..." Asala began, though not quite sure where to go from there. He had seen things in the rift, that much was clear, but she would not ask what. She doubted he'd tell her even if she did. Her eyes lingered on the ground for a moment more, before they lifted to reach Romulus's own. It would be clear to him that she was quite awkward holding his gaze as such, but she didn't let them fall away. His words were frighteningly serious, and indeed seem to come from a man who'd seen things best left unseen. Still, she did not allow it to sway her from her current course. What they did was important, yes, but the people who did it were more important.
"Per... haps," she began again, "But... Everyone has their breaking point, Romulus," she said sweetly, taking a step closer. "I... just want to make sure you do not reach yours," she said before sighing. She pulled a hand over her eyes and shook her head gently. "You must think me terribly foolish," she said, taking her hands off of her eyes.
"Do you know what a... beres-taar is?" Before he could answer, Asala answered for him. "It means shield in Qunlat. Instead of saarebas, a dangerous thing, Tammy called me beres-taar. You and Estella both face these... people, and I will not let you do it alone." Even though she did not know what else she could do but ease their injuries, she could only hope that would be enough. "I am sure that... together, we need not let these people break us... Any of us." She flushed again and she let her eyes fall back to the ground.
She clutched at the collar of her crimson cloak before she spoke again. "I apologize, I did not mean... Are we near the castle yet?" she asked, quickly trying to change the subject.
"It's just over the next rise," came a voice from beside them. Lia trotted down the hill towards them, her bow securely slung over her shoulder, a sure sign that there was no threat. The other Lions awaited them at the top of the rise, looking down. Lia suddenly seemed to realize she had stumbled across a potentially awkward conversation, and grew wide eyed for a moment. "Uh... did I interrupt something?"
Romulus shook his head, tiredly. "No." He began walking forward, prompting Lia to follow. "What's happening at this castle?"
"The cult that moved in seem to be Chantry cast-offs or exiles. They reacted pretty strongly to the Breach, thinking it a sign of the end times, a sign that the Maker would be taking the worthy up to the Golden City or something. I think they might be nuts, but they want to talk to you." Romulus looked down at her beside him.
"Me?"
"Well, a Herald of Andraste. We need to start making these people be specific if they want one of you in particular." She grinned a bit to herself, but it faded quickly enough when she realized that Romulus wasn't in much of a mood for humor. "Their leader, a woman named Anais, is waiting out front for you."
"Ah. Well. We should not keep her waiting then, yes?" Asala said, quite ready to put the recent conversation behind them. She'd said what she felt she needed to.
Lia hummed her agreement, and together the group crested the hill, bringing the dilapidated old castle into full view. Despite its age, the walls still stood proud and intact, if a bit weather-weary in places. The castle was indeed built into the rock wall of the mountain, and a channel had been cut into the earth around the entrance, creating a sort of waterless moat only passable with a drawbridge, or wings.
On their side of the drawbridge, which was currently lowered for them, was a small group, headed by a woman with bright red hair pouring out of the sides of her hood. She was lightly armored, and carried a pair of short swords across her back. Supposedly they'd been set up in there since before the bandits and rogue templars and apostates had even been cleared out, so it wasn't altogether surprising that a group of Chantry exiles would be at least partially armed. She stepped forward as the Inquisition group with Romulus at its head approached.
"It's good to meet you, Inquisition, and one of your Heralds of Andraste. My name is Anais, and my people have given me the title of Speaker."
Romulus darted with his gaze side to side, clearly uncomfortable with being in the primary speaking role of the party, but at last he managed an awkward, "Greetings."
"Truth be told," Anais carried on, without delay, "these people expected to have been whisked away to the Golden City by now, but the Breach has remained largely silent. We have heard stories of your ability to close the rifts. We would be very interested in seeing a demonstration."
"Ah," Romulus said, unsure what to do with his hands. "Well. Do you happen to know where one of these rifts is located?"
"Yes," Anais said, smiling. "We have one within the castle walls, actually."
“And you just go about your business, then?” Donnelly’s face was pulled into an expression of clear skepticism, but he shook his head and gestured his two other soldiers, a dwarven woman and an older human man, forward. “Don’t suppose it really matters…” The three of them led the group forward, guided by Anais, until they reached what looked to be some kind of walled-in courtyard, open only on one side. They’d passed a lot of castle architechture, repurposed for the needs of what was effectively a small village. A tavern, several housing blocks, a few stables, all fitted vertically more than horizontally. It was clearer then how they’d been able to live around the rift, because it was barred into its own area, one not near much else. For the moment, it looked passive, but doubtless it would spew demons like the rest of them as soon as they got close enough.
When the group actually reached the gate, however, the Lions’ lieutenant turned around and met Romulus’s eyes, his shield on one arm and sword in the other hand. “At your word, Herald.” He was likely using the title for the benefit of the cultists, because he didn’t usually bother as such.
A number of the cultists had indeed followed, though the word did not seem entirely appropriate. Most were still clearly within their Chantry ways, and had simply been removed from their former places of worship due to their overblown beliefs about the Breach. Anais remained at the head of them as they approached the gate, and Romulus glanced sideways at her. "You may want to have your people keep back."
Anais regarded him evenly. "We've been able to protect ourselves before, whenever the rift has seen fit to send demons at us. We are not as helpless as we might seem. Proceed." Exhaling somewhat uncomfortably, Romulus nodded at Donnelly, and the group moved forward.
The fight was over quickly, the shades disposed of with relatively no difficulty. One lesser terror had emerged with the second wave of demons, but Asala had left it stunned with a barrier, and Lia and Donnelly had finished it off with arrows and blade, respectively. When the fight was complete, Romulus lifted his hand towards the rift, allowing the impressive arc of light to connect the two. When he wrenched his hand away, the rift burst, remnants of it raining down to the ground.
A number of murmurs went through the crowd, while Anais watched with crossed arms. As Romulus returned towards the group, she stepped forward. "Very impressive, Herald. We were wrong to doubt you, it seems. I speak for these people, but you speak for Andraste. We are yours to command. How would you like us to serve?"
Romulus was clearly caught off guard by suddenly having a group full of people to command, and his mouth hung open for a moment. Anais clearly caught on, smiling knowingly beneath her hood, an expression only visible to the Inquisition members, as her own people all stood behind her.
"Perhaps we can encourage other doubters to come to believe as we have, at least in the area. Surely anything that will help solidify the Inquisition's authority and righteousness will be of use, no?" Romulus, still obviously unsure how to proceed, closed his mouth and nodded, forcing a small smile.
"Yes. That sounds agreeable. You have my thanks, Speaker Anais."
She bowed briefly. "None are required. I will report to you at Haven if there are any interesting developments." With that, many of the other cult members bowed, and took their leave, allowing the Inquisition group a clear path back out of the fortress. By the way Romulus walked, it was clear that he hoped to be gone from there swiftly.
Asala followed closely behind, scratching under her horns again. She was relieved that it was Romulus and not her that commanded the authority, though she could not say she didn't see how uncomfortable it made him. However, she chose to keep her silence. She did not know what she could say to make it better for him, nor that even if she did, if it would actually help. Instead, she settled for a sweet comforting smile.
It was no secret that she was worried for them, she knew she was terrible at keeping her emotions in check. Whenever he was to throw a glance her way, she always tried to avert her gaze and pretend she wasn't studying him. Asala was transparent however, and once he turned his gaze forward again, her eyes went right back to him. He was a hard man to read, as it turned out, and her survey of his back yielded nothing.
The journey they took through the Hinterlands was relatively quiet, due in no small part to the efforts of the Inquisition and the Lions from what she had heard. The castle they were heading to lay eastward from Redcliffe, built into the side of the mountain from the scouting reports. Apparently, they were seeking a sign or something or another. Truthfully, the reason of the journey didn't matter to her as much as the man leading it. Not for the first time, Asala tilted her head as she watched Romulus, trying to suss out anything she could from his body language.
When that didn't work, Asala finally decided to say something. Or rather, attempt to. "Uh..." she began, hopefully catching his attention. "Rom-Romulus? How... how are you... feeling?" she stammered out. She didn't know if that was the right thing to ask, but it was the only thing to come to mind.
Romulus was hooded as usual, but turned to look back at the Qunari woman when his name was called. Though he led the way for the group, he merely followed in the tracks of the Lead Scout, Lia, while Donnelly and a few others of the Lions followed closely behind. Romulus was as stone faced as ever, an expression that only softened for the briefest of moments, upon observing Asala's difficulty even addressing him.
"I'm fine, Asala," he answered, looking back ahead of him again. "I wasn't injured, and I've been assured the spell we passed through would have no ill effects on me. You don't have to worry." His answer was delivered somewaht brusquely, perhaps a bit more than he intended, as a quiet sigh soon followed, an exhale from his nostrils, and he reached up to rub his face.
"That is not..." Asala frowned and scratched the spot under her horns. She was unsure how to go about this without prying or infringing too far on his own privacy. "It is just..." she tried again, but once more the words didn't seem to come to her. She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to figure out a succint way to put what was on her mind. "I do worry," Asala revealed, "For you and Estella both."
A blush seeped into her features as her eyes fell to his heels. A memory of one of Tammy's lesson's then came to her. "Sometimes... The injuries are not on the outside, but inside... And those can be the hardest to heal." No sooner than she'd said it, her eyes widened and her face flushed. She held up her hands defensively and waved them back and forth. "I-I-I don-don't mean to pry. N-not at all," she stuttered, her eyes now on the ground behind Romulus's feet. "I-i-it's just that if you...ever want to talk... I'm always here." she added with a nervous chuckle.
Romulus slowly came to a stop upon Asala's mention of injuries on the inside; a brief nod to Donnelly and the other Lions allowed them to go on up ahead, ascending the hill in front of them. Waiting until they were out of earshot, which wasn't far considering how softly he spoke, Romulus pulled back his hood and rubbed his temples. After avoiding Asala's gaze momentarily, he finally met her eyes.
"Perhaps you shouldn't be." The words weren't spat or hissed aggressively. Instead they were quite gentle, and the look in his eyes was as haunted as ever; they lingered for a long moment upon her horns. "Our enemies have shown themselves to be the worst kind of people the world has to offer. I've seen the aftermath of what they can do." He shook his head slowly, uncertain of himself.
"It's the kind of thing that breaks a person like you."
"I..." Asala began, though not quite sure where to go from there. He had seen things in the rift, that much was clear, but she would not ask what. She doubted he'd tell her even if she did. Her eyes lingered on the ground for a moment more, before they lifted to reach Romulus's own. It would be clear to him that she was quite awkward holding his gaze as such, but she didn't let them fall away. His words were frighteningly serious, and indeed seem to come from a man who'd seen things best left unseen. Still, she did not allow it to sway her from her current course. What they did was important, yes, but the people who did it were more important.
"Per... haps," she began again, "But... Everyone has their breaking point, Romulus," she said sweetly, taking a step closer. "I... just want to make sure you do not reach yours," she said before sighing. She pulled a hand over her eyes and shook her head gently. "You must think me terribly foolish," she said, taking her hands off of her eyes.
"Do you know what a... beres-taar is?" Before he could answer, Asala answered for him. "It means shield in Qunlat. Instead of saarebas, a dangerous thing, Tammy called me beres-taar. You and Estella both face these... people, and I will not let you do it alone." Even though she did not know what else she could do but ease their injuries, she could only hope that would be enough. "I am sure that... together, we need not let these people break us... Any of us." She flushed again and she let her eyes fall back to the ground.
She clutched at the collar of her crimson cloak before she spoke again. "I apologize, I did not mean... Are we near the castle yet?" she asked, quickly trying to change the subject.
"It's just over the next rise," came a voice from beside them. Lia trotted down the hill towards them, her bow securely slung over her shoulder, a sure sign that there was no threat. The other Lions awaited them at the top of the rise, looking down. Lia suddenly seemed to realize she had stumbled across a potentially awkward conversation, and grew wide eyed for a moment. "Uh... did I interrupt something?"
Romulus shook his head, tiredly. "No." He began walking forward, prompting Lia to follow. "What's happening at this castle?"
"The cult that moved in seem to be Chantry cast-offs or exiles. They reacted pretty strongly to the Breach, thinking it a sign of the end times, a sign that the Maker would be taking the worthy up to the Golden City or something. I think they might be nuts, but they want to talk to you." Romulus looked down at her beside him.
"Me?"
"Well, a Herald of Andraste. We need to start making these people be specific if they want one of you in particular." She grinned a bit to herself, but it faded quickly enough when she realized that Romulus wasn't in much of a mood for humor. "Their leader, a woman named Anais, is waiting out front for you."
"Ah. Well. We should not keep her waiting then, yes?" Asala said, quite ready to put the recent conversation behind them. She'd said what she felt she needed to.
Lia hummed her agreement, and together the group crested the hill, bringing the dilapidated old castle into full view. Despite its age, the walls still stood proud and intact, if a bit weather-weary in places. The castle was indeed built into the rock wall of the mountain, and a channel had been cut into the earth around the entrance, creating a sort of waterless moat only passable with a drawbridge, or wings.
On their side of the drawbridge, which was currently lowered for them, was a small group, headed by a woman with bright red hair pouring out of the sides of her hood. She was lightly armored, and carried a pair of short swords across her back. Supposedly they'd been set up in there since before the bandits and rogue templars and apostates had even been cleared out, so it wasn't altogether surprising that a group of Chantry exiles would be at least partially armed. She stepped forward as the Inquisition group with Romulus at its head approached.
"It's good to meet you, Inquisition, and one of your Heralds of Andraste. My name is Anais, and my people have given me the title of Speaker."
Romulus darted with his gaze side to side, clearly uncomfortable with being in the primary speaking role of the party, but at last he managed an awkward, "Greetings."
"Truth be told," Anais carried on, without delay, "these people expected to have been whisked away to the Golden City by now, but the Breach has remained largely silent. We have heard stories of your ability to close the rifts. We would be very interested in seeing a demonstration."
"Ah," Romulus said, unsure what to do with his hands. "Well. Do you happen to know where one of these rifts is located?"
"Yes," Anais said, smiling. "We have one within the castle walls, actually."
“And you just go about your business, then?” Donnelly’s face was pulled into an expression of clear skepticism, but he shook his head and gestured his two other soldiers, a dwarven woman and an older human man, forward. “Don’t suppose it really matters…” The three of them led the group forward, guided by Anais, until they reached what looked to be some kind of walled-in courtyard, open only on one side. They’d passed a lot of castle architechture, repurposed for the needs of what was effectively a small village. A tavern, several housing blocks, a few stables, all fitted vertically more than horizontally. It was clearer then how they’d been able to live around the rift, because it was barred into its own area, one not near much else. For the moment, it looked passive, but doubtless it would spew demons like the rest of them as soon as they got close enough.
When the group actually reached the gate, however, the Lions’ lieutenant turned around and met Romulus’s eyes, his shield on one arm and sword in the other hand. “At your word, Herald.” He was likely using the title for the benefit of the cultists, because he didn’t usually bother as such.
A number of the cultists had indeed followed, though the word did not seem entirely appropriate. Most were still clearly within their Chantry ways, and had simply been removed from their former places of worship due to their overblown beliefs about the Breach. Anais remained at the head of them as they approached the gate, and Romulus glanced sideways at her. "You may want to have your people keep back."
Anais regarded him evenly. "We've been able to protect ourselves before, whenever the rift has seen fit to send demons at us. We are not as helpless as we might seem. Proceed." Exhaling somewhat uncomfortably, Romulus nodded at Donnelly, and the group moved forward.
The fight was over quickly, the shades disposed of with relatively no difficulty. One lesser terror had emerged with the second wave of demons, but Asala had left it stunned with a barrier, and Lia and Donnelly had finished it off with arrows and blade, respectively. When the fight was complete, Romulus lifted his hand towards the rift, allowing the impressive arc of light to connect the two. When he wrenched his hand away, the rift burst, remnants of it raining down to the ground.
A number of murmurs went through the crowd, while Anais watched with crossed arms. As Romulus returned towards the group, she stepped forward. "Very impressive, Herald. We were wrong to doubt you, it seems. I speak for these people, but you speak for Andraste. We are yours to command. How would you like us to serve?"
Romulus was clearly caught off guard by suddenly having a group full of people to command, and his mouth hung open for a moment. Anais clearly caught on, smiling knowingly beneath her hood, an expression only visible to the Inquisition members, as her own people all stood behind her.
"Perhaps we can encourage other doubters to come to believe as we have, at least in the area. Surely anything that will help solidify the Inquisition's authority and righteousness will be of use, no?" Romulus, still obviously unsure how to proceed, closed his mouth and nodded, forcing a small smile.
"Yes. That sounds agreeable. You have my thanks, Speaker Anais."
She bowed briefly. "None are required. I will report to you at Haven if there are any interesting developments." With that, many of the other cult members bowed, and took their leave, allowing the Inquisition group a clear path back out of the fortress. By the way Romulus walked, it was clear that he hoped to be gone from there swiftly.
Asala followed closely behind, scratching under her horns again. She was relieved that it was Romulus and not her that commanded the authority, though she could not say she didn't see how uncomfortable it made him. However, she chose to keep her silence. She did not know what she could say to make it better for him, nor that even if she did, if it would actually help. Instead, she settled for a sweet comforting smile.