It was nearly nightfall, and they still hadn't caught them. Khari wasn't especially dissuaded by this. Though she was pretty strongly reminded now of the last time she'd been out here, after Haven. It'd been just her and Rom then, unsure for a pretty long while that they'd survive it. At least the season was different; the fading light of sunset struck the yellowed wild grass of the rolling plain, making everything look like it was bathed in warmth, even despite the fact that it was actually kind of chilly. Go figure.
Their horses—red, black, and white, it amused her a little to observe—had kept up a steady pace all day, and could probably keep going for another few hours, but she doubted somehow that they'd have to. Shrugging her plain cloak a little farther forward over her shoulders, Khari glanced at Stel and Ves, riding roughly next to her and slightly in front, respectively. Turning her eyes back out onto the rut in the dirt that served as a road out here, she squinted a little into the distance.
“Uh... hey guys?" She extended an arm, and pointed off the path, arm raised at an angle. “I think that's campfire smoke."
"Seems to be." Ves rode uneasily, eyeing the smoke drifting into the air on their right. "Might be them. They'd have to have picked somewhere to camp by now, at least." Ves had been leading them, for the most part, since their departure from Skyhold. Lia had gotten them started, though the trail wasn't at all hard to follow given that the mountains were getting snow now. Just had to be able to pick out the elven tracks from those belonging to the scouts, which wasn't difficult. The scouts usually worked alone or in pairs, not groups of three. And Astraia had little feet.
He didn't seem to be much in a hurry, and never had them run their horses or pick up to anything more than a steady pace. Just enough to gain on the elves, but not enough to catch them in a hurry. It wasn't hard to figure out that he was trying to time it this way on purpose. Find them when they'd camped and were resting, rather than catching them on the road. A more relaxed place to meet and converse.
"Been a long time since I've been out this way," he commented softly. "Don't think we ever came through here on our way to Redcliffe. Either of you know much about it? If there's a ruin here, Saraya's never taken me to it."
“A small one," Stel said, studying the surrounding terrain. “It's where Cyrus was, when we found him. He took one of the veil devices with him, but left everything else intact as far as I know." She glanced at Ves for a second. “It's in the same direction as the smoke. It's a safe bet they're camped quite close to it, I think."
"Not sure what he'd want with it that Cyrus wasn't able to get." Ves frowned, giving it some thought, but there weren't any obvious answers on hand. He shook his head. "We'll find out soon enough, I suppose."
They came around a bend, the ruin itself finally becoming visible in front of them. Or at least, the entrance of it. It was burrowed into the mountain like so many of the surviving elven sites were. Better preserved by the earth and more difficult to find. This one looked almost swallowed by the land on top of it, the stone carved into it cracked in many places. Most of the entryway had been worn away by time, but even from here there was blue light visible, emanating from inside it. Judging by the torch sconce near the mouth of the ruin, it was just mage's fire cast likely from Zethlasan's hand.
The camp the elves had made was tucked away under an overhang of rock, safe from any rain, though it didn't seem as though any was coming. The skies were clear, stars already beginning to come out and shine brightly overhead. A well-sized campfire burned at the edge of the natural shelter, the smoke from it drifting up and bumping against the rock before it plumed out into the air. Astraia sat alone beside the fire. She got to her feet at the sound of horses approaching, holding her staff, but she smiled in something nearing delight when she saw who their visitors were.
"You came!" She grinned, jogging over to them as they dismounted. "Zeth said you might, but I wasn't sure." Stepping down from his horse, Ves accepted the hug Astraia forced on him. She didn't look all that well. Her eyes were a little red, heavy and sunken. Ves patted at her hair gently, smiling.
"Of course we came, Skygirl." He looked like he wanted to say something else, but held it in. Astraia turned away from him as soon as she broke the hug, propping her staff against herself while she cupped her hands around her mouth.
"Shae!" she called. "Go get Zeth! Ves is here with Khari and Estella!" The older woman appeared in the mouth of the ruin, her hood drawn. If she felt anything in particular about them arriving, it was impossible to tell from this distance. She disappeared into the ruin.
Astraia turned back to the three of them. "I'm so, so sorry I didn't get to say goodbye. Zeth said we had to go right away, that we'd lost too much time already. I tried to argue, but... I'm sorry. It's okay, though, you're here now."
Khari pulled her hood down, glancing around the small campsite with an increasing sense of confusion. What gave with all this, then? They'd come out here without really giving anyone any warning or details, but... expected to be followed? Maybe planned on it, even. Her mouth pulled a bit to one side. She loosened the bridle on her horse, easing it away and hooking it over the horn on the saddle to give him room to pull freely at the grass. He wouldn't wander too far, she knew.
“So... I know I'm pretty slow sometimes, but am I really the only one who has no idea what's going on here?"
"Um," Astraia hesitated a moment. "I don't really know what's going on either. Zeth just sort of... got better. I've never been much into the gods, but... it was like a gift, you know? Come on, we should talk by the fire." She led them back under the shelter, away from their horses, and was the first to take a seat at the campfire. Ves cast his eyes towards the ruins, then sat down himself.
"Astraia..." He said her name gently, cautiously. "Zeth was past the point of getting better. Wasn't he?"
"I thought so, too. But when Shae shook me awake last night, he was on his feet already. Not at his best, obviously, but moving around well enough. And he wanted to come here."
"And you didn't ask him why?"
"I..." She picked up a smaller stick that had been left by the fire, poking it into the blaze and pushing a few things around. Sparks wafted up into the air, the fire crackling happily. "I tried, but... I don't know, Zeth's always had his reasons for coming to these places, and it's never really mattered to me before. And I was just happy to have my brother back." The last words she spoke almost reverently, like they might be snatched away from her if she spoke them too loudly. She prodded at the fire some more, then craned her neck around to look at the ruin again. "Shae? Tell him to hurry up!"
No response came from the ruin, and Astraia huffed a quiet, unsatisfied breath. "Well, maybe not all the way back. Still thinks his markings etched in stone are more important than people come to wish us well." She glanced at Stel, offering a little smile. "Is Cyrus doing alright? He stopped coming by my practices. I didn't get the chance to thank him for helping me."
Stel had looked worried for a moment, but she quickly eliminated all traces of it from her expression, offering a tentative smile instead. “He's... he wasn't feeling well, either, for a while. Not in the same way as Zethlasan, of course." She paused. “But I'll pass that along when I see him next; I'm sure he'll be happy to know he helped." The smile softened, relaxing into something more genuine, but there was still a trace of tension in the way she held herself. Khari might not have been able to see it if she hadn't known her for so long. Her eyes flickered towards the cave entrance, but swiftly returned.
"Thanks. I'm glad he's okay." The sound of footsteps in the direction of the ruin caught her attention. Their heads turned as one to see Shae helping Zeth out of the ruin. He looked both thin and tired, but he was back in his Dalish robes again, using one hand to hold his staff and use it as a walking stick, the other hanging on to Shae's arm. She supported him dutifully. Astraia jumped to her feet at the sight of her brother, and Vesryn did as well, albeit more slowly.
"Zeth," he greeted, more than a little wary. "I must admit I never thought I'd see you again. And not because of you taking your leave, either."
"It did seem that way, didn't it?" He smiled, strained, and accepted Astraia's help when she came over to him. "I'm not sure what happened, honestly. I just felt the sickness breaking. And felt I needed to leave. With some of the things I learned I thought I should revisit this place, see if there was more here I could read."
"You need to rest, Zeth. Leave the ruin for tomorrow." Astraia glanced between the three visitors of theirs. "He didn't need this much help this morning. You shouldn't be pushing yourself this hard."
"Yes, well, I never did know how to stop." He exhaled heavily when he made it to the fire, and was able to take a seat. Shae removed her hood, though it seemed she preferred to remain standing, and at a slight distance. Astraia sat back down next to her brother. "It's good to see you," he said, directing it at Ves, though it was unclear if he meant it for all of them or not. "Though somehow I doubt my charming personality brought all three of you here to say goodbye."
Ves smiled a bit uneasily, glancing between his companions. "That was part of it, at least. I brought them along to help me make sure you were alright. That nothing had... happened to you, or anything like that." He paused, and then cleared his throat. "Ah, we also came to speak with Astraia about something." Her eyes widened a bit, finally pulled away from checking her brother's condition. She looked expectantly at Ves.
"I came to see if you could be convinced to stay with us. With the Inquisition. As one of us, not as a guest." Immediately her mouth opened a small amount, and she glanced to her brother. He simply offered her a little smile. Shae offered nothing, glowering under her hood as was her way. Astraia, for the moment, seemed unsure how to respond.
Stel crossed her legs underneath her, settling her hands onto her knees. “You'd be welcome," she said, plucking a few stray bits of grass from where they'd caught at the top edge of her boot. The ride had taken them through a couple of tall fields earlier. “I know the other mages enjoyed practicing with you, and you seemed to be having fun with them as well." A wry smile touched her mouth. “Of course, it's not just fun, and I'm sure you know that, but there's little denying how important our work is, if that's something you want to be part of."
It was a gentle sell, as far as they went, but then, Stel wasn't really suited for more insistent forms of persuasion. It honestly didn't sound that much like persuasion at all: just an offer, laid out openly and honestly in front of Astraia.
Khari found herself nodding a few times along with the explanation. When it lulled, she picked up the thread, maybe a little more carefully than she usually would have. “It's also not necessarily forever." She pointed that out with a shrug. “I know I for one still have other plans, but... sometimes even the really important stuff has to get put on a shelf for a while. Especially when some darkspawn asshole's trying to destroy everyone's world." She pressed her lips together for a moment and pushed a short breath out her nose, tapping her fingers on the side of her leg. She'd never been great at sitting still.
“I know you wanna be Keeper someday. I know that's important to you. It still can be. If you want, you can think of this as training for it. A way to... hone your magic, and learn what the rest of the world is like. Can't hurt to know, if you'll be making important decisions for a clan someday."
Astraia clearly hadn't been expecting to become the center of the conversation between them all. She didn't know how to handle it, and it seemed the lack of a response from her brother was proving more distracting than anything else. She kept looking at him in between everything Stel and Khari said, but he patiently waited for them to finish before finally offering his own opinion. "You should stop looking at me, Astraia." His tone was gentle, soft. "Maybe try looking at the stars, like you used to do so much. See if they'll offer any guidance." She glanced up at the night sky for a brief moment, but obviously felt self-conscious about doing so with everyone watching her. Zeth smiled, and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Or, try looking within. I'm your brother, not your Keeper. You don't need my permission to do anything, if you think it's right."
Her brow creased in thought. She raked her fingers back through her hair behind her neck. "I did enjoy it. More than anything." She almost smiled at that, but managed to snuff it out before the spark could ignite it. "But do you think it's that easy?" The question was asked of Khari. "Just go back to the clan someday, when all this is done? They already don't think much of me, and I don't know where I would be needed, where to find another clan. What if Varalan and the others won't take me back?"
Khari had several very blunt answers to that, none of which seemed quite right. Glancing awkwardly at Ves and Stel for a moment, she pulled in a deep breath. It wasn't like she could cite her own great track record at making sure that would happen: she'd had no plans to go back when she left, and had no plans to go back now. For all she knew, her clan spit on her name or never mentioned her. Or maybe they'd just forgotten her completely, and good riddance. “It's a risk." She admitted it without hedging.
“But look. It's not like you have to up and vanish like smoke in the wind. You could try explaining it to them, in person or with a letter or something. Maybe they'd listen, I dunno. Even if they didn't understand... the truth is you're a mage. And you'd probably go back, if you went back, with a lot of skills and knowledge that plenty of Keepers never get. I know there are clans that would take someone like that. Worst case scenario, you'd have to wait for an Arlathvhen, but I doubt it. If Zeth here isn't already trying to tell you not to, who knows?" She grinned, but only a bit. “Other people would probably come around easier."
She stared at the fire rather than anything or anyone else, pulling her knees up to her chest. She was quiet for a long time, before her eyes turned slightly towards her brother again. "You think Mom and Dad would forgive me?"
He smiled. "I'll explain it to them as best I can, if you want. Your heart is in the right place. I think they'll see that." She didn't respond, and after another moment of silence, Zeth continued. "Everything we do, we do for the People. I know you're used to that meaning life has less excitement for you, less to look forward to. Serving the People has never been an enjoyable path. But if this is a way for you to do that and feel satisfied with yourself... I don't think you should feel guilty."
Shae exhaled through her nose a little more loudly than she probably intended to, and swiftly turned to look away when it caught the attention of Ves and Astraia. It looked about as though Astraia was going to agree, but she said nothing. It prompted Zeth to path her lightly on the shoulder. "You should have some time to think this over, of course. Ves, care to take a walk? I wanted to show you something in the ruin."
Ves didn't seem to disagree with the idea, though he glanced at Khari and Stel for a moment. "Is this something I need to see in private?"
Zeth's eyes flitted between the two. "No, I suppose not, though they might find it boring."
"You should be resting, Zeth," Astraia offered quietly, though it wasn't a very forceful reminder this time.
Her brother shook his head, getting his staff pushed into the ground and getting up to his feet. Shae took a few steps closer, but her help wasn't needed. "Don't worry about me. A bit of sitting did me some good. It's just a short ways. What do you say, joining us?"
Stel nodded, rising to her feet and brushing her trousers off. “Sure. I've not been to many ruins—I'd like to see the etchings Cyrus wrote about." She paused a moment, glancing over at Khari. “Shall we? Might be good to stretch our legs after the long ride." She reached down with a hand, clearly offering to help Khari up.
Khari wasn't particularly enthused by the prospect of the same, but she supposed Stel was right about the stretching at least. Zeth was most likely right about that fact that she'd be bored, though. Unlike Stel, she had seen plenty of ruins—Vareth and her dad both spent a lot of time in them. She sighed slightly under her breath, but clasped Stel's arm firmly and used it to pull herself to her feet. “Yeah, okay. Let's go see what's around."
"I'm coming too," Astraia said, getting to her feet as Ves did. She brushed her hands off as her brother hesitated for a moment.
"Astraia, this kind of defeats the purpose of giving you some space to think."
"I can think and walk. Uh... I never really pay that much attention to this stuff, anyway. Sorry."
He laughed softly. "Fair enough. Come on." Ves looked about to offer some support to his friend, but Zeth waved him off. "Really, it's alright. I feel like I'm getting stronger." They walked in silence for a long moment, getting about halfway to the entrance before Ves spoke.
"Care to elaborate on why you left in the middle of the night? I know you're in a hurry to get back to the Tirashan, but you could have at least waited until morning so we could say a proper goodbye."
Zeth took in a deep breath, as though the smell as they approached the ruin was somehow sweet to him. It didn't smell like anything at all, though. "Have you ever woken up somewhere and just felt you shouldn't be there anymore? I feel like you might be able to relate to this, Ves. I wake from my dream, and find that I'm not nearly as dead as I expected to be. Something about the walls wasn't the same when I stepped outside. I doubt Skyhold had anything to do with it, but I almost died in that infirmary. I just couldn't stay." He glanced sidelong back at Ves, grinning a little. "I admit a bit of curiosity, wondering if you'd follow. I wasn't disappointed. I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble. It's no more than a day's ride here, after all."
Ves sighed softly. "I suppose I deserved it, looking at it a certain way." They made it to the mouth of the ruins, Zeth's magical blue fire still burning in the sconces along the wall. It seemed to cast more light than normal fire was capable of, though perhaps that was just an effect of the hue. Zethlasan looked back at the hooded woman behind the group.
"Shae, if you don't mind watching over the camp while we're gone? Thank you." Without complaint, Shae stopped and let them move on without her, putting her back to the rock wall and gazing out into the night. Zeth took them further in, down a long entry hallway that eventually split into stairs leading left and right, descending into the earth a short ways. He took them down the right path, though once they reached the bottom, it all seemed to be leading to the same spot.
"Take a look," Zeth offered. "The writing is rather interesting on that wall there. I was able to translate a great deal more of it with the help from your friend Cyrus and his book." Ves wandered forward to the lead of the group, Astraia beside him, observing a set of great stone plaques of some sort, covered in elven writing. Some of it had been chipped away, making parts illegible, but enough was still there for Ves to get a sense of it, or at least it seemed that way. He frowned in confusion.
"Zeth, I'm not sure what you think this says, but it's not very—" A heavy thump from the bottom of Zeth's staff immediately preceded a rush of magical energy washing out over the entire room, like a dark crimson cloud of smoke. Far more powerful of a spell than it seemed he should be capable of, in his state. Immediately Astraia dropped unconscious, her staff clattering down beside her as she fell in a heap, and Ves stumbled forward as well, blinking rapidly and soon falling to his knees. "Zeth... what are you..." He didn't finish the sentence before he collapsed forward onto his face.
With a lighter thud, Stel fell too, her knees buckling and sending her to the ground on her side.
Khari's mind was so muddled she almost didn't register any of it. Her limbs felt heavy, like something thick and muffling was pressing down over her whole body, face and all. Like trying to swim through molasses or tar. She fought it, trying to will herself to stay conscious, and made it as far as getting her hand on Intercessor's hilt before she lost the struggle. Darkness enveloped her.
Their horses—red, black, and white, it amused her a little to observe—had kept up a steady pace all day, and could probably keep going for another few hours, but she doubted somehow that they'd have to. Shrugging her plain cloak a little farther forward over her shoulders, Khari glanced at Stel and Ves, riding roughly next to her and slightly in front, respectively. Turning her eyes back out onto the rut in the dirt that served as a road out here, she squinted a little into the distance.
“Uh... hey guys?" She extended an arm, and pointed off the path, arm raised at an angle. “I think that's campfire smoke."
"Seems to be." Ves rode uneasily, eyeing the smoke drifting into the air on their right. "Might be them. They'd have to have picked somewhere to camp by now, at least." Ves had been leading them, for the most part, since their departure from Skyhold. Lia had gotten them started, though the trail wasn't at all hard to follow given that the mountains were getting snow now. Just had to be able to pick out the elven tracks from those belonging to the scouts, which wasn't difficult. The scouts usually worked alone or in pairs, not groups of three. And Astraia had little feet.
He didn't seem to be much in a hurry, and never had them run their horses or pick up to anything more than a steady pace. Just enough to gain on the elves, but not enough to catch them in a hurry. It wasn't hard to figure out that he was trying to time it this way on purpose. Find them when they'd camped and were resting, rather than catching them on the road. A more relaxed place to meet and converse.
"Been a long time since I've been out this way," he commented softly. "Don't think we ever came through here on our way to Redcliffe. Either of you know much about it? If there's a ruin here, Saraya's never taken me to it."
“A small one," Stel said, studying the surrounding terrain. “It's where Cyrus was, when we found him. He took one of the veil devices with him, but left everything else intact as far as I know." She glanced at Ves for a second. “It's in the same direction as the smoke. It's a safe bet they're camped quite close to it, I think."
"Not sure what he'd want with it that Cyrus wasn't able to get." Ves frowned, giving it some thought, but there weren't any obvious answers on hand. He shook his head. "We'll find out soon enough, I suppose."
They came around a bend, the ruin itself finally becoming visible in front of them. Or at least, the entrance of it. It was burrowed into the mountain like so many of the surviving elven sites were. Better preserved by the earth and more difficult to find. This one looked almost swallowed by the land on top of it, the stone carved into it cracked in many places. Most of the entryway had been worn away by time, but even from here there was blue light visible, emanating from inside it. Judging by the torch sconce near the mouth of the ruin, it was just mage's fire cast likely from Zethlasan's hand.
The camp the elves had made was tucked away under an overhang of rock, safe from any rain, though it didn't seem as though any was coming. The skies were clear, stars already beginning to come out and shine brightly overhead. A well-sized campfire burned at the edge of the natural shelter, the smoke from it drifting up and bumping against the rock before it plumed out into the air. Astraia sat alone beside the fire. She got to her feet at the sound of horses approaching, holding her staff, but she smiled in something nearing delight when she saw who their visitors were.
"You came!" She grinned, jogging over to them as they dismounted. "Zeth said you might, but I wasn't sure." Stepping down from his horse, Ves accepted the hug Astraia forced on him. She didn't look all that well. Her eyes were a little red, heavy and sunken. Ves patted at her hair gently, smiling.
"Of course we came, Skygirl." He looked like he wanted to say something else, but held it in. Astraia turned away from him as soon as she broke the hug, propping her staff against herself while she cupped her hands around her mouth.
"Shae!" she called. "Go get Zeth! Ves is here with Khari and Estella!" The older woman appeared in the mouth of the ruin, her hood drawn. If she felt anything in particular about them arriving, it was impossible to tell from this distance. She disappeared into the ruin.
Astraia turned back to the three of them. "I'm so, so sorry I didn't get to say goodbye. Zeth said we had to go right away, that we'd lost too much time already. I tried to argue, but... I'm sorry. It's okay, though, you're here now."
Khari pulled her hood down, glancing around the small campsite with an increasing sense of confusion. What gave with all this, then? They'd come out here without really giving anyone any warning or details, but... expected to be followed? Maybe planned on it, even. Her mouth pulled a bit to one side. She loosened the bridle on her horse, easing it away and hooking it over the horn on the saddle to give him room to pull freely at the grass. He wouldn't wander too far, she knew.
“So... I know I'm pretty slow sometimes, but am I really the only one who has no idea what's going on here?"
"Um," Astraia hesitated a moment. "I don't really know what's going on either. Zeth just sort of... got better. I've never been much into the gods, but... it was like a gift, you know? Come on, we should talk by the fire." She led them back under the shelter, away from their horses, and was the first to take a seat at the campfire. Ves cast his eyes towards the ruins, then sat down himself.
"Astraia..." He said her name gently, cautiously. "Zeth was past the point of getting better. Wasn't he?"
"I thought so, too. But when Shae shook me awake last night, he was on his feet already. Not at his best, obviously, but moving around well enough. And he wanted to come here."
"And you didn't ask him why?"
"I..." She picked up a smaller stick that had been left by the fire, poking it into the blaze and pushing a few things around. Sparks wafted up into the air, the fire crackling happily. "I tried, but... I don't know, Zeth's always had his reasons for coming to these places, and it's never really mattered to me before. And I was just happy to have my brother back." The last words she spoke almost reverently, like they might be snatched away from her if she spoke them too loudly. She prodded at the fire some more, then craned her neck around to look at the ruin again. "Shae? Tell him to hurry up!"
No response came from the ruin, and Astraia huffed a quiet, unsatisfied breath. "Well, maybe not all the way back. Still thinks his markings etched in stone are more important than people come to wish us well." She glanced at Stel, offering a little smile. "Is Cyrus doing alright? He stopped coming by my practices. I didn't get the chance to thank him for helping me."
Stel had looked worried for a moment, but she quickly eliminated all traces of it from her expression, offering a tentative smile instead. “He's... he wasn't feeling well, either, for a while. Not in the same way as Zethlasan, of course." She paused. “But I'll pass that along when I see him next; I'm sure he'll be happy to know he helped." The smile softened, relaxing into something more genuine, but there was still a trace of tension in the way she held herself. Khari might not have been able to see it if she hadn't known her for so long. Her eyes flickered towards the cave entrance, but swiftly returned.
"Thanks. I'm glad he's okay." The sound of footsteps in the direction of the ruin caught her attention. Their heads turned as one to see Shae helping Zeth out of the ruin. He looked both thin and tired, but he was back in his Dalish robes again, using one hand to hold his staff and use it as a walking stick, the other hanging on to Shae's arm. She supported him dutifully. Astraia jumped to her feet at the sight of her brother, and Vesryn did as well, albeit more slowly.
"Zeth," he greeted, more than a little wary. "I must admit I never thought I'd see you again. And not because of you taking your leave, either."
"It did seem that way, didn't it?" He smiled, strained, and accepted Astraia's help when she came over to him. "I'm not sure what happened, honestly. I just felt the sickness breaking. And felt I needed to leave. With some of the things I learned I thought I should revisit this place, see if there was more here I could read."
"You need to rest, Zeth. Leave the ruin for tomorrow." Astraia glanced between the three visitors of theirs. "He didn't need this much help this morning. You shouldn't be pushing yourself this hard."
"Yes, well, I never did know how to stop." He exhaled heavily when he made it to the fire, and was able to take a seat. Shae removed her hood, though it seemed she preferred to remain standing, and at a slight distance. Astraia sat back down next to her brother. "It's good to see you," he said, directing it at Ves, though it was unclear if he meant it for all of them or not. "Though somehow I doubt my charming personality brought all three of you here to say goodbye."
Ves smiled a bit uneasily, glancing between his companions. "That was part of it, at least. I brought them along to help me make sure you were alright. That nothing had... happened to you, or anything like that." He paused, and then cleared his throat. "Ah, we also came to speak with Astraia about something." Her eyes widened a bit, finally pulled away from checking her brother's condition. She looked expectantly at Ves.
"I came to see if you could be convinced to stay with us. With the Inquisition. As one of us, not as a guest." Immediately her mouth opened a small amount, and she glanced to her brother. He simply offered her a little smile. Shae offered nothing, glowering under her hood as was her way. Astraia, for the moment, seemed unsure how to respond.
Stel crossed her legs underneath her, settling her hands onto her knees. “You'd be welcome," she said, plucking a few stray bits of grass from where they'd caught at the top edge of her boot. The ride had taken them through a couple of tall fields earlier. “I know the other mages enjoyed practicing with you, and you seemed to be having fun with them as well." A wry smile touched her mouth. “Of course, it's not just fun, and I'm sure you know that, but there's little denying how important our work is, if that's something you want to be part of."
It was a gentle sell, as far as they went, but then, Stel wasn't really suited for more insistent forms of persuasion. It honestly didn't sound that much like persuasion at all: just an offer, laid out openly and honestly in front of Astraia.
Khari found herself nodding a few times along with the explanation. When it lulled, she picked up the thread, maybe a little more carefully than she usually would have. “It's also not necessarily forever." She pointed that out with a shrug. “I know I for one still have other plans, but... sometimes even the really important stuff has to get put on a shelf for a while. Especially when some darkspawn asshole's trying to destroy everyone's world." She pressed her lips together for a moment and pushed a short breath out her nose, tapping her fingers on the side of her leg. She'd never been great at sitting still.
“I know you wanna be Keeper someday. I know that's important to you. It still can be. If you want, you can think of this as training for it. A way to... hone your magic, and learn what the rest of the world is like. Can't hurt to know, if you'll be making important decisions for a clan someday."
Astraia clearly hadn't been expecting to become the center of the conversation between them all. She didn't know how to handle it, and it seemed the lack of a response from her brother was proving more distracting than anything else. She kept looking at him in between everything Stel and Khari said, but he patiently waited for them to finish before finally offering his own opinion. "You should stop looking at me, Astraia." His tone was gentle, soft. "Maybe try looking at the stars, like you used to do so much. See if they'll offer any guidance." She glanced up at the night sky for a brief moment, but obviously felt self-conscious about doing so with everyone watching her. Zeth smiled, and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Or, try looking within. I'm your brother, not your Keeper. You don't need my permission to do anything, if you think it's right."
Her brow creased in thought. She raked her fingers back through her hair behind her neck. "I did enjoy it. More than anything." She almost smiled at that, but managed to snuff it out before the spark could ignite it. "But do you think it's that easy?" The question was asked of Khari. "Just go back to the clan someday, when all this is done? They already don't think much of me, and I don't know where I would be needed, where to find another clan. What if Varalan and the others won't take me back?"
Khari had several very blunt answers to that, none of which seemed quite right. Glancing awkwardly at Ves and Stel for a moment, she pulled in a deep breath. It wasn't like she could cite her own great track record at making sure that would happen: she'd had no plans to go back when she left, and had no plans to go back now. For all she knew, her clan spit on her name or never mentioned her. Or maybe they'd just forgotten her completely, and good riddance. “It's a risk." She admitted it without hedging.
“But look. It's not like you have to up and vanish like smoke in the wind. You could try explaining it to them, in person or with a letter or something. Maybe they'd listen, I dunno. Even if they didn't understand... the truth is you're a mage. And you'd probably go back, if you went back, with a lot of skills and knowledge that plenty of Keepers never get. I know there are clans that would take someone like that. Worst case scenario, you'd have to wait for an Arlathvhen, but I doubt it. If Zeth here isn't already trying to tell you not to, who knows?" She grinned, but only a bit. “Other people would probably come around easier."
She stared at the fire rather than anything or anyone else, pulling her knees up to her chest. She was quiet for a long time, before her eyes turned slightly towards her brother again. "You think Mom and Dad would forgive me?"
He smiled. "I'll explain it to them as best I can, if you want. Your heart is in the right place. I think they'll see that." She didn't respond, and after another moment of silence, Zeth continued. "Everything we do, we do for the People. I know you're used to that meaning life has less excitement for you, less to look forward to. Serving the People has never been an enjoyable path. But if this is a way for you to do that and feel satisfied with yourself... I don't think you should feel guilty."
Shae exhaled through her nose a little more loudly than she probably intended to, and swiftly turned to look away when it caught the attention of Ves and Astraia. It looked about as though Astraia was going to agree, but she said nothing. It prompted Zeth to path her lightly on the shoulder. "You should have some time to think this over, of course. Ves, care to take a walk? I wanted to show you something in the ruin."
Ves didn't seem to disagree with the idea, though he glanced at Khari and Stel for a moment. "Is this something I need to see in private?"
Zeth's eyes flitted between the two. "No, I suppose not, though they might find it boring."
"You should be resting, Zeth," Astraia offered quietly, though it wasn't a very forceful reminder this time.
Her brother shook his head, getting his staff pushed into the ground and getting up to his feet. Shae took a few steps closer, but her help wasn't needed. "Don't worry about me. A bit of sitting did me some good. It's just a short ways. What do you say, joining us?"
Stel nodded, rising to her feet and brushing her trousers off. “Sure. I've not been to many ruins—I'd like to see the etchings Cyrus wrote about." She paused a moment, glancing over at Khari. “Shall we? Might be good to stretch our legs after the long ride." She reached down with a hand, clearly offering to help Khari up.
Khari wasn't particularly enthused by the prospect of the same, but she supposed Stel was right about the stretching at least. Zeth was most likely right about that fact that she'd be bored, though. Unlike Stel, she had seen plenty of ruins—Vareth and her dad both spent a lot of time in them. She sighed slightly under her breath, but clasped Stel's arm firmly and used it to pull herself to her feet. “Yeah, okay. Let's go see what's around."
"I'm coming too," Astraia said, getting to her feet as Ves did. She brushed her hands off as her brother hesitated for a moment.
"Astraia, this kind of defeats the purpose of giving you some space to think."
"I can think and walk. Uh... I never really pay that much attention to this stuff, anyway. Sorry."
He laughed softly. "Fair enough. Come on." Ves looked about to offer some support to his friend, but Zeth waved him off. "Really, it's alright. I feel like I'm getting stronger." They walked in silence for a long moment, getting about halfway to the entrance before Ves spoke.
"Care to elaborate on why you left in the middle of the night? I know you're in a hurry to get back to the Tirashan, but you could have at least waited until morning so we could say a proper goodbye."
Zeth took in a deep breath, as though the smell as they approached the ruin was somehow sweet to him. It didn't smell like anything at all, though. "Have you ever woken up somewhere and just felt you shouldn't be there anymore? I feel like you might be able to relate to this, Ves. I wake from my dream, and find that I'm not nearly as dead as I expected to be. Something about the walls wasn't the same when I stepped outside. I doubt Skyhold had anything to do with it, but I almost died in that infirmary. I just couldn't stay." He glanced sidelong back at Ves, grinning a little. "I admit a bit of curiosity, wondering if you'd follow. I wasn't disappointed. I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble. It's no more than a day's ride here, after all."
Ves sighed softly. "I suppose I deserved it, looking at it a certain way." They made it to the mouth of the ruins, Zeth's magical blue fire still burning in the sconces along the wall. It seemed to cast more light than normal fire was capable of, though perhaps that was just an effect of the hue. Zethlasan looked back at the hooded woman behind the group.
"Shae, if you don't mind watching over the camp while we're gone? Thank you." Without complaint, Shae stopped and let them move on without her, putting her back to the rock wall and gazing out into the night. Zeth took them further in, down a long entry hallway that eventually split into stairs leading left and right, descending into the earth a short ways. He took them down the right path, though once they reached the bottom, it all seemed to be leading to the same spot.
"Take a look," Zeth offered. "The writing is rather interesting on that wall there. I was able to translate a great deal more of it with the help from your friend Cyrus and his book." Ves wandered forward to the lead of the group, Astraia beside him, observing a set of great stone plaques of some sort, covered in elven writing. Some of it had been chipped away, making parts illegible, but enough was still there for Ves to get a sense of it, or at least it seemed that way. He frowned in confusion.
"Zeth, I'm not sure what you think this says, but it's not very—" A heavy thump from the bottom of Zeth's staff immediately preceded a rush of magical energy washing out over the entire room, like a dark crimson cloud of smoke. Far more powerful of a spell than it seemed he should be capable of, in his state. Immediately Astraia dropped unconscious, her staff clattering down beside her as she fell in a heap, and Ves stumbled forward as well, blinking rapidly and soon falling to his knees. "Zeth... what are you..." He didn't finish the sentence before he collapsed forward onto his face.
With a lighter thud, Stel fell too, her knees buckling and sending her to the ground on her side.
Khari's mind was so muddled she almost didn't register any of it. Her limbs felt heavy, like something thick and muffling was pressing down over her whole body, face and all. Like trying to swim through molasses or tar. She fought it, trying to will herself to stay conscious, and made it as far as getting her hand on Intercessor's hilt before she lost the struggle. Darkness enveloped her.