Could dogs really eat apples? Weren’t the seeds slightly poisonous? Tiberius watched Lyric try on a handful of names for the dog, slightly confused. She was so much more animated about this topic than anything previous, up to and including major aspects of her own future. The woman really liked dogs, he supposed.
“Alright. Nadia it is.” He felt vaguely that it was preferable to give animals silly names, rather than person ones, but it was far from a hill to kill or die on. “I’ll be the talk of the town, returning home with not one but two Orlesian— ladies.” He conjured a bowl out of ice and the water to fill it, watching the wolfdog drink and make a mess of the interior before curling up on the opposite bench. He smiled wryly at Lyric as the two of them packed back into the carriage, forced to sit together until Nadia deigned to move.
The hours and miles slipped by. They broke into their provisions at last and Tiberius fed half his sandwich to the dog by hand, casting suspicious glances at Lyric.
“She’s too well behaved. You must be up to something.” They were by now far out into dilapidated farmland, most not cleared for spring planting. But in any disaster, there were some who refused to evacuate. As they came around another bend, Tiberius could make out a thick pillar of smoke, something hidden far into the trees along a dirt track that branched from the road.
“I mislike that.” Too dark and thick for a hearth fire. He cast a glance at Lyric then turned them down the track. The screams reached them first, throaty and inhuman. A burning barn, a large farmhouse – figures in the yard, battering at doors and windows, ripping at the fallen body of an unfortunate plow horse. All in that spiky scrap armor that darkspawn seemed to always wear.
Tiberius was out and running before the carriage rolled to a stop, staff in hand. Darkness roiled over the ground in a great drift, grasping at ankles as the darkspawn began to turn, hearing Nadia’s alarmed barks if not him.
“Alright. Nadia it is.” He felt vaguely that it was preferable to give animals silly names, rather than person ones, but it was far from a hill to kill or die on. “I’ll be the talk of the town, returning home with not one but two Orlesian— ladies.” He conjured a bowl out of ice and the water to fill it, watching the wolfdog drink and make a mess of the interior before curling up on the opposite bench. He smiled wryly at Lyric as the two of them packed back into the carriage, forced to sit together until Nadia deigned to move.
The hours and miles slipped by. They broke into their provisions at last and Tiberius fed half his sandwich to the dog by hand, casting suspicious glances at Lyric.
“She’s too well behaved. You must be up to something.” They were by now far out into dilapidated farmland, most not cleared for spring planting. But in any disaster, there were some who refused to evacuate. As they came around another bend, Tiberius could make out a thick pillar of smoke, something hidden far into the trees along a dirt track that branched from the road.
“I mislike that.” Too dark and thick for a hearth fire. He cast a glance at Lyric then turned them down the track. The screams reached them first, throaty and inhuman. A burning barn, a large farmhouse – figures in the yard, battering at doors and windows, ripping at the fallen body of an unfortunate plow horse. All in that spiky scrap armor that darkspawn seemed to always wear.
Tiberius was out and running before the carriage rolled to a stop, staff in hand. Darkness roiled over the ground in a great drift, grasping at ankles as the darkspawn began to turn, hearing Nadia’s alarmed barks if not him.
05-02-2024, 07:40 PM
