You must bring us, a Shrubbery.

Grim listened intently, hanging on every word that Ruth uttered, desperate to understand what was going on with his mind. While also finding the information about these, ancient assholes, rather enlightening. So far he’d only heard rumours about what Elgar’nan was currently up to, but he’d always felt a bit like he didn’t trust the elf. Not that Grim had any love for Antiva, where Elgar’nan was currently trying to take over, but the whole thing just felt sus as fuck.

I guess there have been times I felt like, there was something or someone within me, but I always dismissed the random thoughts as just, random thought gremlins. He then realised that what he called thought gremlins, might not be something Ruth understood. Er, I call thought gremlins the invasive thoughts that sometimes permeate my mind. It’s been like that since I was a child. He explained.

He thought about Arlathan and Skyhold, he’d spent time in Skyhold back during the Inquisition when he was with the Bull’s Chargers. He’d yet to visit Arlathan, his travels just hadn’t taken him that far north in quite some time.

Do I just walk in and ask for this, uh, elf to be taken out of my head? I don’t think I know anyone in Skyhold any more, and I’ve never been to Arlathan. He asked, he wasn’t sure how he felt about actually trying to commune with whomever was in him, especially considering the things they’d said to Vassenia.

The whole possession business was infuriating at the best of time, but Ruth had never been more glad to have a relatively ordinary spirit of compassion than be the vessel for some old annoying fart of a mage. Even if those mages had founded his people’s civilisation. Respect went both ways, and the Nine had failed in many regards. Sylaise was an exception, but he’d known her, conversed with her a little.

His brow furrowed with how Grim described his thoughts. “... I suppose there are worse things to call them…” With a perplexed, shake of his head Ruth continued. “You should perhaps try some meditation if you wish to try and talk with it. Spirits and Souls are funny though, some talk freely, others are more inclined to observe, some share, like Sylaise and my… friend.” Yes. Megara was his friend, not his custodian. Not yet anyway.

Ruth chuckled at the idea of striding up to either place and him just, shouting it in the middle of the square or courtyard. “No no. Nothing quite so easy. I’m not sure the means by which you’d go about it at Skyhold, but in Arlathan you’d approach the High Keeper, or the Council Members.” Then there was the hesitation, the elf was only metres from a tomb he’d been hunting for weeks and now he was finding himself babysitting a Ghilain’nan spawn.

Yet, there was that voice, a very small voice that cried he couldn’t leave the poor man wandering into the place blind and alone. “I’ll be heading back that way. Are you alright waiting till after I check out this place though?”

Meditation? Don’t think I’d be very good at that. Not really good at the whole sitting still and clearing my mind thing. Grim said with a chuckle. Though now, upon learning that it might be helpful with his current situation, he was suddenly thinking maybe he should still give it a try.

To be honest there was a part of him that was terrified at the prospects of communicating with who was possessing him. Perhaps that was why he didn’t like the idea of meditation. Not after the way Vassenia described the things he’d said to her while unconscious.

At first he hesitated, Arlathan was in the opposite direction he was headed, as he had to be back in Ferelden to meet up with Vassenia, but if it could help his black outs. Perhaps it was worth going out of his way. Before he could answer, Ruth had spoken up again about how he was headed there after he was done. The dogs would probably feel better if he wasn’t travelling alone, in case he blacked out again.

I don’t mind waiting, I’m not familiar with Arlathan and if I black out at a bad time, at least you’d be there to explain things, and the dogs seem to like you. At that, Cheese Ball wiggled his butt back and forth and looked up at Ruth.

Ruth shrugged, “It’s relatively simple. I can help by casting a ward and talking you back?” And if Ghilly got a little agitated the elf could kick Grim awake. He didn’t enjoy the idea of the soul taking brief control though, the thought caused his brow to furrow a little. “Yes, there’s the small risk the Old Boy might surface, but that’s where we’d need a totem… Something to snap you back, a thing, a memory… the dogs, for example.” Not that he was proposing the man let his beasts bite him, but it was perhaps more comfortable than him telling Ruth, a complete stranger, a deep dark secret.

If the tomb were like the many others he’d rummaged through it wouldn’t take him more than an afternoon to pick over the items and knowledge left behind. Ruth could afford the time to prod the traveller into a meditative sleep if he wished. “I wouldn’t be able to help you, or be there, but it might help to introduce yourselves to one another?”

Eyeing the dog, Ruth chuckled again, his hands going deep into a pocket. “He smells the jerky. But the choice is yours, I reckon though, you could do with a drink after all that. I can also help with that.” Instead of the formerly mentioned jerky, a flask came out of the folds of his robes, fingers easily unscrewing the top to take the first swig before offering it to Grim.

Hearing Ruth's suggestion, Grim considered the idea. Meditating, talking to a piece of an ancient elvhen "god", and potentially blacking out in the process, it all seemed overwhelming. But he also knew he couldn't keep avoiding the issue. With a hesitant nod, he agreed to the plan. Alright, I guess I can give it a try.

He was nervous about talking with Ghilain’nan, but it made sense that he should know more about them. He was at least a bit curious, he just, was still wrapping his head around the fact he was sharing his body with some piece of an ancient Elvhen wannabe god. Cheese looked excited as Ruth put his hand in his pocket, but then disappointed when he came out with a flask.

So, we just... sit quietly and try to reach out to them? Grim asked, his voice betraying a hint of trepidation. He took the flask from Ruth, taking a quick swig before passing it back. Here goes nothing, I suppose. He muttered, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to steady his nerves. He then waited on Ruth to tell him what to do next.

Diplomacy was a subtle process or lines were drawn relatively quickly and positions declared. One couldn’t understand unless they offered a dialogue to the opposing side, even if confrontational. Ruth nodded, “A wise choice,” agreeing with the chosen course.

Shuffling to a more comfortable spot, Ruth again reached back into his layers chuckling at the travellers words. “Ha, not quite. We’ll sit across from one another, hold hands in a magic circle, then you’ll close your eyes and hopefully, I’ll be able to guide you inwards so you can connect on a mental level.” Producing a strip of jerky, Ruth offered it out to Cheese, brows lifting high. “This is our deal you don’t bite me, okay?”

Once sure the hound was suitably distracted he retrieved his flask from Grim with a nod. Watching the man attempt to settle pulled another chuckle, quickly sketching out the ward to begin with one hand while the other took grip around his wrist. “Alright, deep breath, slow… measured exhale… and just let everything settle. Let the sound of your breath, of the air around, of your heartbeat fill your mind and then fall quietly away…”

As Ruth's voice gently guided him, Grim found his body relaxing, his breaths slowing. He focused on the sound of his heart beating, the rustle of the leaves in the wind, and the quiet murmur of Ruth's voice. Gradually, he let these sounds fade, reaching inward to the quiet stillness within.

In that quiet stillness, Grim began to feel a slight shift, like a presence nudging at the edge of his consciousness. It was an unfamiliar sensation, but not entirely unpleasant. He felt the presence within him, felt it stirring. How often had he felt this before but pushed it out of his conscious mind, he couldn’t recall.

He kept following Ruth’s voice, like it was a lifeline, the thing keeping him tethered from disappearing entirely to whatever presence was within him. As Ghilain’nan realised Grim was actually trying to speak with her, she stirred even more. The back and forth with Grim had been exhausting, she was ready for a change in the status quo.

Why, are you finally acknowledging my existence? How curious! The voice grew stronger as she spoke, at first Grim wanted to back away from the voice, to just snap out of it and continue along his way, ignore everything that Ruth was saying, out of sight, out of mind, but how much longer could he ignore the black outs?

It seems I no longer have a choice. Grim wasn’t wrong, he’d ignored the reasons behind the black outs for too long, put his friends and his dogs lives at risk because of them. In a way it would be selfish to continue the way things were.

I’ve tried taking control, but you’re strong, and I am only a fragment of what I once was. A fragment? Grim didn’t know what that meant, but then all of this was new to him, he wasn’t sure what to expect.

The black outs? They are problematic, if you dwell in me, you are putting me and you at risk by them. Grim tried to explain, though he wasn’t sure if he was getting through to them, they hadn’t even said their name yet.

We could share? I’m good at sharing, I always shared my toys with Andruil. The name Andruil meant nothing to Grim, the idea of sharing and not knowing what the name Andruil meant, made Grim look up at Ruth for a moment, unsure if he should continue.

Ruth was only able to help establish the connection, the rest was up to Grim. The healer did his best to monitor the stranger, one small piece keeping his ear primed just in case some asshat tried to sneak up on them. The dogs would likely defend their master, but him too? He wasn’t completely convinced.

He was aware of some of what was going on between Soul and Spirit, though he tried not to pry and risk being sucked into connection. Ruth tried his best to convey who Andruil was, and their place in Elven lore, concentrating on the early stories he remembered as a child and the relevant research he’d studied throughout the years.

If you come to Arlathan, you can find out a great deal more, perhaps meet some ancient’s that knew Ghilain’nan.

Grim nodded, acknowledging Ruth's suggestion, his expression thoughtful. That seems like a worthwhile journey. Arlathan it is, then. He finally said, a newfound determination in his eyes. I hadn’t planned on going that far north, in fact I’ve only been to Antiva once, but that was back when I was with the Bull’s Chargers. Cheese had once again taken up residence near Ruth, his little head tipping, like he knew somehow that Ruth was helping Cheese’s master and that it was a good thing, his little nub of a tail wagged. While Floki remained more neutral, like the little realist he was.

You still needed to explore the ancient ruin or whatever right? I can wait out here while you do. The dogs need to be fed any way, and I could use a nap. I mean if you still don’t mind me tagging along with you to Arlathan. I may not know you well, but I know you better than I know anyone else in Arlathan. Sure he’d established a connection to this Ghilain’nan that was possessing him, and he hoped that perhaps that meant no surprise black outs, but why put that to the test when he could be travelling with someone that at least seemed trustworthy enough.

He’d chuckle, flashing Grim a wide grin. Antiva isn’t too bad, if you don’t mind assassins and whores and the overwhelming stink of fish in the capitol, but Arlathan? Ruth laughed. She is fast becoming a Free City, but you mention the Chargers? You must’ve been with the Inquisition, or later. Small world. Shrugging his brows, he got up to stand, one hand ruffly giving the dog taking sentry next to him on the way up. He wasn’t going to find himself at the bottom of their stomachs, good.

If you’re good to wait yes. No sense coming all this way and leaving empty handed. I’ll be a few hours, we can camp and make our way there in the morning. He could always return for a more detailed survey of the ruin at a later time if he found something curious. You may regret that, but I promise I’ll get you there in one piece. Might be best you meet Megara, she runs things and is host to one of your friends relatives? I’m not sure of the family dynamics. he’d tease.

Luckily when he ventured in, a large majority of what he expected to find was revealed. It had been ransacked before, as expected, but thankfully they had missed the inner, secret chamber. Within a few hours he had rejoined Grim and the dogs by the fireside of their camp, sharing in a meal that the traveller had prepared. The group would leave in the morning fresh for the walk through the wilds to the nearest Eulvian.

Grim was feeling good about things, even if he was still nervous. While Ruth went in, Grim wrote a message to a friend and fed the dogs, then got comfortable underneath the shade of a large tree, where he had a good vantage point of the entrance to the ruins. He took a nap, and then when Ruth eventually came out he settled in by the fire.

Cheese still seemed quite enamoured with Ruth, and laid down near the elf, while Floki stuck near Grim, showing his protective side. Not that Ruth had given Floki any reason not to trust the elf, but he was still a relative stranger to Floki so there was still some suspicion.

Grim wasn’t sure how things would go in Arlathan, but for the first time in a long time, he was starting to feel better about his fucked up situation. Ghilain’nan stirred within him and instead of trying to force control, seemed content to share at the moment.