Ancient Names

She tried not to gawk, she really did, but Ru couldn't help herself sometimes. She knew she was not worldly. She'd never stepped a foot outside of her backwater home until she'd chased after Avi. But seeing that something could be true was so much more than just believing it. She'd never seen so many of their kind gathered in one place. A whole city of elves! And this wasn't even Arlathan! While the human and Orlesian trappings covered the city, the elvish roots beneath, new to her eyes at least, stood out starkly. She was constantly jostled by the busy city folk moving about, frustrated by the country girl who walked too slowly... stared to long.

Their arrival in the city had not gone how they'd planned. They had expected needing to sneak in, perhaps slip in with a caravan or group of refugees. Instead, a guard patrol had come across them fending off a group of darkspawn and pressed that the city could use the assistance of a skilled warrior such as her brother. They'd not turned their noses up at the wolves either. For her part, Ru just tried to stay out of the way. She was still wary of showing her magic for fear of being sent away from Avi. They'd found lodging at an Inn with the help of one of the guard and Ru offered her services cleaning for the Inn to help subsidize payment while they... figured out what it was they wanted to do next. Clean beds and real meals made hurrying the decision seem foolish.

"Watch it!" the annoyed voice brought Ru's attention back to where her feet were leading her. She'd been looking down a narrow alley between two buildings, sure that she'd heard her name called out, when she collided with another woman laden down with bags of clothing for washing. Ru hadn't even managed to form her apology before the woman was gone, lost in the crowd. Ru shuffled out of the main flow of pedestrians toward the entry to the alley, straining her ears to tune out the din of the city as her eyes searched.

The alley was dim, shadowed by the tall buildings that walled each side. She could make out the shape of an arch at the far end, but no details. Had she heard her name, or just imagined it? This certainly seemed like exactly the kind of scenario she should avoid... wandering into a dark alley all alone. It'd be different if Beli was here, but he hated the crowds and currently spent most of his time sulking in the inn's courtyard. Just as she shuffled a few feet down the alley, a clock in a nearby square chimed the hour. Startled, Ru jumped back then shook her head at her own foolishness. The innkeeper was waiting for the shopping.

"Here." Ru pulled a bread roll from a pocket in her apron and pressed it into Avi's hand. It was later in the evening and he'd just returned from his own escapades in the city. "See anything new today?" She asked, settling down onto a stool next to him with her bucket and bundle of potatoes to peel.

Halamshiral was a mess. The rest of the country was too, Avishan supposed. As if he’d needed convincing. All the humans were cooped up in the walled palace, leaving the elves to see to their own selves in the wider sprawl of the city. Of course, they’d taken all the best fighters with them when they’d gone.

But the Blight had been upon them for more than two years now. He supposed a castle that big might have stores beneath it. Some source of water, too. But as he sat lookout with a handful of the other men, he couldn’t fully turn his mind from wondering at it. Great lords and ladies starved like anyone else, and he couldn’t see how they’d be getting to the fields.

Ah, well. After twelve mind-numbing hours, it was time to go find Ru. He whistled for Kay and made the long walk back to the inn, never quite at ease until Lirulin made it back as well. Avi took the roll and had a big bite. This stopover had its benefits. The food was plain but there was enough of it – for now, anyway. He’d regained a little bit of the conditioning he’d lost.

And it was nice to see Lirulin with color in her face again. Anything to not feel like he’d doomed them both to a slow death in the wilds when he’d gone with the Wardens that day.

“Not today.” He croaked, voice a little strangled from forcing down the dry roll. Reaching out, he picked up one of the potatoes and began to help with the peeling. The skin fell away from his pocketknife in an even spiral. Kay sniffed at it dubiously, then took it in his mouth and walked away with it.

“We’ll have to decide soon. Whether we’ll winter here or press on.” Truth be told, he didn’t like either option. Crossing the Frostbacks in winter was a madness. So was staying in this city when there was no sign that the darkspawn would relent.

She watched Kay sniff at the potato peel her brother had carved away, smiling softly at how gentle he was as he took it. She often forgot how terrifying the wolves could be to people who didn't know them. Strange enough... she should have been terrified of them when they'd first encountered the creatures. But she never was. Like clockwork, Beli's jealous whimper was heard and his form quickly approached. He sniffed about urgently while Ru laughed.

"Here. Here, you little baby." she said, giving him his own scrap. Beli took it, not nearly as delicately as Kay had, and trotted back to his brother.

Ru sighed, shifting her thoughts from the wolves to Avi's words. It was a topic they'd raised and tabled the same way several times already since arriving in the city. There seemed to be no good choice, only different shades of danger. But surely there was something more to their journey that just surviving. It wasn't something she could put into words, but she knew it had to be true.

"Don't you think-" she started, but stopped, brow furrowed in frustration. "Have you noticed..." the words fell away as she gestured around them with her knife hand. Huffing, she dropped her peeled potato into the bucket and took up another. "I feel... something... here." she finally managed. "Not here." she clarified, pointing down to indicate the inn. "But here." she made a circular gesture with her hand again to indicate the city. "I don't know how long we should stay. But I think we're here for a reason."