Snippet #2151659

Virani M'iorn walked around the camp admiring the quiet efficiency of those scattered around her, everyone seemed to have a purpose and went about it with little fuss. In a way it reminded her of the Circle, where until recently she had spent her life, where everyone moved with dignified purpose. But then this was a camp that readied for war and she doubted any army would fare well in battle if they could not even organise their campsite. She walked past several barrel chested, thick armed men wearing leather aprons hammering metal into weapons and armour. Further on she passed troops training in combat with the soldier in charge bellowing orders at them and the kennels where the Mabari war hounds were housed. She stopped to gaze at the beasts for a moment admiring their strong build, glossy coats and intelligent eyes. She did not doubt for one moment that they could understand what she or others said and if she were lucky enough to have one as a companion she was sure she would greatly benefit from it.

She walked quickly past the area set aside for the mages who would be assisting in the battle, she knew pretty all the faces present but she did not want to linger there. She was finally free of the tower and feared, perhaps irrationally, that if she was seen with the other mages then the templars would realise their mistake and drag her back to the tower. No matter how dangerous the life of a grey warden it had to be better than being confined in that prison of stone and magic. A few mages acknowledged her as she passed and she nodded quickly but continued walking. Several of the templars watched her with flat eyes as she walked past but made no attempt to delay her passage.

She finally reached the area of the camp with a large bonfire and saw Duncan and another figure already waiting around its warmth. The light the fire gave off only partially illuminated their faces making them look ghostly in the darkness. She nodded to Duncan as she joined them and then turned to regard the figure she did not recognise. She caught a hint of pointed ears and saw he was an elf, Dalish she guessed by his garb, she felt a little curiosity about one of her wilder cousins but not enough to question him upon it. She continued to appraise him a slight smile on her face. He was perhaps considered handsome by some and Virani found no fault with his appearance. Not that appearance would matter in the coming battle as skill would decide if they defeated the Darkspawn and from the looks of him he could handle himself well.

"Well met." She greeted in her customary light drawl her words containing their usual sarcasm. "Nice to see I'm not the only one along for this adventure trip!"