Dragon Age: A Bard's Love FD

Title: A Bard's Love
Author: Guyver89
Game: Dragon Age Origins
characters/pairing- The Warden, Leliana, Wynne, Alistair, others
Disclaimer- DAO (c) BioWare


Dragon Age: A Bard's Love

The First Day


A flurry of pigeons rushed Cogdale from his sleep. The soreness from his wounds that he had received at Ostagar began to throb again. Taking the flask that he had on his trousers he doused the wounds in cold water. It helped but only for a short time. Not having the time to dress down to sleep, Cogdale had gone to sleep in his armor the night before. Which only aggravated his soreness.
As he finally lifted himself off his blankets his back popped.

Cogdale left his tent to find himself the first to awaken a bit of a surprise, he had always been a night owl and would stay up past midnight several times. The camp was damp and cold with a radiating warmth from the fire in the center. Fog surrounded them hiding them from anyone or anything and visa versa. The smell of dew on the grass that surrounded them eased the moment into some what of a splendor. A rustling from the tent parallel from his, gained his attention. It was Leliana the red head chantry girl that had joined them the day before. Still enchanting as ever to him.
"Hello" she said as she wiped off the dirt from her thighs. The same spell of silence blew through Cogdale once again. He was to afraid to talk to her so he continued to stretch in his armor. The sight made Leliana laugh.
"I'm sorry I have to ask this again" she giggled "But what is your name warden?" looking at him with interest. Cogdale gulped and took a deep breath. "My name is Cogdale" he whispered. He grabbed his sword that he had put outside his tent and reattached it to the back of his armor. He tried his best not to look at her, fearing if he did look at her, she could see right through him with her winter eyes. But she walked right up to him, cornering him to his tent.
"Cogdale? What is that? Fereldan? Orlesian? Or is it from the Anderfels?" she asked, her somewhat weak orlesian accent coating each word. She quirked her head to the left pressuring her question. "It doesn't sound orlesian, but names never cease to amaze me" she smiled. "No, my family was from Nevarra. But we've lived in Ferelden for four generations" Cogdale finally answered.

"Nevarra! Ooh I've been there several times myself, beautiful countryside and wonderful food!" Leliana sprouted with a smile. "Oops, I'm sorry Cogdale, thats just me going off on another wild tangent of mine." she apologized as she brushed her hair. Cogdale knelt by the fire to warm his hands and feet, the freezing cold wasn't welcoming to armor that was magically enchanted to always be cold itself.
"Also Cogdale, I would like to apologize for taking your words when we were in the tavern in Lothering." rubbing her neck embarrassed. "What?" Cogdale couldn't remember that moment, mostly because she had him smitten when she entered the heated conversation between him and the Loghain lackeys.
"Heh, I guess I'm left to explain myself then?" she cleared her throat, copying Cogdale's stance by the fire. "When you three entered the tavern I knew you were a grey warden, I guess it was apart of my vision." she continued "But when I came to approach your situation I forgot what I had to say when I looked at you... n..not that I'm saying I'm attracted to you!" she fixed herself. The correction brought a smirk to Cogdale.

"So when I did approach, I remembered what you had just said to the man and I guess I stole your words to get myself into the situation. And for that I'm sorry" she said shivering from the weather.
"Wait right here!" Cogdale suddenly said as he quickly ran back into tent. The moment was a force of habit, his father burned his ideologies into Cogdale's mind at an early age. "Women are gems, whether they be emeralds, rubies, jets, amethysts or just diamonds. You always treat them as such, no matter what." that was his father's definition of chivalry. He finally came back with a furcoat that Flemeth had given him.
"Here" Cogdale said as he wrapped the coat around her. "This will keep you warm, you need it, I don't." Leliana settled herself near the fire with a smile "Thank you Cogdale." she snuggled it closer to her face with a small squeak of comfort escaping her lips. Morrigan found her way to the fire from her tent as she held her hood on her head. "Well warden I see you're awake.. but where is the dimwit? Alistair?" she asked totally ignoring Leliana in the process.
"Alistair is still asleep Morrigan and I sugges...." Cogdale slowly stopped talking when Morrigan approached him slowly and her eyes low and mesmerizing. "Morrigan what?" Cogdale was disturbed that the witch was approaching him.
"You're in front of the dolt's tent" she said pushing Cogdale out of the way. "You've got a funny way of showing what you want Morrigan." Cogdale said as he walked back over to the fire. Morrigan batted Alistair's tent several times to try and rile him out of his slumber. A low grumble came from the tent as Alistair stood up, leaving a shape of a head on the tarp. Morrigan wacked it again "OW!" Alistair shouted as he fell to the ground with a thud. Cogdale and Leliana laughed at the moment. "Awaken you buffoon so we may continue on to Redcliffe thank you very much." Morrigan spat as she turned around and sat down by the fire next to Cogdale.

"Morrigan why are you always so....moooody?" Leliana questioned. Cogdale flinched from the questioned if only he had warned Leliana not to ask such a question to Morrigan. "Let me ask you this chantry bug." Morrigan sneered as she crossed her arms. "Why do you have these absurd visions of the maker when he doesn't exist? Are you insane or tis just how you were born?" Leliana frowned but didn't answer Morrigan's rhetorical question.
"Yeah, it's best not to question Morrigan at all, it seems she is always at that time of the month" Cogdale whispered to Leliana receiving a giggle for the advice. The fog was beginning to dissipate which was sign to start packing things up. With Bodahn Feddic's caravan it was easy to set things up for travel. Although it was highly uncomfortable sitting on the edges of the wagons. "Alright you rambunctious fighters, off we go now!" the dwarf shouted as the wagons pulled along side the camp site.

Already on the caravan was Sten, the qunari criminal that they had rescued from certain death in Lothering. The man was very quiet and foreboding to the entire party. Morrigan seemed to be extremely interested in the qunari however. Well.... that what Cogdale had seen from the woman anyways. Cogdale quickly grabbed everything in his tent and crushed into 1 big pile and threw it in the back of the 2nd wagon.
"Cogdale I think you dropped something..." Leliana notified the warden as she picked up a journal. A shiver of fear jammed Cogdale's spine, if she read the latest journal entry he had put, she would find him out. Cogdale quickly snatched the journal from her hands before she could open it up to read. "Yoink, something private... thank you" Cogdale said as he slid the journal in the back of his armor's cuirass waistline belt. That was one thing he would never let her read, Leliana was way out of his league. Being only the son of a vassal doesn't give him noble blood. This woman, this Leliana seemed as such to him. "Something with such beauty in a land like this has to be of noble blood.... doesn't it?" Cogdale whispered under his breath.

"Hurry up boy!" Bodahn shouted at Alistair, trying to eat a piece of bread and get the final piece of his armor on and running along side the caravan at the same time. "Horld urp!" he muffled tripping over a rock but keeping his balance. Morrigan chuckled at the sight of Alistair's embarrassment.
"Here Al, I'll help you" Cogdale said as he held his hand out for his fellow warden. Alistair gripped on and leaped onto the wagon to sit next to Cogdale. Leliana sat by herself on top of all the merchandise Bodahn had for trading in the 1st wagon. Her chantry robes still dirty from the fierce fight in the tavern and traveling on foot with them.

"So, what do you think we'll find at Redcliffe Alistair? I've never been" Cogdale asked.