randomnonsensedragonage

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His cute expression when Rook first started flirting tho…

[randomnonsensedragonage]

A Tale of the Tower, Chapter 3

AKA: Day 4: Laidir - Artifacts | Hall of Valor | Treasure

Author’s Notes: Oh hey, a new chapter, just in time for @rookappreciationweek ! The theme for Laidir this week fit in perfectly with the chapter that I've been wanting to write forever. Tsura is close and dear to my heart, and I've been really thinking of ways to properly flesh our her backstory to get her to where she is now as a Lords of Fortune. I hope you enjoy!

And of course, thank you @randomnonsensedragonage for beta reading! Read Chapter 1 & 2 Also on Ao3

Vesuvius stayed true to his word. Aetius received a good sum of coin any time he took on a job from the merchant, and if it did seem too precarious, Tsura was indeed allowed to stay at the estate. They were both reluctant at first, but she had her own room and was getting some form of education. Tsura was allowed to read through various books and ask plenty of questions of the staff who worked there (though she wouldn’t always receive an answer). On occasion, Vesuvius would even have her look over some of the artifacts that came in.

Tsura had a keen eye. She didn’t necessarily know what everything was, but she knew which ones were real, which ones were fake, and which ones were dangerous. She wasn’t quite sure when she started to pick up on these sorts of things, but it was certainly helpful. She realized that as long as she had something to do, a talent, then she could be viewed as more than just a kid who needed babysitting.

Her father and Vesuvius were sitting at an elegant table in the den of the estate, chatting as they always were about the particulars of the elf’s next job; scoping out the artifacts in a dragon’s lair. 

“Wait-wait-wait, a dragon’s lair?” Tsura finally appeared from the entryway of the den and ran up to them. “Can I come?”

“Tsu…” Aetius began.

“Dad, I can do this, trust me. I’m getting really good at scoping out treasure! Also, if it’s someplace high, I can totally get up there!” she placed her hands on her hips, striking a heroic pose.

“I don’t love the idea of you being around wild beasts.”

“Come on, Dad. Are you really going to let me, your Qunari daughter, miss out on seeing something dragon-y? Just because you hate nature, doesn’t mean I do!”

“Let me rephrase that, I don’t like the idea of us being around dragons. Qunari or not, a dragon’s lair isn’t something you just waltz into. I’d rather deal with a horde of undead. Surely you’ve got better people to send out there, Vesusvius.”

“The mercenaries will take care of the dragon, if that puts your mind at ease, Aetius. I will say your girl does seem to have an eye for treasure.” Vesuvius smiled. “Quite impressed by what she’s managed to identify on the estate.”

“See? Even your boss says I’m good.”

Aetius finally relented. “Fine. But you’re staying right near me, you understand that? There’s no telling what’s out there.”

Tsura beamed. Finally, a real job. “I won’t let you down! I promise!”

The next day, the two set off into the wilds with Vesuvius’ mercenary company. A mix of Tal-Vashoth and human men whom she and her father had gotten familiar with over the past few months(with initial translations, though they had now gotten the hang of the trade tongue). Tsura thought they were good fun, especially the Tal-Vashoth. They often doted on her, trying to give her sweets or toys they had picked up whenever they traded on the coast.

“While we appreciate it, you know you don’t need to,” Aetius said as Okim, the head of the company, gave Tsura an exotic-looking fruit.

“We don’t see many imekari of our kind here,” Okim said as they walked. “And those that we do, well, their parents are wary. We could be Ben Hasserath,r those who did not adapt after the invasion of Kirkwall. Things that they wanted to leave behind by coming to this land. They don’t want their children to be swords-for-hire.”

“Even though that seems to be the only option when you’re here, huh?” Tsura responded, biting into the fruit. She knew it was for the same reasons her father had to take jobs like this when he would much rather be translating for a diplomat trader. 

“Mm. In some ways, I suppose we are still living as though we were in Par Vollen. Odd, isn’t it?” Okim said.

“Well, once we are done with this contract, I’m done with Tevinter and the Free Marches,” Jarek, another one of the Qunari mercenaries, cracked his neck. “Done with the vashedan weather. The vashedan Vints. The vashedan pay. If I’m going to keep doing this, I might as well do it in Rivain.”

“Isn’t Rivain filled with abominations?” Aetius asked.

Tsura didn’t know much about the place, but one always heard things in passing. That Rivain was a lawless place when it came to magic. It was said that while Tevinter might be run by mages and magic, but at least there were regulations and rules. That’s what she and her father were always told. Plus, Tevinter was familiar. Sometimes it was better to have the demon you knew than the one you didn’t.  

“That’s what I thought as well, but an old acquaintance told me otherwise when they were in Kon-Taar. Beautiful beaches, plenty of work for those who want, Vashoth women…”

“They have Vashoth women in the Free Marches,” Aetius said with a laugh.

“No single ones!” he complained. “And then they act all Andrastian, as do the men who are with them.”

“Huh?”

“He is mad that he was nearly beaten to death for after being found in bed with someone’s mate the last time we had a job in Otswick,” Okim responded.

 “Ha!” Tsura may have been young, but she was old enough to understand what that meant.

“Do you know which women I truly miss when I was antaam?” Jarek continued. “Maridim. Truly disciplined. Strong, but tender at the same time. Ha, well, Aetius would know, or you wouldn’t be around.”

“Oi,” the elf pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s my daughter, not your drinking buddy.”

Her father started to chew the Qunari man out in Qunlat, but the words that were used were ones that she couldn’t quite identify. Not to mention he was speaking at a speed and intonation he didn’t typically use when translating. She really needed to study harder.

Suddenly, there was loud roar not too far off in the distance that was then followed by smoke.

“That’s our cue, fellas.” Okim grinned. “Let’s get ourselves a dragon. Aetius, Tsura, the lair is only a little ways up the mountain. We’ll blow the horn twice when it is time for you to leave. Anaan eb-ost!”

“Anaan eb-ost!” Tsura repeated and gave them a small wave.

With that, they went their separate ways. It didn’t take long before getting to the foot of the mountain, where they could already see a large cave opening not too far above them. It was large enough for a dragon. Another roar, this time followed by a single blow of a horn.

“Well, there don’t seem to be any signs of dragonlings around, so I believe we’re in the clear. But let’s make this quick.” Aetius said.

He finally seemed a lot less tense about the whole mission. It wasn’t that he didn’t know his way around a sword; he just preferred not to use one these days.

Tsura nodded and then carefully started to scale the side of the mountain, her father following right after. This was exciting. It was a real treasure hunt! Just like the bedtime stories her father used to tell of her favourite Tevinter folk hero, Marcus the Blue. The stories of a half-human, half-elven marauder who used to travel across the country, freeing slaves and stealing from corrupted magistrates and distributing the wealth to the masses. He even had a Qunari friend, whom he would always visit whenever he needed patching up. Her cousins always said that never happened in the real stories of Marcus the Blue, but her father always stood by it. Apparently she was beautiful. Golden eyes, dark blue skin, with long dark hair that was often tied into a braid.   

 Ah. Now Tsura got it.

“Hey, Dad?”

“Yeah?” Aetius responded.

“Did you ever think of going to Par Vollen?”

“I’m assuming you mean with your mother.”

“Yeah,” she hopped from one rock to the other. “Like, converting to the Qun when things got hard for her here.”

“I already make a pretty bad elf,” Aetius replied. “Wasn’t sure I would fare better as a Qunari, and neither was your mother. Besides, I don’t think relationships quite work the same way there as they do here. We wouldn’t be together as a family. Your mother was a maradim, not a tamassran after all. I think when your mother left… she wanted at least one of us to stay with you.”

While Tsuracouldn’t see her father, she could hear a slight fluctuation in the tone of his voice. A rare occurrence for the man who was always the smooth talker. But there was always something about her mother that seemed to throw him off. Falling in love was never the plan for either of them in Seheron. It was war, after all. It just sort of happened. He  always said that he didn’t regret meeting her mother or having Tsura. He just wished things in Thedas were a bit different. 

Tsura’s hand finally reached a flat surface. The entrance to the cave! She hoisted herself up and flung her leg over the edge. Once she was up, she offered Aetius her hand, pulling him up as well. The two of them  stood up and turned around.

“Whoa,”

She wasn’t sure what exactly what to expect when she heard they were going to a dragon’s lair, but it wasn’t this. Tsura had pictured a cavern lined with gold coins and jewels  numerous enough to dive into. This cave, however, seemed to contain a different kind of treasure. There were old Imperium weapons and armour, musical instruments, ancient-looking tomes, and several other objects Tsura couldn’t properly make out.

“Maker, some of this stuff may even be from the Ancient Age. How this has remained hidden for so long is nothing short of amazing.” Aetius placed his hands on his hips, his brows raised.

“Maybe the dragon is really hard to fight?” Tsura asked.

“A good point. Which means we should get started on our search. I’m sure Okim and the others are great at distracting, but it’s hard to say how good they are at actually killing dragons.”

“Oh, oh! Can I take this with me?” Tsura picked up a guitar. The strings were damaged, but the rest seemed to be in good shape. One of the more recent treasures the dragon brought back, probably. Or perhaps it belonged to someone who found their way in here… which was certainly a more unfortunate thought

“Sure. But remember what we’re here for,” Aetius replied, crouching down and shifting through some of the old weapons. “No doubt there’s some rich old magister who would love to add to his collection of the glory days of the Imperium.” 

“Oh, but if there’s ancient Elven stuff here, we can bring it back to Uncle Lioren! I bet he and his clan would be so excited.”

Aetius didn’t respond, but Tsura assumed t it was because he was focused on other things. She shrugged and  continued to look through the piles, putting whatever she thought might be salvageable into her rucksack. There were some interesting finds:, daggers embellished with the old Imperium emblem, tomes written in Tevene, things like that. Other items were just shiny, which would have made them attractive to a dragon’s eye.

Which is why it was so odd that there was also a large stone wolf statue amongst it all.

“Why would a dragon want that?” Tsura said.

“Fen’harel,” Aetius replied. “It was probably already here when she decided to roost. I’m surprised it’s still standing.”

“I thought the Dread Wolf was supposed to be a bad guy. Why is there a statue of him?”

“I don’t think he’s evil. Just a bit of a trickster. He’ll help you for a price. At least that’s how the stories go.”

“You always say you don’t care about Elvish stuff, but you sure know a lot about it.”

“I worked with quite a few Dalish before I was Liberati,” he answered. “Also, your uncle won’t shut up about it.”   

It was then that Tsura noticed something shining right below the statue, beneath some rubble. She reached below   and pulled out a brass octagonal object that fit in the palm of her hand. The cover had an ornate design, but nothing that she was familiar with. There was a small locking mechanism. Once she pressed the button, the top popped open. There were three different arrows, each pointing in a different direction.

“This looks like a compass,” Tsura said before passing it to her father to look over. “But I’ve never seen anything like that.”

“Interesting. I can’t  make out from what era, or even what country, this is from,” Aetius said, looking it over carefully.

“Could it be Qunari?” she said excitedly.

“Not sure. I think that’s Elven inscribed on the inside of the cover… but it’s a dialect that I don’t think matches the old ruins we’ve been through. Curious.” He grinned and ruffled Tsura’s hair. “Good find, Tsu.”

“I can’t wait to see what Uncle Lioren thinks of it when we show him,” she said excitedly.

“Mm…”

This was the second time her father didn’t give her a straight answer.

“We… are gonna show him, right? We have so much other stuff for Vesuvius to sell that’s pretty cool anyway. Human Tevinter stuff.”

“I think this is what he wanted us to find.” He pulled out a soft cloth and started to wrap it up. “Despite their hatred of elves, Tevinter magisters also seem to love ancient elven things. This will go for a pretty penny.”

“But… this isn’t the kind of thing you just sell for coin, Dad! I can tell this thing is really important! Like the chalice in Marcus the Blue! We gotta bring it to Uncle Lioren, it’s the right thing to do. Vesuvius has to understand that, doesn’t he?”

Two blasts from the war horn sounded in the distance. Aetius carefully placed the compass in his pocket. “That’s our cue. Let’s make ourselves scarce, shall we?”

“Dad, please.”

“Tsu, now’s not the time.” 

“But it’s–”

“Tsura, sometimes doing the right thing isn’t the best thing. You know what Uncle Lioren will do with this?” he lifted his hands in the air, making large gestures. “He’ll bring it to the elders, and they’ll argue about what dumb ancient elf thing it is because that’s what the Dalish always do, and then we’ll lose the one contact that actually pays us enough to live on. This isn’t a fairytale. If we don’t do this job, we die. That’s it.” 

Tsura was taken aback, especially when he decided to switch to Qunlat. And perhaps he was just as taken aback by his own words. He lowered his eyes and turned away, running his hand through his dark curls. 

“Come on, now,” he said in a softer tone. “We’ll… talk about this later.” 

Tsura’s heart twisted in her chest, but she followed along quietly. She knew her father wasn’t perfect, but she still thought of him as a hero. Now? 

She wasn’t so sure. 

[randomnonsensedragonage]

Last Line Tag Game

Tagged by @guacamolleee (thanks!)

Working on some late entries for Rook week, so I was trying to write a bit about my Aldwir. Not the most interesting sentence, but oh well.

There was concern about who would train Aster now that the Circles were no more, but not for long.

Tagging @somevirtualnolife since I know you're working on something ;)

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All my Dragon Age characters and their respective romantic partners in one post and in correct chronological order.

DA Origins: Mira Surana (Elf, Mage) x Alistair Theirin, Morven Cousland (Human, Fighter) x Zevran Aranai;

DA2: Garrett Hawke (Human, Fighter) x Anders, Marian Hawke (Human, Mage) x Fenris;

DA Inquisition: Rovena Trevelyan (Human, Mage) x Cullen Rutherford, Elyra Lavellan (Elf, Rogue) x Solas;

DA Veilguard: Carith Mercar (Shadow Dragon, Elf, Rogue) x Emmrich Volkarin, Elric Thorne (Grey Warden, Human, Fighter) x Lucanis Dellamorte;

P.S. After gathering all doodles in one post, I gotta say that I'm quite impressed with myself. Not for the quality of drawings necessarily, but for the fact that I actually finished the series, hell yeah.

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People who think Harding is too harsh on Solas drive me insane you are EXACTLY the kind of people that caused her to grow up to be a people pleaser and it's STILL not enough.

You think HARDING is too harsh on Solas?

HARDING?

One of the consistant voices on team "there's got to still be good in Solas" even before the possibility of redemption is brought up? That Harding? The one who mentions feeling bad for Solas that he feels he can't ask for help without manipulation? That Harding. The one who mentions they don't think anyone was at fault bc the titians didn’t know what the elves were and the elves couldn't have known that lyrium was blood? That Harding?

The one who, if given the chance to confront Solas, just wants to know why and for an apology. That Lace Harding.

What??????

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Harding Week 2025 Masterpost

Here are all the fics I wrote for Harding Week, with links to the Tumblr and Ao3 versions.

Please note, the Ao3 versions have been more thoroughly edited and might have some sentence and wording differences. They also have titles!

Day 1 - Fereldan/Travel: Tumblr, Ao3

Day 2 - Inquisition/Veilguard: Tumblr, Ao3

Day 3 - Friends/Family: Tumblr, Ao3

Day 4 - Kinship/Ancestors: Tumblr, Ao3

Day 6 - Farming/Scouting: Tumblr, Ao3

Bonus: Day 5 - Faith/Cooking shitpost XD

[randomnonsensedragonage]

Harding Week 2025 Masterpost

Here are all the fics I wrote for Harding Week, with links to the Tumblr and Ao3 versions.

Please note, the Ao3 versions have been more thoroughly edited and might have some sentence and wording differences. They also have titles!

Day 1 - Fereldan/Travel: Tumblr, Ao3

Day 2 - Inquisition/Veilguard: Tumblr, Ao3

Day 3 - Friends/Family: Tumblr, Ao3

Day 4 - Kinship/Ancestors: Tumblr, Ao3

Day 6 - Farming/Scouting: Tumblr, Ao3

Bonus: Day 5 - Faith/Cooking shitpost XD

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Thinking about how good the Varric being dead the whole time reveal really was. Like.

We get the trailer and we’re excited and we’re ignoring the dumbasses who think it’s Fortnite (it’s not). We get the gameplay trailer and it’s fifteen minutes of beauty. We go into it and we see Bianca die!! In front of us! And then solas stabs Varric! We’re worried! But no, they wouldn’t kill Varric off before we have the goddamn game right? But we’re scared. We’re oh so scared. Because what if they did??

But we get the game informer article and thank god. They didn’t. It confirms, right there, that we see Varric again. He’s not dead. They didn’t kill him.

And then we get the game and it’s a little weird. Like. Sometimes Varric talks and no one responds. Nobody else visits him. But he’s still there. He still talks to you. You go talk to him before every big quest. He talks about Lucanis.

And it’s the point of no return. You pick if you lose neve or Bellara. You watch Harding or davrin die. Lucanis is just passed out right? What is solas doing? That motherfucker what is he doing? Why is the statue you’re holding… Varric?

You talk to neve or Bellara and it’s about loss. It’s about responsibility. You talk to davrin or Harding and it’s about doing what it takes. It’s about choices. Is it Lucanis yet? No. But you know, now, who it is now.

He was always gone. He’s been gone the whole time (go away Sam Reich, we’re mourning our DAD). He died in our arms at the start of the game and we never got to mourn him. Solas used blood magic to fuck with our brains and denied us that ability to mourn the most beloved character of this franchise. The love of our hawke (platonic or romantic). The best friend of our inquisitor. The storyteller who has been there for us since the beginning. And then solas killed him and never let us mourn.

And how brilliant was that?

They killed him in front of us months before the game released and then did the EXACT SAME THING that solas did to rook. They told us he wasn’t actually dead look he’s perfectly fine see? He’s alive! Look he says things to you! He’s still there!

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Sylvia F., Emmrich Volkarin and Mourn Watch Bluesky posts archive

A masterpost for this.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

The influences/inspirations behind Emmrich and the Mourn Watch

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This is so kind! Thank you ❤️

Yesterday we wrapped up our third event of seven, Harding Week 2025! We loved seeing all of your amazing creations, and your love for our favorite Inquisition Scout! <3

If you enjoyed someone's work this week, we'd like to encourage you to reblog this post and tag them so that they know their work was appreciated! Please help us continue to spread the love in this community, and for all the beautiful pieces that were created this week!

And a reminder that we do take late submissions-- if you have something you'd like to contribute, please use the #hardingweek2025 tag or tag us @datvcompanionweeks, and we will be happy to reblog your submission!

Thank you all again for sharing your talents and your enthusiasm! We hope to see you next month for #NeveWeek2025 !

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He GIVES the best hugs, no past tense, I refuuuuse that, and I needed to see these hugs realized so, here, indulge 💖

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I was told it is officially Harding week, so here's a little something I put together, based on some unused Veilguard concept art ✨

Featuring my beloved Aloisia Ingellvar 💛

[randomnonsensedragonage]

Harding Week Day 7

Free Day

Thank you @datvcompanionweeks for hosting! (Previous prompts: Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6)

Started with a drabble, ending with a drabble. 100 words. Archery and how we started down the path.

(Also, this has been a ride. Thank you again to the mods and everyone participating/reblogging/commenting/reading. 💕 I've only recently jumped back into writing and would never have expected to do something like this. Finished something for each day with just shy of 7.5k words. This corner of the DA tumblr community has been super welcoming and lovely and I appreciate all of you!)

There was a space between heartbeats. Lace Harding knew it as well as she knew the area around her home. Arrow nocked, string back, target sighted, she found that moment of stillness and released.

It found its mark. Right between the eyes of the Hurlock that had sprung from the grass and charged the group she was guiding back to their camp. Their leader - the elegant woman with the Orlesian accent - her own arrow only half way out the quiver - did a double take then smiled.

“Miss Harding,” she said, “I think I should like to offer you a job.”

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Harding Week Day 6 - Farming/Scouting

For @datvcompanionweeks! This one turned out a bit longer than my other pieces this week.

This takes place on the same Lace x Runa Ingellvar camping trip featured in my story for day 2. I don't know a ton about scouting or tracking or whatever, but I figured that even the best scouts must get lost every now and then. Hopefully I wrote that in a way that at least makes a bit of sense 😅

————————————

It took Lace awhile to realize what had happened, and by then it was too late.

She and Runa spent most of the day hiking through the forest in the part of the Hinterlands where they were camped. Lace led them easily down deer trails, examining tracks and scat to lead them away from where there were likely to encounter bears or mountain lions, and hacking branches aside with her small knife whenever the foliage got too thick. She regularly checked the position of the sun and the overall growth of the trees they passed to keep track of the direction they were moving. She kept a mental log of the various turns they took and landmarks they passed.

But at some point, Lace got distracted.

She knew why. Runa was especially vibrant and energetic today. Running up ahead so that her long hair streamed behind her and turning back to see if Lace was keeping up, the biggest grin on her dark-stained lips and her dark eyes sparkling. Pulling Lace into conversations about things that were silly but weirdly compelling. Touching Lace’s hand or walking just a little too close so their hips touched. Lace’s heart raced and her face was hot, to the point she almost wished Runa hadn’t figured out they could touch now. Almost.

They’d entered a sunlit clearing when Runa came up behind her, draping her arms over Lace’s shoulders and pressing her nose to the back of her neck. Lace started, but didn’t pull away.

“Runa…” she said, half exasperated. “You’ve gotta be careful. I’m still figuring out this whole controlling-my-powers thing.”

“But you’re sooo adorable,” Runa said. “Do you know what it’s like to have such an adorable girlfriend, and not be allowed to hug her?”

Lace sighed, though not with much conviction. “Um, I know exactly what that’s like, because I also have an adorable girlfriend. So, you’re not winning any sympathy points there.”

“Touche.”

Lace turned around to face Runa. She hesitated, then took her hands, giving them a careful squeeze. The slightly shorter dwarf offered Lace another grin.

“So, uh.” Runa cleared her throat. “What’s the current verdict on kissing? Still too dangerous or…?”

“Oh, uh, I don’t know.” Lace glanced away. “I mean… We could try? I guess?”

“I’m game if you are.”

Lace sighed again. The problem was, Runa was game for a lot of things that weren’t safe or smart. But it was hard to say no when Runa was giving her that bright, eager look.

“Okay,” Lace said.

She reached out and gently lay a hand on Runa’s smooth cheek. It always surprised her how warm Runa’s skin was. With her being so pale, and from the Mourn Watch, a part of her always expected the other dwarf to be cool to the touch. But she burned like the sun. Lace felt the surge of power bubble up under her skin. She breathed deep, keeping it back.

Runa’s eyes were wide, but she closed them. Lace leaned in, her own eyes closing, and pressed her lips to Runa’s. She kept the kiss short, just a touch of lips to lips. Once again, the power struggled to burst forth and Lace knew it would be a bad idea to go any further right now. But this was more than enough, feeling the softness of Runa’s lips and hearing her sigh.

Lace pulled back and quickly let go of Runa’s hands, worried about how much longer she could keep her powers back. Runa’s lips curved into a dreamy smile.

“That was nice,” she said.

“Yeah,” said Lace. She was a bit lightheaded, half from the kiss and half from the power just below the surface of her skin. She took another deep breath, in and then out, and felt the power calm, sinking back into her.

“You okay?” Runa said.

“Yeah,” Lace said. She smiled. “Yeah. That was a good first step.”

“We’ll keep working on it.”

Lace smiled giddily, and looked up at the sky.

“Shoot,” she said. “It’s later than I realized. We ought to get back.”

They headed back in the direction they came from, chatting idly. They had only gone a few feet down the trail, though, when Lace began to notice something… off.

She paused, so abruptly that Runa almost crashed into her. Lace scanned the ground, then gazed up through the trees, shielding her eyes.

“Um, sorry,” she said. “This isn’t the right way. I think it’s… uh…”

She headed back into the clearing, Runa at her heels, and found another path. But they only went a little ways when again, Lace stopped and once more looked around. Her chest tightened, the beginnings of panic churning in her gut.

“Lace?” Runa said.

“Everything’s fine!” Lace said, turning in place. “Let’s just…”

Back into the clearing they went. Lace looked at the ground again. She was being stupid. She could see where some parts of the dirt were a little more disturbed than others. That must have been the way they’d come.

She led Runa back into the trees. They walked longer this time, and Lace’s panic began to calm. She was sure this was the right way…until they rounded another corner, and suddenly, she wasn’t.

“Uh…” she turned in place, but she saw nothing familiar. No landmarks she recognized from earlier in their hike. No sign that they had come this way at all.

“Everything good?” Runa said, coming to stand beside her.

Lace turned to look at her, eyes very wide.

“Um, Runa…” Lace said. “I think we’re lost.”

Runa frowned, but didn’t look particularly worried.

“Uh-oh,” she said. “Back to the clearing, then?”

“That’s the thing,” Lace said. “I’m also not sure which way the clearing is?”

“Oh.” Runa blinked. “But, you can figure this out, right? I mean, you’re a scout.”

“Exactly, Runa,” Lace said, her voice unusually sharp. “Exactly. I’m a scout. A professional scout. I don’t get lost. Not in years.” She clutched at her hair with both hands. “This is bad.”

Lace whirled around again, panicked once more to see nothing she recognized. Oh, she was such an idiot. Started dating a cute girl and all her skills went right out the window. And now she was endangering both of them with her stupidity.

“I’m so sorry, Runa,” she said. “I shouldn’t’ve let myself get distracted. I’m so stupid.”

“You’re not stupid,” Runa said, still the picture of calmness. “I’m sure we can figure this out. You’re still a scout, after all.”

Lace took a deep breath, calmed a bit by Runa’s scratchy, oddly soothing voice.

“You’re right,” she said. “I… I can do this. Just gotta stay calm.”

Lace sat down on a nearby log, closed her eyes and focused. She retraced the steps they’d taken in her head, just like she taught herself to do as a girl. While the steps from the latter part of the journey were less clear in her mind, they had definitely come from a southerly direction.

She looked up through the treetops, squinting at the remaining light and gauging the place of the sun in the sky. After a moment, she stood up with a nod. She picked up a large stick and planted it in the ground.

“This’ll be our landmark in case we have to double back,” she said. “Come on, Runa, this way.”

Runa nodded, more serious and focused than Lace was used to seeing her. They struck off in what Lace believed was the right direction, turning around when the route didn’t look promising, heading back to their stick landmark.

It was tedious and frustrating. Three times they were forced to double back to the stick until, at last, they headed down a path that began to look more and more familiar the further they went. Lace’s heart rate picked up.

“I think this is it,” she said.

Lace began to recognize more and more landmarks as they continued. Finally, when the sun had nearly completely vanished from the sky, the dwarves stumbled into their campsite.

“Oh, thank the Maker!” Lace said. She could’ve kissed the ground.

Runa sank down on one of the logs by their unlit campfire, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

“That was certainly an adventure,” she said with a grin.

Lace sat down next to her, heaving a sigh. “I really am so sorry,” she said. “I got distracted, and put us in danger. I should’ve known better.”

“You also got us out of danger,” Runa pointed out. “I felt pretty lucky having a professional scout on my side today.”

She nudged Lace with her elbow, making the taller dwarf grin for the first time in hours. They were silent for a moment, then Runa turned to her with mischief in her eyes.

“By the way,” she said. “What was so… distracting to you today, hmm?”

Lace rolled her eyes toward the darkening sky.

“Are you really gonna make me say it?”

“Wow,” said Runa, putting her hands to her cheeks. “I distracted the Scout Lace Harding? Me?”

“I swear, I’m gonna tackle you,” Lace said.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

Lace sighed, but she scooted closer and rested her head on Runa’s shoulder. The other dwarf stiffened and then relaxed, and said no more for the moment. Lace smiled and closed her eyes.

[randomnonsensedragonage]

OC Name + Vibes

I was tagged by @redheadsramblings. Thanks!

The rules are simple: go to Pinterest, search "your OC's name + core", post six pictures. Then tag six people!

I think a lot of folks I know have already been tagged, so if you see this feel free to do!

[randomnonsensedragonage]

Sadly I don’t have a fic ready for today’s @datvcompanionweeks theme 😔 However, I thought I’d take this opportunity to say that maybe I’m the problem, but Harding’s weird recipes actually sound delicious to me. 10/10 would eat 😆