Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2015 22:02:55 +0000 (UTC)
From: Rainy Day <rainingsparrows@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Becomings of Wardens part 3

This Fan Fiction is based on the Dragon Age video game series trademarked
by BioWare. I do not claim ownership of the characters or the world of
Dragon Age. I've tried not to mess with the "official" story, so names and
dates should be correct for the time period this story takes place.

This story contains sexual relations between minors and adults, and if this
offends you in any way, please do not read any further. Any comments are
welcome at rainingsparrows@yahoo.com

Please consider donating to Nifty!!!!!!


Previously: Simon seemed genuinely surprised when Daniel hugged him. Maybe
Simon didn't get many hugs where he came from, but Daniel had learned from
the sisters in the Chantry that even the smallest act of kindness shouldn't
go unnoticed. Daniel whispered "Thank you Simon." and let go of him. Before
he walked ahead of Simon out the gate and back into the natural light.

"Get everything you need?" Duncan said as the two boys were back at the
horses. He gave the sword on Simon's back and the one that Daniel still
held with a tight grip in his hands and smiled as Simon gave him a nod and
a grin.

"All we need and then some." Daniel said with a quick glance over at
Simon. This could be the start of something special, Daniel thought. And
maybe a lasting friendship.


Part III


Soon the six of them were moving west again. They made several smaller
stops underway, but they did their best to push through. As soon as they
passed the Ferelden-Orlesian border their surroundings changed. Where
Ferelden's buildings were mainly wooden buildings with brown and gray
colors, the Orlesian ones looked like they were made out of fabrics! Their
colors were all from the deepest blue to shocking pink! And a lot more
decoration in the surroundings as well. Huge statues were placed near the
main roads, wonderful bridges and advanced architecture.

After a couple of days they reached the City of Jader, the closest Orlesian
city to the Ferelden border. Just like everything else Simon had seen,
Jader looked colorful from the outside, with huge towers painted in strong
colors. Jader had huge battlements as well. You had to give it to the
Orlesians; they really knew how to make a defensible city, small or
big. The city overlooked the Waking Sea from a cliff and was the Orlesian's
first line of defense for Val Royeaux of invaders from sea. A small road
led down the cliff and to a dock that could hold about thirty ships. As
they approached the gates, they heard a man shout at them with a strange
accent.

"Who goes there?!"

"Grey Wardens from Ferelden." Duncan shouted back and the gates opened
slowly as they approached it.

Inside the city gates they arrived at a large market full of stalls in all
different sizes and colors. As it was night time it was pretty much
abandoned. Soon they were greeted by the captain of the guard.

"Greetings Commander Duncan. What business do you have in the city?" the
large man said in a deep voice. He wore thick plated armor with colorful
fabrics covering his arms, legs and the decorative feathers on his helm.

"Just a pit-stop to Montsimmard, Captain. I am here to meet up with
Constable Emeric. I understand he is in the city?"

"Yes, he is the usual place." the captain said with a chuckle.

Duncan sighed and gave the captain a small nod and they kept moving into
the city. The streets were more or less abandoned, only being lit up by
torches here and there, filling the streets in a thin fog.

"Where are we going Duncan?" Daniel asked as he looked around at the dark
houses and stalls as they traveled further into the city.

"To our headquarters here. It's a tavern." he said quickly and they
continued to walk in silence.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence they approached a huge
building, at least four stories high. On the outside it had been painted in
a deep red color unlike anything Simon had ever seen on a building
before. The party dismounted their horses and entered the tavern. Simon
stopped dead in his tracks. The building was not only four stories high,
but went another three down! The room had, like Orzammar, a huge hole in
the middle with plateaus going down. Duncan grunted in dismay as he started
walking down the stairs. This had to be the biggest tavern in the city,
Simon thought to himself. Almost all of the floors were full of people,
drinking and eating. When they finally reached the bottom of the stairs,
Simon's jaw dropped so fast that it might as well have fallen to the
ground, if his skin hadn't stopped it from doing so. This was a brothel!
All around the floor there were people seated, with women and men in very
little clothing walking around serving drink to their guests. Most of the
guests around wore masks he noticed. He was just about to ask Duncan why,
when he felt a shove in his back.

"Move. We're not there yet." Saunders Ivo said with a grin and pushed him
once more towards a thick wooden door at the end of the room. Duncan didn't
even flinch from the prostitutes, walked straight to the door, and knocked
twice. A small slot opened and a pair of eyes looked at Duncan quickly
before closing again and the door opened. A huge man, dressed in thick Grey
Warden armor loomed over them. He had to be at least a head taller than
Duncan.

"You're late." he said strictly and looked Duncan over and then his small
party. "You only found these two?" he asked with a quick nod towards Daniel
and Simon.

"I believe these two will do well for us." Duncan replied and looked back
at the two boys and gave them a warm smile. "Are the rest here yet?" he
asked quickly and tried to look past the big man.

"We were only waiting for you. Do you need to rest before traveling to
Montsimmard?" the tall man asked as he moved aside, letting the others
through.

"Yes, I think so. Our horses have been riding through the night to get
here." Duncan said as he entered the room. Simon and Daniel followed the
three others though the door, which was shut and locked as soon as they
stepped inside. Once again, Simon's jaw dropped. Everything in this city
was a lot bigger than it looked. The room was actually not just one room,
but actually multiple rooms filling a huge cave. The walls looked like they
were made from rough stone. There were small tunnels here and there leading
into other rooms, but it was dominated by the one big room. It had
everything one could wish for. Several bookshelves, beds, armor stands and
even an own kitchen filled the room. Unlike Orzammar, this cave wasn't lit
up by lava, but floating balls of light that hung still in the air.

Tanyl and Saunders Ivo walked straight over to the armory part of the cave,
loosening their own armor as they walked. Katarina walked over to one of
the many bookshelves and started to look through them. Duncan and the
bigger man, which Simon guessed was Constable Emeric, the commander of the
Grey Wardens of Orlais, walked towards the middle of the cave where there
was a long table. There already sat many people at it. Some of them were
eating, some were reading and others just talked. Simon estimated it to be
around 20 people filling the cave.

Simon and Daniel followed Duncan and Emeric as they sat down at the
table. The two younger boys sat close enough to hear what they were saying.

"Do you know anything about what this is about?" Emeric asked Duncan and
poured himself and Duncan something to drink, ale Simon guessed.

"No." Duncan said, looking very serious, "But it can't be good, since he's
calling all of us. It takes us months to travel to Weisshaupt!" he said
shaking his head.

"How many men do you need, you think?" Emeric said and grabbed a parchment
and quill.

"I don't think I'll need that many. Maybe eight. I can't take too many; you
know what it's like to travel into the Anderfells."

"Which is why I ask... Do you need me to come along? It's not the easiest
route to travel. Having more men around wouldn't hurt. Especially with the
Darkspawn activity going on in the area."

Duncan looked curiously over Emeric's face.

"You want to come with is? Are you not needed here? I think Fontaine will
bring men with her from Montsimmard, so we should be safe though the
Anderfells." Duncan noted. Emeric looked disappointed.

"I was hoping to get out from here. I want- I need to do something
again. I've been stuck here for months!" Emric threw the parchment and
quill at the table and grabbed chunks of his long dark hair. "It's coming
soon, Duncan. The calling. I..." but he was stopped when Duncan laid his
hand at his shoulder.

"It's coming for all of us, Emeric. And when it does we-" he stopped and
looked over at the two young boys, listening in on their every word.

"Simon. Daniel. You two should head to the armory and see if they have
anything for you." Duncan said, sounding quite serious. Guessing that they
weren't supposed to hear the rest of their conversation, Simon nudged
Daniel at his side and they walked over towards Tanyl and Saunders Ivo.

"Hello boys," Saunders Ivo said in his deep voice and smiled as they
approached, "Looking for some gear?" Both Saunders Ivo and Tanyl was
looking through the Grey Wardens extensive collection of armors, swords,
shields and bows. There was even a couple of staffs hanging by the walls.

"I wouldn't mind getting something else than these rags..." Simon said as
he looked over his own well used clothes.

"I think we'll find something useful for you, if you don't mind using some
Dalish armor? I don't think we have much else in your size." Tanyl grinned
at him. Simon didn't mind Dalish armor. The little he knew about the Dalish
was pretty much the things he'd heard on the street. He'd heard that some
Dalish clans was very aggressive against humans, or Shemlen as they called
them. But their skills in crafting, especially lighter armor and bows, was
unlike any human craftsmen could create.

Simon looked over the different armors. There was a lot of plated armor,
like both Saunders Ivo and Duncan wore, but there was also lighter ones
like the ones Tanyl wore. Tanyl walked over to a huge wooden chest and
pulled out a dark grey armor and held it up for Simon to see. As he
thought, it was a lot like the one Tanyl already had on.

"I think it should fit. Try it on." He said and tossed it over to Simon,
along with a matching pair of boots and gauntlets. When Simon just stood
there with the dark leather in his hands, he said impatiently, "You going
to try it? Come on!"

"Here, I'll help. Take your shirt off." Daniel said and stepped forward.

Simon blushed as Daniel's surprisingly soft hands started to pull Simon's
shirt over his head and folding it neatly. This left Simon bare chested in
the middle of an armory, painfully aware of the many eyes that were
watching him. Not that Simon had much to be ashamed of. He had a smooth
chest, with a little patch of dark hairs under his arms. He had very little
fat and hints of a six pack. A thin trail of hairs let down from his navel
and under his belt. Simon wasn't sure, but he thought that Daniel stopped
for a second and looked him over, before he started to strap on the leather
chest piece. Simon was surprised when Daniel seemed to have little problem
finding the right places to fasten the straps and belts, because there was
a lot of them! Straps around his shoulders, back, even around his waist,
but Daniel skillfully fastened all of them. And after five minutes, Simon
stood fully armored up with his new boots, firm gauntlets and strapping
chest piece. Simon tried to move his shoulders, arms and legs to see how
the armor fit, and he was surprised when he noticed just how flexible it
was! It was as if he was wearing nothing at all!

"What do you guys think?" he said and turned around to let the other see
the entire armor.

"Looks good. I was right about the size too. Good thing we have so many
Dalish Wardens around." Tanyl chuckled.

"I agree." Saunders Ivo said and nodded, "It seems to fit you well." He
walked over to Simon and started to thug in different places. "It holds."
He confirmed and smiled. Simon was very happy with it. The only problem he
had with it was that it was rather... chilly, down below. There was only a
few leather straps covering him there and left his nether regions more or
less uncovered, even though the armor had leather flaps down the side of
his thighs, the next thing to protect him down there was his boots that
went all the way to his knees. The only thing covering him was his wool
pants. Not much help against a hit below the belt. It seemed like Daniel
shared his concern.

"Maybe you should get something to cover up your thighs or something. You
look quite vulnerable with them showing the gaps in your armor so much." He
observed as he walked around Simon, studying every inch of his
armor. Daniel already had his own leather armor. Much like his own,
Daniel's armor was held on tight by leather straps, but his was reinforced
been studded with steel for extra strength.

"You're right..." Tanyl said as he too started to study Simon's thighs,
which made Simon blush even harder, "We need to cover those up with some
leather. Let me see..." He said as he ventured deep into the chest
again. After a couple of minutes, he came back up with a set of leather
pants, with reinforcements like those that Daniel's armor had. "These
should cover it."

"Alright, let's do i-" Daniel started and grabbed a chunk of Simon's pants,
but Simon grabbed Daniel's hands.

"I-I can do that part myself!" he said, blushing harder than ever. A little
surprised, Daniel let go of Simon's pants and let Simon tug them down
himself. The most important reason for Simon to wanted to do that part
himself, was the fact that he didn't have anything under his wool pants!
Thankfully, his chest piece stopped the many prying eyes from seeing that,
so he was still covered once the pants were off. He quickly stepped into
the leather pants, and fastened it with another belt.

"Ahh, so much better!" Simon sighed when the belt was fastened around the
pants. "I can live in this!"

"Ha ha ha! I don't think you'd want that." Daniel laughed, "It's very
uncomfortable after a while, so I'd advise you to take it off when you're
going to sleep or something like that. Just don't wear it all the time."

"This is true." Tanyl said with a sly smile, "As long as you wear this when
we travel, you should be fine. And now, you should have some more
protection the next time a Shriek attacks you."

Simon smiled from that comment. They messed around in the armory for a good
while more, managing to find a suitable shield for Daniel as well. A wooden
one, that wasn't too thick and heavy for him to handle.

"This seems nice!" Daniel said and fastened the straps along his arm,
holding it in place.

Soon they finished up, grabbing any gear that they might need and packed it
into their bags before they headed to one of them many beds around the
chamber. Simon and Daniel managed to find a set of beds close to the
armory, which was warm from the flames there. Simon decided to try at least
once to sleep in his leather armor, especially now that he didn't wear
anything under it. Daniel on the other hand, used some time to take off his
leather armor, piece by piece. Simon couldn't help but to watch as Daniel
loosened the belts around his waist and tugged in a string on his back,
loosening the entire armor. Like Simon, Daniel didn't have anything under
his armor, at least his chest piece. Being a squire had surely affected his
body! He had pretty well defined muscles along his arms and he had a much
more defined six-pack than Simon did. Like Simon, he was hairless on his
chest, but Simon noticed a few hairs under his armpits. Without caring, or
maybe it was without knowing that Simon was watching, he started to loosen
his belt around his waist and started pulling on his pants. He noticed
right away the bare skin underneath. Simon closed his eyes and rolled onto
his back. He felt a heat in his entire body, not really sure why.

"Good night, Simon." He heard Daniel say as he crept under the covers on
his bed.

"Good night." Simon almost whispered, in deep thoughts. Since he'd grown up
on the street, Simon hadn't had much contact of a sexual nature, not
voluntary at least. He didn't count what that damned guard had done to him,
maybe both of them for all he knew. He felt a stinging pain in the corner
of his eye thinking about it. He rolled over on his side, away from
Daniel. He didn't want Daniel to see him cry.

The next morning Simon was woken up by a shove in the shoulder.

"Wake up, Simon. We have to get moving again soon." A calm voice said.

"Five more minutes..." Simon mumbled, pulling the blanket over him more.

"We don't have time for that, I'm afraid."

And with that he felt a thug in his feet and he was dragged out from the
very comfortable bed and onto the stone floor.

"Ouch!" Simon cried out as he hit his head a bit.

"You awake now?" the voice laughed. Simon was awake now, that was true. It
looked like everyone in the room was on the move. Saunders Ivo was
strapping his greatsword on his back, Tanyl was filling his quiver with
arrows and Katarina sat in her usual position, with her eyes closed and
waiting. Simon looked up, it had been Duncan who dragged him out of bed. He
was smiling at him, which was a good sign.

"I see you managed to find an armor that fit you. Good. We have to get a
lot of riding done today, so please hurry. Try to get something to eat and
we'll be on our way." Duncan said and walked over to the long table, where
there was several maps spread out.

Simon got up and looked over at Daniel. He was sitting in his own bed and
looking at Simon.

"Are you alright? Looked like you took a hit there." He said, looking
worried at Simon.

"I'm alright... Aaaaaaaaand I'm up." He said as he got on his feet. He felt
a little dizzy, but it soon passed. He strapped his sword on his back and
his dagger on his left side of his hip.

After a quick bite to eat, the Ferelden Wardens, plus another six
Orlaisians ones, headed up through the many floors of the tavern and out
into the morning light of Jader.

"Where are we going now, Duncan?" Simon asked as they walked over the now
busy market place of Jader.

"We're heading straight for Montsimmard. We'll meet up with the rest of the
Wardens there. It's a long way, almost as long as from Denerim to here."
Duncan answered as they approached them main gate. "We expect to be in
Montsimmard within a week or so. The terrain is rough, even along the
Imperial Highway." Since it was morning now, the gate was open now, unlike
the night before. Plenty of people, farmers and citizens walked in and out
from the gate. The Wardens walked straight over to the stables, where they
picked up their horses. Daniel finally got his own horse. A beautiful brown
one named Sekna. The Orlesian Wardens rode in front with Duncan leading the
way while Tanyl, Katarina, Saunders Ivo, Daniel and Simon forming the
back. They spent most of the day riding. They took a few stops every now
and then to let the horses rest and drink. During this time, Simon and the
others talked.

Simon learned that he'd been correct about Tanyl being a city elf. He'd
grown up in Denerim, like Daniel and Simon, and had been recruited by
Duncan two years earlier. Much like Simon, Tanyl's fate had been sealed
when Duncan recruited him, after Tanyl has two of the guards of a noble in
Denerim. Tanyl explained that he'd been forced to either die or defend
himself. When he had explained that he had been assaulted first, the guards
had sentenced him to death. Thankfully Duncan had been nearby and demanded
Tanyl released into the Grey Wardens by the right of conscription.

Katarina had been a circle mage all her life. She had passed her Harrowing,
the test that determines if a mage is able to resist possession, with
flying colors. After that, she had spent her days excelling in primal
magic, especially fire and ice, but she also possessed healing
abilities. The Grand Enchanter had called for Duncan to see her as a
potential recruit, something that both Duncan and Katarina happily applied.

"You have all gone through so much!" Daniel said when Katarina finished her
story. "What about you Simon?"

"I- stole from Duncan." Simon said, now noticing how little exciting his
story sounded compared to the others. "I was captured by the guards and
Duncan picked me up from my cell."

Daniel looked like he expected more to the story, because he has a weird
look on his face for several seconds, before it seemed like he realized
that there wasn't more to the story after all.

"Ah, alright. I guess that works too." Daniel said with a hint of a
smile. Simon wanted to give him a mean look, but Tanyl came to his rescue.

"Simon stole from Duncan his ring, his Grey Warden signet ring. Duncan was
a thief himself once, and isn't an easy target to steal from, even though
he doesn't look like it now. And Simon proved himself a fighter, just
before we picked up you actually." Tanyl said with a look over at Daniel,
"He managed to sense a Shriek, the Darkspawn assassin specialist, without
dying first. That takes a lot of skill. He almost killed it too, but those
beasts are hard to kill with just a simple dagger." All while Tanyl talked,
Daniel stared at Simon with an open mouth.

"Good thing you got a new blade. You'll kill a Shriek easy with one of
those." Tanyl said, pointing at the sword at Simon's back.

After a full day of riding, Simon had nodded off in the saddle a few times,
but not gotten any real sleep. So when they finally set up camp for the
night, Simon didn't bother setting up a tent and just rolled out his
bedroll close to the fire and almost fainted into it. Daniel did as he did,
and just unrolled his own bedroll next to Simon. As Daniel was a more
experienced rider, he was used to sleep in the saddle, and had gotten a few
hours of sleep.

"You alright, Simon?" Daniel asked, unable to hide his grin.

"I'm exhausted... I hate riding. I can't sleep and my thighs are burning. I
like sailing more..."

"Ohh, you sailed before? I've never been on a boat before."

"I used to live by the docks. I got work on a boat once, so I've been to
Rivain." Simon said and rolled onto his back, looking up at the star filled
sky. "We spent two days in Dairsmuid, stocking up on goods before we
returned back home. Best experience of my life."

"It sounds glorious." Daniel said, smiling warmly down at his friend.

"It was. So have you been anywhere else, other than Denerim?"

"Umm..." Daniel laid down on his back and looked up to the sky. "I pretty
much only spent time around Denerim. Going on the mission with Ser Aaron
was the first time I ever went out from Denerim." Daniel said, and Simon
noticed a tear in the corner of his eyes.

"I-I'm sorry, Daniel. I didn't mean to bring him u-"

"No! It's OK, Simon. I started out on an adventure with a wonderful man,
and ended up in a new one, with a great friend."

This took Simon a little by surprise, but when Daniel looked over at him,
he was sincere. Daniel looked at Simon as a friend, something Simon had
never experienced before. As a pickpocket, he'd never made friends, just
accomplices.

"Thank you, Daniel. You're a great friend too." Simon said, feeling a lump
in his throat forming. Not exchanging more words, both boys laid down on
their bedrolls and looked up at the night sky. One after the other, they
fell asleep, right next to each other.