Vigil's Keep

Denerim itself was a city mostly filled with humans. The elves were kept to Alienages and the squalor in some parts of the city was obvious. Even under the rule of the current Royals, there was little that could be done about the darker and seedier side of the city.

Anyone other than a human would be regarded with suspicion.

Janella had merely arched a brow, her head tilting a bit as she responded. "You might worry more about yourself." There was just a hint of a smile there, either from amusement or derision, it was difficult to tell. "Stay safe, Rind," she said in farewell.

The elf regretted her decision to come to Denerim by herself, noticing that people were cutting their eyes at her quite a bit. She ignored it, and decided to see out a temple that Natalie may have worshiped or served at. Janella recalled seeing an alter for Andraste. If she could find a place that corresponded with the worship of such a deity she might be able to track down Natalie's family.

Janella would receive no help from most of the people... unless she approached vendors of course. Money was money even if it came from an elf. The guards would let her through no problem with her writ, although disdain was seen in their eyes at her.

If Janella was looking for places which worshipped Andraste, she was in luck. Denerim is considered a holy city to worshippers of Andraste, as it is the place of her birth. There were small alcoves dedicated to her along the way although there was one main chantry located in the middle of town. Smaller chantries were located at different parts of the city.

She would be looking for one Sister Amile.

Even if her social skills were lacking, she knew that people's refusal to even point her in the right direction stemmed from the fact she was an elf. Rolling her eyes at people whenever they gave her the cold shoulder, she went on her way. The former assassin was eager to be done with it by now.

She did decide to stop at one of the alcoves and perhaps offer up a small donation in return for information. With enough pestering and wheedling, she learned more. Armed with the information, the elf decided to head to the main chantry toward the center of town. She asked about Sister Amile at smaller chantries that she passed. If Sister Amile did not prove to be there, she would head toward the main chantry, hoping that Sister Amile would be there.

The chantry folks were a lot more open once she gave some donations. They'd direct her to the main chantry where she would have a better chance of being found. At least someone there would keep a directory of where the members of the holy order were. She would get information from one of the smaller chantries that there was a Sister Amile somewhere in the northern part of the city but they were not sure which chantry she served at.

As Janella entered the main building, while she was given the stink eye by most people, the Sisters were at least a lot more welcoming.

One of the Mothers would walk up to Janella, greeting her. "Have you come for blessings child?" she asked softly and kindly with a smile. She was old, perhaps in her fifties. While some of the younger ladies avoided Janella, the older ones bore no ill will to her for her race. It was after all, part of their mission to spread the Chant.

The elf was the stingy sort and didn't like spending coin on things she didn't see as worth it, but she thought that sparing some of her traveling expenses so that finding this sister would be less of a pain in her ass was worth it. She was happy to get some information about where the main Chantry was, and that Sister Amile was likely in the Northern part of the city.

Janella had no interest, but she still put on a polite smile for the older woman that approached her. "No, thank you. I have come seeking Sister Amile, I must inform her of something," she responded. She was unperturbed when people were hostile with her, due to her race and profession she was used to it. The elf was sorely tempted to try and pickpocket some people that were pointedly not looking at her, or maybe bump into some of the ones that were pointedly looking at her. For once, she told herself to resist and kept her hands to herself.

The old woman nodded her head as Janella spoke of a Sister Amile. She'd take the elf to a book listing all the members of the chantry in the city. She'd open a map before looking through the listing. Finding Amile's name, she'd point it to a building on the map.

"Right here in the north, close to the alienage. Maker be with you child," the woman said when she sent Janella off.

The small chapel wouldnt be hard to find, although she would pass by the alienage. It was quite similar to what she would have from Antiva, with elves as the second class citizens. Young children played in the streets, their laughter filling the air. In a corner, a young chantry sister was busy teaching the young elves to read and the elves seemed at ease around her.

The elf thanked the woman for her help before leaving. She felt less grumpy now that she had some more definitive directions. Observing the social dynamics, she found she was familiar enough with it even if she didn't like it. Janella tolerated the children and just tried not to step on them mostly, annoyed if they didn't get out of her way.

Spotting a young sister that was giving a lesson to some young elves, she approached and asked, "Excuse me, do you know where I might find Sister Amile this time of day?"

The sister would pause her lesson, sending the kids to do some work once she was done with a section before approaching Janella.

"That would be me miss, how may I help you?" she said with a smile.

Janella was willing to wait until the young woman was done. Once it was revealed this was Sister Amile, she was relieved the kids had been sent away. Even she knew it would be in bad taste to tell Sister Amile what had happened to Natalie in front of them.

"My name is Janella. I am a newly recruited warden, and was sent to investigate why some Wardens who were sent on a mission in the Hinterlands had not returned. One of them was your sister, Natalie. We could not recover her corpse, but I did bring her effects," taking the bag of Natalie's possessions she'd been carrying and handing them over. She kept her voice as soft and considerate as she could.

When Janella handed Natalie's belongings, she took them without question holding on to them, listening to the elven lass. Her expression remained neutral.

"She's gone?" the woman asked weakly. She'd turn to the children, dismissing them for the day. They looked concerned for her but ran off once one of the elders of the alienage saw Amile needed time.

"How..." the young sister said as she held her sister's belongings close to her. Tears started brimming to her eyes. "Thank you..." but that was all she could manage. She really was about to become a wreck.

Janella was not used to handling these kinds of delicate situations, she glanced about furtively as if hoping some sort of assistance would just summon itself. The elf thought that Sister Amile was being stoic at first, until she heard the quality of her voice and the tears.

"Yes, she has been for a while now," she started to try and steer Sister Amile into the chantry, where she'd be able to sit down and have some time to herself to mourn. Janella reflected it might have been best to ask to speak to Sister Amile in private first. "She was killed fighting Darkspawn, she and two companions were in a thaig in Valammar, it was near the Deep Roads. The bridge leading into the thaig had collapsed, they might have become trapped and outnumbered. Many Darkspawn corpses littered the ground around them."

Sadly life was not so kind to Janella as to produce some sort of assistance. The most she would get was the fluttering of pigeons as they took off from the places. The children who had been under Sister Amile hung away, as the adults of the alienage worked out something serious was happening.

Amile followed Janella into the chantry, listening to her as she spoke of how Natalie passed. The young woman choked back a sob before she placed her sister's things down. "I see... thank you," the woman managed to choke out before she reached into her purse to take out a gold coin, pushing it to Janella. A payment for bringing the message, even if she had done it on orders.

It was basic courtesy and this was all she had left of her sister.

"If... if I could have some time to myself.. sorry," she said before taking her sisters belongings and going to her room in the chantry. It was quiet. It wasn't huge honestly. Just a room for one sister, maybe two at most, and a main area of worship.

Janella could leave to go back, or take the time to explore Denerim. It was after all, the city where the last Archdemon had been slain.

Janella thought she would rather fight with more Darkspawn than have to deal with someone who was crying and grieving. She did not think she really deserved the gold coin, despite her ethics she had a twisted moral code that looked down on things not worked for. Even if that work was not legitimate.

The elf also thought it would just make the situation worse if she tried to give the gold back, and accepted it with thanks. "It's not a problem . . . sorry," she said as Sister Amile made her departure. Janella left the chantry, relieving that was over with and recovering from trying to comfort someone. She decided to explore Denerim before leaving. Might as well, since she had traveled a ways to get there. Telling herself she would just look around a bit before heading back, she went to see some of the sights before heading back to the Keep.

Honestly she probably deserved the gold coin from dealing with the grief. Besides it was customary to tip the messenger after all. Janella would have some coin for her travels, although she could have brought her own money to spend! After all, this was the capital. They wouldn't have the styles Orlais had but certainly had the latest fashion.

There was a statue of a griffin built to honour the Hero of Ferelden, marking the place where the Archdemon had been slain. Along the main roads, everything looked well, but if one peered behind them, the poor roamed the smaller streets... as did crime.

A young child ran across the street, bumping into a merchant before apologising. As he ran away, the merchant checked his pockets before crying that his coins had been stolen as he tried to run in the direction of the child.

In another alley, someone was being held against a wall with a group of men, hurling insults and threatening them.

The former assassin felt like she had already been pain for the service but she still pocketed the coin. She shook away the thoughts of death and mourning, and it was easy enough with all the distractions and activity going on as she put more and more distance between herself and the chantry.

Janella spotted the child that had stolen from a merchant. She saw a younger version of herself in the child, and subtly acted on the kid's behalf. The merchant would find himself tripped up as he ran after the child, but he didn't see who did it. By the time he turned around to look behind, the offender was gone. When he looked back in the direction of the thief, they were gone as well. The elf turned down an alley, passing the group that was surrounding a lone figure. She was stealthy enough that she wasn't seen as she passed through the group, passing right among them. The temptation to fall into old habits with pranks and pick pocketing was great, and she found herself indulging a bit. Victims and perpetrators alike might find their toes stepped on, their belts cut so that their pants fell down around their boots and their coin purses gone after she walked through. The altercation was effectively disrupted, but not in a good way.

After her bit of fun, she reflected she should leave before she got herself into trouble. This kind of behavior had led her to being outright banned from some cities, mostly because she'd been so damn slippery she'd escaped justice. The elf decided to take a scenic route toward an exit and head back to the Keep to see what other work they might have for her.

Janella would find herself in possession of a good bit of coins, the occasional religious trinket. Other than that, the citizens didn't carry anything fancy... but hey at least she stopped the altercation!

When Janella got back, she was thanked by Vimes who would dismiss her until the next time he needed her. She was free to roam the Keep. Rind had already returned from his mission to Amaranthine.