There and Back Again Ch. 005

"When?"

"Well, like I said. I don't exactly know. I know that both Alistair and Aedan are injured, and Flemeth has to heal them. And they should have a longer walk to get to Lothering than we do since they will be starting south of Ostagar in the Wilds. I think. I imagine we'll have a least a day, maybe more, before they catch up to us." They considered that briefly. "Can I ask a practical question?" Both men nodded.

"Well, I don't mean to be nosey, but...do we have any money? I mean, uh, coin?" Tomas admitted to having a small collection of silver, but Theron interrupted.

"We don't need coin. I can requisition what I need in town, and give them a token to claim what they are owed from the Royal Treasury." I stared, open-mouthed, at the stupid, naive, arrogant...Fortunately Tomas cut in before I had the chance to say any of what I was thinking.

"Cailan, the King of Ferelden, most certainly can do those things. But Theron, the non-descript refugee from Blight-infested areas to the south absolutely cannot. First of all, they'd never believe you, as you are; second, do you really want to give Loghain the opportunity to try to have you killed again? This alias, this bluff, it is necessary. It is the only way to keep you safe. Until we can tell all of Ferelden what happened, you need to be anonymous. And third - if this town is as overflowing with refugees as Sierra says, there won't be anything for you to requisition anyway. We're going to have to hope we can buy whatever supplies we need. So. Do you? Have any coin?" Theron flushed, initially looking irritated, but more chagrined by the end. He shook his head.

"I wonder if these are any good here?" I fished in my pockets some more, coming out with a decent handful of change. I put the paper money aside - useless - and was left with some pennies, dimes, quarters, and even a couple of loonies and toonies, one- and two-dollar coins. Tomas examined them, amazed at the clear imprinting on the coins, studying them intently.

He pointed at the pennies, thinking they'd be good for maybe a 25 copper piece. The dimes he figured would be worth five or ten silver each, the quarters more like 25 silver. The loonies he thought we might be able to use as sovereigns, but he wasn't sure. The toonies he was fascinated by, but felt no one would accept as currency. I recalled hearing that if you froze them, you could break toonies so the inner golden-coloured disk separated from the outer silver disk, but I had no good way of freezing them. I put the toonies back in my pocket, and told Tomas to add the rest of my change to his purse. If the loonies would indeed pass, I had handed over about five sovereigns, a small fortune. I made a mental note to bring more small change if I ended up back at home again.

I thought about how we could approach Lothering as I settled down on the ground to sleep. I automatically chose the opposite side of the fire from where Theron reclined. Theron gave me an odd smile, from the other side of the fire, which felt decidedly...weird. I ignored it, choosing to put my back to him and trying to relax. Tomas had claimed he would keep watch, and was sitting on a rock a little apart from the fire. I wasn't cold, but I certainly wasn't comfortable, and I shifted around for a while looking for a better position. After a few minutes, I heard Theron start to snore softly. Somehow the sound was so...homey, I finally closed my own eyes and drifted off.