"Not to me!"

"Shemlen mostly look alike to me," she shrugs.

"They do look similar, but I can't say I immediately jumped to assuming bastardry."

"Perhaps I shouldn't have said anything." And to Acara, "They all look alike? Really? Is that the literal truth or an expression of contempt?"

"Contempt. The shemlen I've met who were worth telling apart have been few and far between thus far."

"I haven't met very many."

"Elissa and Duncan are above average. Her more than him. I hope they don't spoil you for the rest."

"Is this rude to discuss in front of you?" she asks the humans in the group.

"I regret that you were unable to meet better examples of humanity. I don't believe there's an inherent moral difference between elves and humans, and I've had a hand in the raising of many children of both species."

Daveth just shrugs.

"I can't claim to know much about mages. The templars always abducted any that were born to us."

"I know. I am deeply sorry for your loss."

"I wasn't close to anyone who lost a child to the Chantry."

Ambrose approaches from the direction of the Wardens' tents.

"Duncan has asked me to take care of an errand while we're out there; there are some documents he'd like retrieved from a ruin, if they're still there. But that shouldn't interfere with gathering vials of darkspawn blood."

"What documents?"

"Treaties promising aid to the Wardens in the event of a Blight."

"Why were they left in a ruin?"

"He didn't say. If I were to speculate, I might suggest the position was overrun and hiding them was possible but carrying them away was not. As for why they haven't been retrieved since then, they are by no means the only copies in existence, and there is some danger in the Korcari Wilds even when they aren't full of darkspawn. But since we're going out there anyway..." He shrugs.

"Mm."

"That makes sense. Shall we leave?"

"Yes."

He leads the way out the gate and down into the forest. There's a fair amount of down involved; the fortress of Ostagar sat at the top of a very tall cliff.

"I think the most efficient way to do this is probably to find the treaties first, and if we don't encounter enough darkspawn on the way there, we can seek them out more aggressively on the way back. Does that sound reasonable?"

"Better at it," murmurs Shiral, apparently to herself.

"Pardon?"

At a more conversational volume: "Yes, that does sound reasonable."

"Where are the vials?"

"I have them. One for each of you, and two extra in case of accidents."