"Denerim did have more people than here," says Aria. She will just, uh, not mention the fact that she killed half the arl's garrison last month. "If you expect Amaranthine to fall in the near future then we should probably see about getting the remaining population out, maybe up to the Free Marches. That's not unimportant work, if you think it's where you're needed, but if we don't gather enough people now then the whole country falls, and from then on the darkspawn just keep taking bites out of the rest of the world."

Nathaniel thinks on this for a moment, then stands. "Excuse me, I need to have a word with the captain before he leaves. Thank you, for the advice."

He exits the kitchen.

"I think he's going to put that into action, Aria. He seems sensible."

"Sensible's good," says Aria, before yawning. For a moment she looks much less like any sort of military commander and much more like a very tired nineteen-year-old elf who's trying very hard to play a particular role right now. "Uh. Do you people have, like, beds here, maybe?"

"I've been staying in the servants quarters," Zevran says, with a gesture to his ears.

"I don't tell anyone where I sleep. That's how they get you, you know."

"If it pleases, ma'am, quite a number of the rooms upstairs are empty. Guest rooms. I'm sure the master won't mind if your group takes a few," an elven servant says with a curtsy. 

"I'll take a floor and a blanket at this point, but wherever you think is best," she says, smiling at the servant. "We might also need, like, baths, I'm given to understand that it's sort of rude to go around smelling like darkspawn viscera."

"There's baths in the caverns, some hot springs. I'll take the ladies down, and Aren can take the boys?"

"Thank you," she says, very sincerely. "Behave," she says, mock-glaring at Alistair, and then she gestures to Leliana to indicate that she can come along with her. 

"I am behaving," says Alistair. "A bath does sound nice."

The servant girl leads Aria and Leliana into the bowels of the castle, collecting towels from an alcove as they go. "I can launder your clothes and have them ready tomorrow? In the mean time we do have some tunics and trousers, though they are the masters'. The old masters' I mean, and his son. Not Nathaniel, the- oh."

"It's okay. I ramble too when I'm nervous. I would appreciate a change of clothes. Would you mind taking my leathers, too?"

"Of course not, ma'am. I'll deliver them to the armoury for cleaning and repair."

"My armor barely even fits," murmurs Aria, before reflecting that this is probably because she stripped pieces of it off a dead soldier in the Arl of Denerim's estate. "Which means the tunics won't even really be a step down, I guess. You're being incredibly helpful, we all really appreciate it. D'you like working here?"

"I...now. Yes. Before, not so much," she says. She seems more comfortable talking informally to Aria, though she does shoot worried looks at Leliana.

"I can imagine," says Aria, sympathetically. "Nathaniel seems OK. I'm sort of inclined to say that you can't really tell in public, but it turns out sometimes you really can. My cousins and I had a terrible run-in with the son of the Arl of Denerim right before I got conscripted into the wardens. Hopefully you're not having anything like our magnitude of problems here, at least not anymore."

"Not anymore, though the..." she trails off, looking worriedly at Leliana.

"Oh, is that the baths? I'll run in ahead, I'll leave my clothes and armour by the door," Leliana says, and puts on a bit of speed.

The elven girl doesn't notice this as an act of kindness, but shrinks into the wall. "Did I offend her?"

"No, no, she's just making sure you don't feel like there're humans listening in. Leliana's pretty OK. You had problems before?"

"Oh. Well. We're not really used to that. If we offended Howe- The master...he wouldn't like that. And of late his punishments were...severe. The Arl of Denerim was as bad? I had...a friend, who went to work there years back."

"I dunno if the Arl himself was too bad. His son was a terror, though. Kidnapped a bunch of people shortly before I was conscripted, and some of us had to go and break them out. Would've gotten in a lot more trouble for it if the wardens hadn't conscripted me on the spot." She figures she should probably elide the details; there's no reason to go around telling people that her cousin was raped or that her fiancé was murdered or that she killed half the garrison getting to them. "I dunno how they were on a daily basis, though, I've never been a servant. I don't think I'm good enough at, uh - deferring to people. My dad's a tailor and my mom was a rat catcher."

"He sounds terribly like the Arl. Power must get to humans something awful." She offers Aria a watery smile. "My mum was a tailor too. Though she was moved to the Highever alienage. I miss her."

She shakes herself off a little. "Well, ma'am, would you like me to take your things? And Miss Leliana's?"

"Yes, thank you. I'll just go and see if I can wash the darkspawn gunk out of my ears, then," she says, smiling.