Ignore them

You shrug the awkward conversation away and move forward, past the quartermaster.

Upon reaching another ramp leading to a small almost like a balcony room, you are met with the shouts of two men. One is a young looking blonde fine man, armored with not just his steel armor and a sword with a shield but also a very devious smile on his face. His opponent, an older gentleman dressed in similar robes to yours faces him and you could literally scoop the anger from his like butter. You approach just as their argument seems to end as the robed man storms past you.

" You know, one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together. " The striking young man turns to you smiling as you still hear the angry stomps behind you.

" Yeah I know exactly what you mean. "

" It's like a party ! We could all stand in a circle and hold hands. That would give the darkspawn a lot to think about. Wait, we haven't met have we ? I don't suppose you happen to be another mage ? "

" I am indeed a mage. "

" Really ? You don't look like a mage. Uhmm... that is... interesting. Oh wait I know who you are ! Duncan's new recruit from the tower ! I should have recognized you right away. "

" Oh, yeah no. It's fine. "

You flash a quick smile as the conversation continues. He explains how he is here to guide and help you with a ritual that you need to go through in order to become the grey warden. Afterwards you talk about darkspawn and how you only saw a corpse of one mere half an hour ago. Then you mention other things such as the argument you saw him having with the other mage and some basic information that you managed to gleam from him. Even from a pretty short conversation you can tell that his heart is in the right place although sometimes he does feel like a bit of a doofus.

But anyway, he steers the conversation to its end as Duncan wanted him and all recruits to report back.

Once you return to Duncan, he first scolds Alistair for his dealing with the mage and that he was not as neutral as he should have been now that he is a grey warden and not a templar. Then he turns his attention to you. With the three new recruits lined up, he begins to tell you the first part of the trial. Your first mission, collecting three vials of darkspawn blood.

At first you thought it was a joke but from the short time you have known Duncan you understand he is not an individual to joke about such matters. You turn your head to your fellow recruits to see them stare with confusion and bewilderment, questioning the idea but having **** to disobey. Next task is more for Alistair than you. Duncan tells you how deep in the Korcari Wilds, there is an old Warden outpost that should still house old treaties that promised help to Grey Wardens from various factions and races of Ferelden. While this is not the main objective for the recruits, Duncan decided to include it in the test as more battle experience can only be helpful against the vile forces of Darkspawn.

With that, your objectives set, you settle everything in your mind and think about everything you need to do and after checking your equipment you head to the gate and into the Korcari Wilds.