All of them were more determined than he was. Riona seemed dedicated to the Vigil cause. The charr crusader was going to follow her orders to the letter. And Killeen would not be dissuaded from visiting a city filled with ghosts.
The problem, thought Dougal, was that none of them had any idea of what lay waiting for them in Ascalon City. He had been there, at horrendous cost. They didn't seem too interested in listening to his warnings here in the safety of Lion's Arch; would they listen to him when they were surrounded by the howling masses of spirits?
Dougal leaned back and looked at the ceiling, and the next thing he knew there was a loud thumping on the door. He blinked himself awake and noticed that the room's single oil lamp was still lit and no light peeked through the night shutters. He could not have been asleep more than two hours.
Staggering to the door, he found the hylek, Naugatl, standing there, his wide amphibian orbs equally bleary. "Gather your things," the hylek said. "You are leaving."
Dougal stared at the creature, who repeated his message, then waddled down the hall. The creature thumped on the next door and was greeted by a feminine curse.
Realizing that Riona was just as irritated as he was, Dougal almost smiled as he put together his meager belongings. He splashed some ice-cold water from a pitcher on his face to brace himself awake, briefly considered changing out of the clothes he had slept in, decided it was not worth the time, and shambled down to the meeting room.
He got there before Riona, which pleased him in some perverse manner. Killeen had arrived early, but even she seemed bleary-eyed and worn-out. Only Ember seemed unaffected by the early hour, picking at the remains of the moa platter from dinner.
They sat there for a few long minutes. Servants brought in a platter of cheese and a new ewer of wine. Dougal helped himself to the cheese but abjured the wine.
"Riona's late. Perhaps we will have to leave without her," Killeen said, yawning.
Dougal smiled at the thought of Riona chasing after them as they left the safe house. "Perhaps we should."
Killeen stared at Dougal with her wide green eyes. After a moment he decided he'd become uncomfortable with it.
"What?" he asked.
"Just wondering what your bones will look like."
Dougal frowned at her. Ember stopped picking the moa and glared at the sylvari.
"What are your wishes in the event of your demise?" she added, smiling at Dougal.
"What?" he responded.
Killeen shrugged. "There's a possibility that some of us will not survive this mission. It's only wise that we make each other aware of our last wishes. Would you prefer a burial, a burning, or something else entirely?"
Dougal shrugged. "Do whatever you like. At that point, I'll be beyond caring."
"Really?" Killeen's eyes lit up like the rising sun glaring off the sea. "That's refreshing. Most humans prefer to be buried, but with all the undead streaming out of Orr these days, a growing number are choosing to be burned instead. Just to make sure that they don't end up as some sort of zombie or skeleton in the service of the dragon Zhaitan, of course. Not that it's really them: their spirit should have fled by that point, after all. Most people either can't or don't bother to make the distinction."
She looked him up and down as if she were sizing up a side of beef. "You would make an excellent undead servant." She circled around him, checking him out from every angle. "Are you sure you wouldn't mind?"
Despite himself, Dougal shuddered. "Riona's right," he said, "you are creepy sometimes."
Killeen showed all her bright teeth as she smiled at him. "I am who I am."
A deep voice booming from the hallway interrupted the conversation. "Hail, my new friends! This shall be a saga our grandchildren will sing with pride!"
At first Dougal had felt relieved to be spared any more of Killeen's curiosity, but then he turned to see the norn walking toward them with a wide grin on his tremendous face. Dougal's muscles bunched in case Gullik was prepared to finish the job he had started the day before.
But Gullik seemed sober today, and not immediately bent on Dougal's murder, so there were those points in his favor. The norn walked up to Ember's place, nodded at the charr, examined the remains of the sadly depleted moa, let out a sigh, and contented himself with a handful of cheese.
Riona trotted up behind the norn, and Soulkeeper strode after them, unhurried.
"Wait!" Riona said to Gullik. "The general only asked if you might be interested in joining us. We haven't agreed on anything."
Gullik shrugged as he pulled his long, loose hair back behind him and wrapped a leather strip through it, binding it in place. "It's an adventure for the ages," he said. "It's exactly the challenge I've been needing. Life in these lowlands has bored me to tears of late, and I can think of nothing I'd rather do than make another mark upon history."
He stopped in front of Dougal, leaned forward, and gave him a conspiratorial wink. "After all, even I can't keep at this forever, and I have an image to burnish. The bards shall sing our names in the same chorus alongside those of Destiny's Edge and the other great heroes of our age!"
"And how are you feeling this morning?" Dougal asked, smiling wanly.
"Like a hedgehog got loose in my skull and fouled itself between my ears," the norn said with a knowing smile. "Never better!"
Gullik leaned down and spoke to Dougal in a confidential tone. "My regrets for yesterday," he said. "Bear's tongue, I haven't drunk that much since I had to barricade myself inside the Busted Flagon tavern in Divinity's Reach. They threatened to banish me forever."
"And when was that?"
The norn rubbed his stubble-dotted chin as he thought about this. "A month ago. No, maybe last year. It's been a while. In any case, I hope I didn't do anything earlier that I might regret."
"You passed out right after you failed to kill me," Dougal said.
"Excellent!" Gullik placed a massive hand on Dougal's shoulder, and for a moment Dougal wondered if he were about to be strangled to death. "I remember every bit of that. Well, most of it. Enough to know I was being hasty and happy to give you a chance to make amends on our way to Ascalon City."
Riona breathed in and out through her nose to compose herself, then explained. "When Gullik finally woke up, he was brought to General Soulkeeper. She asked him personally to not interfere further with you, as you are on a vital mission for the Vigil. When he learned that, he insisted on joining us." From Riona's expression, she did not approve of this new addition at all, and was seriously looking to Dougal for support in rejecting his offer.
Soulkeeper said calmly, "You could use some more muscle." She looked up at the norn, who gave her a little laugh. "Even with Doomforge along as your guide, you're sure to have plenty of fighting ahead of you."
"I do not need his help," Ember said, but did not press the point. It was clear that the charr had been fully cowed and would not challenge the general further. Riona didn't say anything, but glared at Dougal again.
Dougal, for his part, held his tongue. Even on best behavior, a charr in the party would be problematic, and the presence of a norn, even a norn like Gullik, would work to their advantage. Riona saw he was not going to enter into the discussion and let out a deep, frustrated sigh.
"You need more help than even a single norn can provide," Soulkeeper said, "but you will make do with his. At the very least, Gullik Oddsson here should be able to provide you with an excellent distraction for your foes."
"Hey-ho!" the norn shouted in response, raising his fist into the ceiling. "I am nothing if not distracting."
Soulkeeper caught Dougal's eye and gave a very human-looking shrug. "I was going to offer him his freedom in return for joining your mission, but he volunteered before I could get that far."