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Cora had never been so glad to feel dry ground beneath her feet as she was right then, for a moment it felt strange almost too still but the rightness of it soon re asserted itself. She took a moment to enjoy the sensation having spent much longer than she would have liked on a heaving mass of timber floating on a lot of water. She had never particularly liked sea voyages, preferring to keep her feet on the ground, but her previous trips had been relatively pleasant with mostly calm sea's. But this trip had been a lot more turbulent with several big storms and she had spent much of the voyage in her cabin with bad sea sickness. Whilst she had used several of her own brewed potions designed for the purpose, they only eased the symptoms somewhat and did not remove it entirely. By the time they had reached Navarra she was sure she had lost a fair bit of weight and looked somewhat worse for wear. 

First order of business then was a hot meal and a bath, fortunately the Grey Warden she had been travelling with had assured her both were available at the outpost here in Cumberland. After paying the ship captain the Warden led the way through the streets of the city, Cora was happy to follow him as she had never been here before and knew she would have been lost within minutes. The streets were clogged with Cumberland natives, visitors and a great many refugees fleeing Tevinter. Seeing them made her heart ache, many looked exhausted and unwell and some looked to be in serious need of a good meal. She wanted to stop and aid them but she made herself walk on, she could not help all of them and if she tried to help even one she knew the others could overwhelm her. 

They reached the outpost and Kaden her Grey Warden escort sighed quietly, she glanced at him questioningly and he smiled ruefully at her. He gestured inside and she followed him into the outpost proper. 

"I'm afraid your meal and hot bath will have to wait." Kaden said. "The Commander has gathered all the other recruits and intends to address them. You need to be there." 

Cora sighed and plucked at her worn woolen dress in regret, the dark blue fabric showed signs of wear from their time spent at sea and she knew she did not look better. She was very much aware of the heavy dark circles under her eyes and of how pale she was, she was tired and still felt weak and wanted only to eat and rest. She knew that a good nights rest and one of her restoratives would have her feeling much better on the morrow. Besides she had not been able to bathe as fully as she would have liked on board ship and as she pushed aside strands of hair she could feel how dirty it was. The dark red strands hung about her shoulders in a straggly mess and she hated to appear in front of anyone in this state but there was nothing for it. She straightened her shoulders and nodded to Kaden. He led her to the main area where everyone was gathered, she was the last one in and so stood at the back. She discreetly leaned slightly against one wall, easing her tired legs, and hoped no one noticed. 

She listened to the speech with half an ear, not out of rudeness or boredom but simple tiredness, and struggled to keep her eye lids from drooping shut. In the end she stood up straight hoping the ache in her legs would help keep her awake. Once the speech was finished she stayed where she was near her chosen piece of wall. She noticed several interesting characters, a female elf with breathtakingly bright armor and a shock of ginger hair, and a lean wiry man wearing an ancient looking hat. A well dressed, handsome man soon joined them and Cora assumed they knew each other. No one else in the room caught her eye though there were plenty of different races and professions gathered. Some were quite obviously mages, wearing their distinctive robes and Cora made it a point to keep a distance from them, she did not dislike her fellow mages but she was also not eager for their company either. She shifted her foot once more leaning against the wall and hoped fervently she would have the chance for some food at least before they began their trial.