Journey to Bownammar
29 Kingsway 9:38 Dragon
We saw our new home for the first time. The furnishings were spare to put it lightly. The smells of leather and metal, oil and herbs tinged the air. All manner of weapons were racked along the walls. A truly remarkable variety of arrows were stored in many bundles. I doubt even the king's army had that many. Neatly labeled boxes were stacked against the left wall with a few that were obviously used as tables scattered in the large room.
The elf pointed to where we were to stow our gear as well as where our sleeping spaces were. There was one large back room for men, one large back room for women and one small room in between that she indicated was the "Commander's office". The porters hurried to obey her directions. They had been rather plodding since we hired them outside the city, but they moved quickly and efficiently to her simple directions.
Our gear stowed away the porters returned to the main room and stood with their palms extended. Palin, Gervais and I stared at them blankly. Clearly something was expected of us but we had no idea what. The elf smiled slightly.
"In Orzammar it is customary to pay a small gratuity for services. Two silvers for the lot would be moderately generous." As I was merchant born, I had custody of the common purse. I paid the men. They gave us slight bows, bowed more deeply to the elf, thanked her and left quickly.
Tired and bemused by the whole performance, I started to collect my thoughts. Before they had assembled into anything coherent Ser Palin demanded "Where are the Wardens?"
The elf replied with obvious mildness "Sigrun is visiting old friends in Dust Town, Ser Anders is in the Circle Tower, our assassin associate is in Antiva and the Warden Commander is teaching. The other two are in Bownammar."
Palin again took the lead "Tell her we have arrived."
The elf bowed slightly and politely demurred "No need young ser, she knew you were here the moment you passed through the gates."
"When will she be done 'teaching' then" he snapped.
She remained polite "I'm afraid I have no idea, young ser".
My curiosity was aroused by her manner. I looked at her more closely. As with many of her race she was older than first appearance would suggest.
We were silent for a bit then Ser Gervais asked "What is she like?
"Sigrun? Rather nice. She's a bit optimistic, but that really isn't a character flaw."
Gervais looked daggers at her. It was hard to tell but under a thick veneer of manners, I was starting to think she was amused.
"I meant the 'Hero of Ferelden'".
"She really hates being called that, especially by new Wardens." The answer came from behind us. A vastly entertained dwarf was leaning againste the doorway. She had the most amazing tattoo on her face.
"You have to admit it's rather grandiose. It's as though Loghain didn't kill the Archdemon."
The three of us spun around again. I'm not normally a dizzy type but two spins had battered my brain a bit. At least that's my story.
The elf, who was apparently Warden Commander Arwen Surana gave the dwarf a grin and returned her features to the calm expression we had seen before. Her voice gained an added firmness that had previously only been present when she had spoken with the porters.
"Welcome again to Orzammar. I'm Warden Commander Arwen Surana. For now you may call me either Warden or Commander. Once we've gotten to know each other we can start using first names. This is our staging area for the Deep Roads. We have better accommodations up in the nobles' area, the Diamond Quarter, but we rarely stay there. We spend most of our time either in the Deep Roads or in Bownammar.
I finally found my voice and promptly humiliated myself "Commander, we didn't know... I mean we assumed, that is no one ever told us that you were an elf. We assumed..." My voice trailed off as I realized just how much of one part of a horse's anatomy I must look right now.
She looked at us with an ironic expression. "It's all right, Ser Perpetua. No one ever mentions when elves are heroes. Only when we are villains. I am also a mage. That tends to get left out as well, I've found."
Ser Gervais began to look awkward.
The Warden Commander turned to him and brightened. "Ser Gervais, I'm hoping by your discomfiture that you are the templar I requested. Did Greagoir send you?"
He turned a truly remarkable shade of scarlet. "Yes, ser."
"Excellent! We've needed a templar for the longest time! You are most welcome. All of you are most welcome! Why don't you take some time to get settled and we'll have dinner in a couple of hours at Tapsters. My treat."
Sigrun laughed faintly behind us. I began wondering what this Tapsters was. It sounded like a tavern.
Dinner was an eye opening experience. Until we entered the bar, every dwarf we had encountered had been the model of deportment and respectability. Even the odd beggar had been polite. Tapsters was a celebration of alcoholic dwarven excess. The dwarvcn ale lived up to its surface reputation of being extremely strong. The food was some sort of meat covered in a fairly tasty sauce. Sauce isn't very big in Ferelden cuisine but it the dwarven sauce was rather good.
A pleasant looking blond man in mage robes joined us soon after we arrived. I remember thinking he was funny, how nice the drains looked and how clean and then waking up the next day in my clothes in my bed. A smithy had apparently opened shop in my head. From the pounding, it seemed that they were doing excellent business.
